CALENDAR OF 
ORNITHOLOGY, 
1849 . 
The importance of the registration of “ periodic phenomena," 
appertaining to animals and plants, has been long acknowledged 
and advocated in different periodicals and works, writing of and 
devoted to natural history; and sundry calendars have been pub- 
lished, which although they contain many points worthy of observa- 
tion, and were sometimes very amply made out, were not within 
the reach of all observers, and did not serve as a guide for the 
uniform registration of the phenomena. In our numerous works 
relating to the Ornithology of the British Islands, we have many 
observations and partial lists of the appearance and disappearance 
of our winter, summer, and occasional visitants. The migrations ; 
flocking and congregating of species after incubation ; disappearance 
of certain species, and their occurrence again after a period of 
years; the flights and doings of birds have all had some atten- 
tion given to them. Many of our friends have kept private notes 
of these occurrences, and we have ourselves observations made 
over a period of nearly thirty years ; but all these are neither 
kept to any plan, nor accompanied with notes of the temperature, 
weather, and other circumstances which would have added greatly 
to their value. They are made in various localities, and in various 
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