PREFACE, 



YVTHEN first I was appointed to the charge 

 "" of the Ornithological collection in the 

 British Museum, the home of that collection 

 was in Bloomsbury, where the opportunities of 

 observing birds in a state of nature are not 

 many, as every one will admit. Domestic 

 Pigeons are numerous, an occasional Starling 

 can be seen, and in the neighbouring garden, 

 in Russell Square, I have seen Blue Tits in 

 winter. Sparrows, of course, abound, and doubt- 

 less other birds could be occasionally observed. 

 One of the most interesting specimens in the 

 British collection is — of all birds — a Kingfisher, 

 which was picked up dead in the courtyard of 

 the old British Museum, so that the possibilities 



