PREFACE 



With the issue of the December number the sixteenth volume of 

 the present series of ' The Zoologist ' is brought to a close. 



The year 1892 has not been a remarkably eventful one for 

 naturalists, although it may be predicted that in the annals of history 

 it will be noted, according to precedent, as the year in which an extra- 

 ordinary plague of Field Mice (Arvicola agrestis) overran the hill 

 pastures of the south of Scotland. Some account of this was given in 

 1 The Zoologist ' for May last, supplemented in September by the 

 Eeports of Professor Loeffler, of Greifswald, on the experiments made 

 by him with a view to combat a similar plague which has prevailed 

 during the present year in Thessaly. In destroying these little pests, 

 by digging out the nests and devouring the young, the great utility of 

 the Book has been well shown by our correspondent Mr. H. M. 

 Bernard (p. 355), and was amply demonstrated in the evidence taken 

 in Scotland by the Committee of the Board of Agriculture, whose 

 Report on this subject is on the eve of publication. 



Amongst birds which have attracted more than usual attention 

 during the current year, two species may be especially mentioned, the 

 Quail and the Buddy Sheldrake. The former has been reported to 

 have been met with by sportsmen in unusual numbers in September, 

 and the discovery of more than an average number of nests with eggs 

 has been also announced ; the latter, hitherto regarded as a purely 

 introduced species, has made its appearance in small flocks in so many 

 different parts of the United Kingdom as to suggest the possibility of 

 their being genuine immigrants, and not escaped birds. The evidence 

 on the subject has been summarised and dealt with by Mr. F. M. 

 Ogilvie (pp. 392—398). 



In reviewing the status of the Cirl Bunting (pp. 121, 174) and the 

 Woodchat (p. 345) as British birds, Mr. 0. V. Aplin has done good 

 service, and it may be clearly seen from his statistics what is now the 

 actual distribution of each. 



Amongst the rarer birds met with during the year the following 

 have been reported: — Spotted Eagle, Serin, Barred Warbler, Yellow- 

 browed Warbler, Woodchat, Pectoral Sandpiper, Macqueen's Bustard, 

 and Iceland and Sabine's Gulls. In Ireland the occurrence has been 



