55 



STATISTICS RELATING TO BRITISH BIRDS. 

 By the Rev. A. R. Horwood. 



When we are told that the number of birds on the British 

 list amounts to 415 species, most of us are at first inclined to 

 treat this statement cum grano salis, as though it were a fabrica- 

 tion. On further consideration, however, we shall see that after 

 all this is quite possible — that is to say, if we assume that the 

 415 birds are not all with us at the same time. 



Allowing, then, that there are two well-defined seasons in the 

 year — summer and winter — and also that there are two primary 

 classes of birds on the list — resident and migratory — we see our 

 difficulties somewhat disappear. Observing further that the 

 latter of these two classes may be subdivided into two further 

 classes — summer and winter migrants — we then see that it is 

 comparatively easy to account for the apparently large number 

 of so-called British Birds. This last phrase is used advisedly, 

 for it must be patent to all that some of our British Birds have 

 very little title to the name. 



And thus we find there is a fourth class, beside the resident, 

 the summer, and winter migrants, namely, the accidental or 

 occasional straggler to our islands. Owing to many causes — 

 such as migration, gales, and probably, to a greater extent than 

 is generally imagined, to the escape of rare captive birds — our 

 list of accidental visitors is a long one. 



To this last class might be added a fifth — the extinct class ; 

 but as only one species that has lived within the memory of man 

 in England has so disappeared, we may, I think, omit this class ; 

 for it only includes the now world-famous Great Auk, which be- 

 came extinct about two hundred years ago. 



Having reduced our list of birds to four — or, if preferred, five 

 — great classes as regards occurrence, and using the same terms 

 for their degree of frequency, we may, without going into too 

 close details, examine the matter more carefully with respect to 

 families and genera. 



In our examination we will, for sake of uniformity, invariably 

 follow the order of classification and nomenclature of Seebohm.* 

 * 'Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds.' 



