delineation of the lives of these wild and scarce-known creatures as 

 any one man may hope to produce. 



The system of punt-gunning, with its moments of intense excite- 

 ment, and its dangers by wind and wave, both by day and night, fill 

 chapters that " I'ead like romance." 



The illustrations comprise sepia-drawings and pen-and-ink 

 sketches by the Author, and are from life. 



The book is addressed not so much to ornithologists (though 

 they may glean stray grains therein) as to the average reader who 

 possesses some love for the " out-bye " country and its bird-life in 

 their wilder aspects. 



FROM PRESS NOTICES OF FIRST EDITION (1S89) 



" We have a book on birds in their haunts by a writer who is 

 thoroughly master of his subject — one who has plenty to say, and 

 who also knows how to place his experiences vividly before the 

 reader. The portions devoted to the Cheviots and the moorlands 

 recall the scent of the heather, while the narrative of adventures by 

 day and by night in a gunning-punt along the ' slakes ' off Holy 

 Island is pervaded by the keen salt breezes from the North Sea. . . . 

 The haunts and habits of wildfowl by day and night have never 

 before been so clearly pointed out in any work with which we are 

 acquainted." — Athennium. 



" One of the pleasantest books conceivable. . . . Every lover of 

 a country life will delight in his vivid sketches of sporting experi- 

 ence and wild life on the moors. . . . The author's enthusiasm is 

 something irresistible. Even the drawbacks of that ' waiting-game,' 

 wildfowling, appear as of no weight when estimating the glories of 

 the sport as set forth in the admirable chapters on ' Wildfowl of the 

 North-East Coast,' ' Midniglit on the Oozes,' 'Wildfowl and the 

 Weather,' and so forth." — Saturday Revieii). 



" An invigorating out-of-door air pervades this book, and a happy 

 directness of description. ... In sporting experience, so far as 

 concerns the north-east coast, Mr. Chapman stands in the front 

 I'ank, and discourses of it with an authority beyond controversy or 

 challenge." — Land and Water. 



" Will enchant all who are fond of birds. Sympathy with all 

 living creatures, careful observation with cautious deductions, and 

 strong love for the bleak moors and wild scenery of the Cheviots — 

 such are the characteristics of this most interesting book. . . . The 

 illustrations add a great charm to a book i^edolent of wild life and 

 careful observation." — Academy. 



