PREFACE. 



I HAVE nothing to add to the prefatory remarks in the pre- 

 vious volumes, and am only too pleased to find that I have 

 no heterodox views to defend, nor any criticisms to reply to. 



It only remains, therefore, to thank my kind friends who 

 have helped me in the preparation of the present volume. 

 It has been a somewhat tedious task, as the general habits of 

 Wading Birds are so much alike, that it is difficult to find 

 anything to say about them that has not been excellently done 

 by the late Mr. Henry Seebohm or by Mr. Howard Saunders. 

 Many of the descriptions of the Waders are taken from my re- 

 cent work on the group in the " Catalogue of Birds," and I hope 

 that these will be found instructive to the numbers of ornitholo- 

 gists who are interested in Shore-Birds and Waders generally. 

 I have also endeavoured to quote works on natural history not 

 familiarly known in this country ; and the notes on the habits 

 of some of the North American species, taken from the writings 

 of Mr. E. W. Nelson and Mr. D. G. Elliot, will be found to 

 be of some interest, and the latter's recent book on North 

 American Shore-birds has frequently been laid under con- 

 tribution in the following pages. 



R. BOWDLER SHARPE. 

 Feb. 26, 1896. 



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