15 



the kind feeling which they have evinced towards me, and 

 more especially those who have so greatly contributed to 

 the following pages : — to William Yarrell, J. D. Hoy, Henry 

 Doubleday, J. D. Salmon, the Rev. W. D. Fox, P. J. Selby, 

 and J. Hancock, I would express the best thanks this ac- 

 knowledgment can convey. To some of those subscribers, 

 (endowed with a kindred feeling for the beauties of nature,) 

 whose friendship I greatly value, 1 shall ever look with plea- 

 sure on these illustrations, as having formed the medium of 

 introduction. 



Of many defects I am very sensible, and have to regret 

 errors into which I have fallen, from my inattention to modem 

 nomenclature. Previous to the commencement of the work, 

 every leisure hour had been spent in the fields ; and my at- 

 tachment to the confined system of Linnaeus, then led to its 

 adoption ; in my progress, however, as the necessity of a more 

 extended arrangement became apparent, it has been gradually 

 adopted. 



This has led to a want of unison on the whole, which I 

 much regret ; but which I have endeavoured, in part, to obvi- 

 ate, by an index, containing the modem names, where previ- 

 ously omitted. For the length of time which has elapsed 

 since the first commencement of the work, my best apology is 

 the number of rare and hitherto unknown eggs, which the ex- 

 ertions of those ardent in the pursuit of Natural History have 

 enabled me to figure. I have still, however, to regret the 

 omission of the eggs of numerous species, which are yet 

 desiderata to the cabinets of this country, part of which I 

 trust at some future period to procure. 



