XVlll INTRODUCTION. 



Bustard, originally due to a British anatomist. Dr. James 

 Douglas, was first made known in 1740 by Albin, in his ' Nat, 

 Hist. Brit. Birds/ iii. p. 36. Since that date many have been 

 the contributions published, and various the opinions ex- 

 pressed, on this very curious subject. In ' The Ibis,^ for 1862, 

 pp. 107-127, wUl be found a very full and interesting account 

 by Professor Newton of all that had been previously published 

 on the matter, supplemented with observations of his own; 

 and an important communication on the same subject by 

 Dr. CuUen is given in ' The Ibis,' 1865, p. 143, 



Yarrell's paper in the Trans. Linn. Society, 1855, p, 155, 

 and Prof. Flower's contribution, P. Z. S. 1865, p. 747, 

 should also be referred to for additional and valuable details. 



An annual decrease in numbers of the Dotterel {Eudromias 

 morinellus) has been remarked of late by naturalists residing 

 in localities where this species was once more plentiful j and 

 this is doubtless due to the proportionate increase of gunners, 

 and the unchecked shooting which at present takes place 

 throughout the year, whereby numbers of breeding birds are 

 destroyed immediately on their arrival in May. 



It is to be hoped that the legislative protection which is 

 now afforded to sea-birds during the nesting-season will be 

 extended gradiiaUy to other indigenous species, that we may 

 prevent, before it is too late, any others from being added to 

 the already long list of fine species which have been driven 

 from, or well nigh exterminated in, the British Islands. 



As all references to the nesting-haunts of rare species are 

 interesting, it may be well to supplement the list of counties 

 which are believed to be frequented by the Dotterel in the 

 breeding-season (p. 43), by adding that in May and June 

 1853 three nests, containing three eggs each, were taken in 

 Elginshire (c/. Thumall, ' Naturalist,' 1853, p. 254). Another 

 locality formerly visited by the Avocet (p. 46) in the nesting- 



