PREFACE IV. 



sources. By the generous permission of the Trustees and the 

 Curator, a large series of photographs was made by one of the 

 authors of birds in the Australian Museum, and our thanks are 

 again due to them and to the officers and assistants for the 

 ready facilities afforded for the purpose. A few others were 

 obtained of birds in the collections of -the Macleay Museum and 

 the Sydney Technological Museum. Photographs from well- 

 stuffed and set-up Museum specimens, obtained under controlled 

 conditions of light, undoubtedly present the pattern of the 

 plumage in a more perfect and recognisable form than do those, 

 except the very happiest, taken from life. On the other hand 

 those taken from life show the live bird in actual surroundings. 

 Hence we have obtained as many photographs from life as 

 possible. For some of these we are indebted to Messrs. A. E. 

 H. Mattingley, A. J. Campbell, H. Nielson, A. T. Dennis, J. B. 

 Lane, Mrs. Ward of Mapoon, T. G. Campbell, Tom Iredale, 

 H. P. C, Ashworth, A. F. Basset Hull, C. G. Gibson, H. Burrell, 

 C. L. Barrett, W. S. Kent, P. George, C. P. Kinane, A. E. Kitson, 

 and others. 



The Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union have 

 generously allowed us to make use of several of the blocks of 

 life pictures published in their very fine magazine, ' ' The Emu. ' ' 

 The New South Wales Bird Protection Society also kindly 

 loaned us their blocks of the Egrets, and the Canterbury 

 Philosophical Institute the block of Megalestris. 



The highly artistic coloured illustrations are from paintings 

 by Mrs. Ellis Rowan. 



