PREFACE xi 



have had most opportunity of observing, and which, 

 therefore, I have described most fully, such as the 

 raven, the various species of the owl, the magpie, 

 the rook, the jackdaw, the cuckoo, the swallow, the 

 kingfisher and the woodpecker are also those which 

 have had the most enduring influence on the 

 thoughts, the hopes, the fears, and the out-lookings 

 of man. They have played a large part in history, 

 in poetry, in painting, in sculpture, in folk-lore, in 

 legend, sacred and profane ; and it has been not 

 the least interesting part of my work to attempt to 

 bring out this close historical connection of birds 

 with man, by somewhat copious quotations from 

 the poets, and by illustrations drawn from every 

 quarter, ancient or modern, to which I have been 

 able to obtain access. 



Secondly, and as the result of the first, it is my 

 earnest hope that the book may tend towards the 

 better protection and preservation of all birds ; and 

 most of all, of those which need it most. I have 

 some reason, indeed, to believe, from communica- 

 tions which have reached me from all parts of the 

 country, that such has been already, to a consider- 

 able extent, the result of the articles, as they 

 appeared in their original and more fugitive shape. 

 The pole-trap, with all its unspeakable tortures, has, 



