INTRODUCTION. 
The principal object of the present Catalogue has been to give 
a complete list of all the birds that have been recorded as found 
in Great Britain, indicating at the same time those species that 
are contained in the collection,, and pointing out their peculiarities 
as regards age, sex, habitat, and the source from whence the 
specimens were obtained, which are mentioned after the specific 
name and its synonyma, while the localities of those species not 
at present contained in the collection are also recorded. 
Those specimens which have been presented to the Museum 
have the name of the donor ; and in general the collection from 
whence the specimen has been purchased is also marked, as it 
often gives some authenticity to its history. The skeletons and 
breast-bones, &c., which are contained in the collection, are also 
given under the separate species to which they belong. In the 
adoption of the generic and specific names, it has been thought 
