PREFACE. 



I .^OR those who reside in the country and 

 -*- have both leisure and inclination to ob- 

 serve the movements and habits of birds, there 

 is not a more entertaining occupation than that 

 of noting the earliest arrival of the migratory 

 species, the haunts which they select, and the 

 wonderful diversity which they exhibit in their 

 actions, nidification, and song. 



There is something almost mysterious in the 

 way in which numbers of these small and deli- 

 cately formed birds are found scattered in one 

 day over a parish where on the previous day not 

 one was to be seen ; and the manner of their 

 arrival is scarcely more remarkable than the 

 regularity with which they annually make their 

 appearance. 



That most of them reach this country after 

 long and protracted flights, crossing the Medi- 



