INTRODUCTION. 
xxvu 
at a distance of many yards, must also be endowed with acute powers of vision ; nor can it be less 
perfect in the Shrike, who sallies forth from his chosen branch to secure with unerring aim the passing 
fly or beetle. The Vultiu-e, provided with organs of equal if not even greater power, descries from an 
enormous distance a dying camel, a stranded sheep, or any other earthly creatnre which has met with 
misfortune, and by his peculiar motions gives the cue to others of its kind from still greater distances 
and various points of the compass ; for “ wheresoever the carcase is, there will the Eagles be gathered 
together.” 
The sense of smell is most acute in the AmtldcB or Duck tribe, hut, according to my experience, 
seems to be entirely wanting in the Raptores (Vultures, Eagles, &:c,). 
That of hearing would appear to be most perfect in the Owls, as testified by their highly developed 
auditory conch ; at the same time it is by no means wanting in many other families of birds. 
Neither can the sense of feeling be absent from the probing bill of the Woodcock and the members 
of the ScolopacidcB generally. 
Should any of my readers wish to enrich their knowledge in this direction, I must refer them to the 
works of the writers mentioned above. In ‘ The Birds of Great Britain ’ my chief aim has been to give 
a faithful representation of the various species, and to record, in addition to the notes of others, such 
observations as my lengthened study in this branch of science has enabled me to make. 
The following arrangement will give a general view of ‘ The Birds of Great Britain.’ with some 
additional information respecting them obtained during the progress of the work, and notices of those 
species which have occurred in the British Islands, but which are not, in my opinion, entitled to a place 
in our fauna and consequently have not been figured. 
The Vultures, a family of birds whose proper home is the warmer countries of the world, are but feebly 
represented in the British Islands, where, indeed, the appearance of the two species which have occurred 
therein must be regarded as purely accidental, our islands being fortunately exempt from those visitations 
which render the presence of these useful scavengers a matter of great importance. The family comprises 
about twenty-four species, divided among ten or twelve genera, the greater part of which inhabit Eastern 
Europe, Africa, and India ; the remainder frequent America, and extend their range from the United 
States to Chile. 
