PREFACE. 



No apology need be made for presenting to the public a work profusely illustrated 

 by coloured plates, concerning so attractive a subject as Cage-Birds. The subject 

 itself will interest thousands, while none is better adapted for pictorial treatment ; 

 and it is the sincere wish of all who have contributed the text, that what they have 

 written may be the means not only of increasing the popularity of the fascinating 

 creatures described, but of contributing to their health and comfort. 



Each main division of the work has been committed to authority peculiarly 

 qualified to deal with it. Mr. W. A. Blakston's knowledge of Canaries is well 

 known, and will be found fully attested by the pages from his pen. Mr. W. 

 Swaysland has long been recognised as an authority upon British Cage- Birds, and 

 his concise directions for their treatment will be found to embody all that is practically 

 necessary. And concerning the attractive section of Foreign Birds, the publishers 

 have been peculiarly fortunate in obtaining the aid of a gentleman — Mr. August 

 F. Wiener — one of the highest authorities in all Europe as regards length and 

 variety of experience, combined with sound scientific knowledge. The full list of 

 synonyms in this section will, it is hoped, give greater facility than has yet been 

 offered in English works for the ready identification of varieties, and thus advance 

 the popularity of many attractive birds as yet very little known. 



The selection of subjects for illustration in the latter portion of the work, it 

 need hardly be said, has been a task of peculiar difficulty ; and the publishers owe 

 many acknowledgments, not only to the talented artist who for a considerable period 

 devoted his whole time to the task, but to the owners who so kindly placed valuable 

 specimens before his pencil. Besides those mentioned in this way in the text, special 

 acknowledgments are due to Mr. Joseph F. Hills and Mr. W. Swaysland, for the 

 loan of many British birds 



