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CHAPTER VI. 



WADING BIRDS. 



ONE of the regrets necessarily attendant upon pro- 

 gress and improvement, is that arising fr<#n the 

 gradual extinction of much that once excited our 

 admiration or interest. This is especially the case in 

 the natural history of our country, where the advance 

 in agricultural improvement, by draining our marshes 

 and reclaiming our moors and forests, has been the 

 means of banishing many races of animals which once 

 were plentiful. Hence, while rejoicing at the increase 

 in the material wealth of the country, and the general 

 well-being of our population, the lover of nature cannot 

 but regret the loss of some of our finest indigenous 

 species of animals. The noble bustard and the stately 

 crane have become matters of history as far as England 

 is concerned, while many others are only known by the 

 occurrence, at long intervals, of solitary individuals, who 

 are no sooner seen than they are shot ; and others 

 again, though permanently residing with us, are by the 

 gradual invasion of their haunts slowly but surely 

 diminishing. 



But though the great bustard may be considered 

 extinct as far as England is concerned, its representa- 

 tive in miniature, the Little Bustard (Otis tetrax) occa- 



