Preface 



five and twenty species. This power of recog- 

 nising one's feathered friends cannot fail to increase 

 the pleasure of any country walk ; but, in order to 

 obtain it, some book knowledge is indispensable 

 and this volume endeavours to supply it for the 

 beginner in a form which, it is hoped, will be 

 found useful. 



The birds are classified according to the 

 localities in which they are most commonly to be 

 found, and though, of course, it is impossible in so 

 limited a space to introduce the reader to more 

 than a few species, the writer hopes that enough 

 has been said to enable him to recognise these. 

 Concerning these few even, it has been necessary 

 to omit much that is interesting. But such a classi- 

 fication has this disadvantage. Birds are by no 

 means confined to particular localities, and many 

 species may be met with equal frequency by the 

 hedgerow or in the woodlands ; in the marshes or 

 by the riverside. 



In the description of bird's plumage and eggs 

 the writer has, to ensure accuracy, borrowed 

 largely from the works of Messrs Bowlder 

 Sharpe and Kearton, and in the treatment of the 

 problem of flight in the opening chapter he has 

 been influenced by the Duke of Argyll's excellent 

 chapter in the " Reign of Law," entitled " Con- 

 trivance a Necessity," which, though read several 

 years ago, has left a very distinct impression on 

 his mind. 



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