PREFACE 
T was in consequence of having experienced the necessity for 
some book of reference on the subject of Ornamental Water- 
Jowl which should serve both as a means of identification of the 
various species tmported into this country, and at the same time 
provide hints as to their breeding and acclimatization, that I 
ventured eighteen years ago to present to the public the following 
pages. 
The expense of most of the standard ornithological publica- 
tions decided me on attempting to combine all that could be learnt 
on the subject in a handy volume, to which has been added the 
practical experience of Foreign and English fancters, in the hope 
that tt may find a place among the many works of a similar 
character on the subject of Poultry, Pigeons, and Cage Birds. 
In order to ensure accuracy of description, every spectes has 
been carefully tdentified when possible, etther by the living bird, or 
by study of the skins which are accessible in Museums, bearing in 
mind the deterioration tn colour of bill and feet, which ts almost 
always present in preserved specimens. 
I have endeavoured to follow the arrangements of the sub- 
families of the Anatide as adopted by Count Salvadori in his 
Catalogue of Birds tn the Collection of the British Museum, thus 
securing a complete list of every identified spectes of Swan, Goose, 
and Duck, descriptions being appended to those which have either 
been acclimatized in this country or are likely to be tmported, 
affording a guide to the identification of any rare Specimen shot in 
the British Isles. It ts not possible in a Handbook of this size 
to give full details of each of the two hundred and two birds 
