Vlll PREFACE. 



members of that class which still exists in the British 

 Isles. 



To those who cooperate in the progress of Palaeontology 

 by collecting and preserving the Fossil Remains of Mammals 

 and Birds, I trust that the present work will be found 

 useful as an aid in determining their acquisitions. I have 

 heard the wish for such a work expressed by many Collect- 

 ors, to whom the great works on general Palaeontology, Os- 

 teology, and Geology, including figures and descriptions of 

 British Fossils, as, for example, the ' Ossemens Fossiles ' 

 of Cuvier, the ' Osteographie ' of Professor De Blainville, 

 the ' Reliquiae Diluvianee ' of Dr. Buckland, and the ' Or- 

 ganic Remains 1 of Parkinson, were with difficulty, if at 

 all, accessible ; not to speak of Memoirs in the Trans- 

 actions of British and Foreign Societies, in which, hereto- 

 fore, the descriptions and figures of some of the most in- 

 teresting British Fossil Mammals and Birds could alone 

 be found. 



The present summary will by no means, indeed, preclude 

 the necessity of studying the valuable works above cited, 

 in order to gain a full knowledge of the nature of our 

 extinct animals ; but I am not without hope that it may 

 frequently give such an indication of the value and rarity 

 of a newly-discovered fossil, as may induce greater pains 

 and care in its preservation, and thereby tend to acce- 

 lerate the progress of our knowledge of the ancient Fauna 

 of Great Britain. 



The Treatises and Memoirs cited at the head of each 

 section in this ' History,' will demonstrate how great and 

 valuable a proportion of the information therein systema- 

 tically set forth has been derived from the labours of my 

 predecessors in this field of enquiry. I most gratefully 

 acknowledge these indispensable sources of knowledge ; 



