HINTS TO ORNITHOLOGISTS. 361 



and he who professes to instruct us in their varied habits, 

 if he be not one of good Dame Nature's school, had far 

 better employ his time and brains in something less liable 

 to damage the cause of natural history. 



These remarks, though severe, are just; for it is this 

 class of writers who so seriously damage and retard the 

 progress of ornithology ; who gravely inform us that our 

 Wagtails never perch on trees ; that our Coots are 

 clumsy objects on the land ; that our Kestrel Hawks 

 build nests, and our Sparrowhawks take possession of 

 deserted Crows' nests ; that our Starlings and Lapwings 

 tap the ground with their feet to frighten out the earth 

 worms beneath the surface ; that our little brown 

 Flycatcher is songless ; and a thousand other errors, as 

 inconsistent with known facts as they are ridiculous. 



But let us hope better days are in store for ornitho- 

 logy, and that when these ill weeds are rooted from her 

 literature, then she will bloom in ever maiden fairness, 

 and reach the zenith of her fame. Much needs to be 

 done ; vast fields occur in all parts of the world, offering 

 unlimited scope for a whole army of devoted workers. 

 Even in our own land the vineyard is not worked out, 

 great as have been the strides of improvement taking 

 place of late years ; and on every side facts, fresh and new 

 as the morning's dawn, await those who labour in her 

 cause. 



Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 

 And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 



My object in giving to the public these few hints is 

 in the hope that many a young naturalist may find them 

 as useful as I, who have followed this delightful subject 

 in Nature's lovely garden for years, have found them in 

 regularly practising them. Therefore, gentle reader, if 

 thou art, by reading these few hints, drawn into a study 



