INTRODUCTORY. 5 



marked that certain localities are always, in hunt- 

 ing parlance, a " safe find " for the birds I have 

 included. Again, at the end of each " ramble " 

 I have been careful to specify all these what we 

 may aptly class as "intruding species." On the 

 other hand, there are birds that stamp their indi- 

 viduality on certain haunts, rarely or never 

 wandering from them. The Red Grouse and 

 the Ring Ousel are birds of the moors alone ; 

 the Ptarmigan ever keeps to the mountain-tops, 

 the Rock Pipit to the coast, the Guillemots and 

 Razorbills to the ocean cliffs, the Eagles to the 

 Highland hills. 



The observer will also find, especially during 

 the periods of the spring and autumn migration, 

 certain places swarming with birds that are 

 seldom or never seen in them at any other time. 

 Coast birds then visit inland waters ; field and 

 woodland birds the coast, on their way to usual 

 haunts. Many a time, for instance, the wilderness- 

 loving Peregrine takes up his quarters in a 

 crowded city, spreading terror through all the 

 dovecots and poultry-runs ; and during long- 

 protracted frosts and snowy weather, numbers of 

 birds are driven from accustomed habitats to 

 districts where food may be obtained. Perhaps 

 it may be thought that many species have been 

 included in this volume that have small claim to 

 be regarded u birds of our rambles." But I have 

 always tried to err on the side of inclusion rather 

 than of omission ; for nothing is more disap- 

 pointing to a student than to search his handbook 

 in vain for an account of some rarer species of 

 which fortune may have favoured him with a 

 glimpse. 



