PREFACE. 



This book is the complementary volume to "The Animals of 

 Australia, Mammals, Eeptiles, and Amphibians," of the same 

 authors and publishers. As it was impossible to give a 

 reasonable account of all the Air-breathing Vertebrates of 

 Australia in one volume, the account of the Birds was reserved 

 for the present work. 



The object and plan of this, as of the former, book are to 

 serve the needs of the naturalist and to provide matter of 

 interest for the general reader, by giving accurate descriptions 

 and illustrations, and adding as much popular information as is 

 available concerning habits and habitats. 



In order to avoid rendering the volume too bulky and too 

 heterogeneous in character, we have refrained from specula- 

 tions and general disquisitions. It seemed wiser to present the 

 facts in an ordered manner, and to leave for other publications 

 the more general features of our Avi-fauna, relationships, and 

 origins. 



As in the case of "The Animals," while advantage has been 

 taken of personal knowledge, we have drawn largely on other 

 publications on Australian Birds. The classification is that of 

 JDr. Bowdler Sharpe's "Hand-list of Birds," made more readily 

 available by the publication of Mr. Gregory M. Mathew's 

 "Hand-list of Australian Birds," in "The Emu," 1908. We 

 gladly acknowledge our deep indebtedness to the various 

 authors of the magnificent series of Descriptive Catalogues 

 published by the authorities of the British Museum. We have 

 included as nearly a complete account as possible of species 

 described in Australia by Mr. A. J. North, of the Australian 

 Museum, Sydney, and by Messrs. A. J. Campbell, Robert Hall, 

 and others referred to in the text. We have drawn largely for 

 accounts of habits on "The Emu," and "The Victorian 

 Naturalist," and occasionally quote other periodical 

 publications. 



The illustrations have been collected with a considerable 

 amount of labour, and have been derived from a variety of 



