INTRODUCTION TO NATURALIST'S CALENDAR. 



WILLIAM MARKWICK, who afterwards took the name of Eversfield, 

 was an observant Naturalist, and communicated several papers relating 

 to British zoology to the Linnaean Society, several of which appeared 

 in its transactions. He died in 1813. 



In preparing an ornithological calendar in 1849, we prefaced it with 

 the following remarks, which may, with propriety, be reprinted here, as 

 although written for ornithology they will generally apply to any 

 department of zoology ; they also allude to the author's favorite subject, 

 migration. 



The importance of the registration of "periodic phcenomena" 

 appertaining to animals and plants, has been long acknowledged and 

 advocated in different periodicals and works, writing of and devoted to 

 natural history ; and sundry calendars have been published, which 

 although they contain many points worthy of observation, and were 

 sometimes very amply made out, were not within the reach of all 

 observers, and did not serve as a guide for the uniform registration of 

 the phenomena. In our numerous works relating to the Ornithology 

 of the British Islands, we have many observations and partial lists of 

 the appearance and disappearance of our winter, summer, and occasional 

 visitants. The migrations ; flocking and congregating of species after 

 incubation ; disappearance of certain species, and their occurrence again 

 after a period of years have been all noted down. Many of our friends 

 have kept private notes of these occurrences, and we have ourselves made 

 observations over a period of nearly thirty years ; but all these are neither 

 kept to any plan, nor accompanied with notes of the temperature, 

 weather, and other circumstances which would have added greatly to 

 their value. They are made in various localities, and in various years 

 and circumstances ; and however interesting the task, it would entail 

 much time and labour to reduce them to any available order. If, then, 

 the more important points in the economy of our native species could 

 be registered on some simultaneous and regular plan, interesting 

 information and details might be elicited, and an insight into the 

 laws which regulate their motions and changes, be in a short time 

 obtained. 



For the above purpose, a set of Tables have been prepared for the 

 present, the concluding number of the " Contributions for 1848," in 

 such time as will enable the month of January, with the whole year, 



