PREFACE. 
Fvery ornithologist who, in the course of his career, may be 
called upon to write a book upon British Birds, will always find 
this to be one of the most interesting, but certainly one of the 
mo st difficult, tasks which he has ever undertaken. He is sure 
to discover that not only is the path well-worn, but that 
the work of his many predecessors has been so well done that 
lttle chance of originality remains to him. No country in the 
'yorld has had more excellent books written about its birds 
1 an Great Britain, whether we consider illustrated works, 
such as those of Selby and Gould, or the attractive “Coloured 
f Ugures of British Birds,” now being published by Lord Lil- 
( ° r ; or tIle many exhaustive books on the life-histories of 
oth naUVe birdS ’ SUCh aS th ° Se ° f Mac S illivra y- Yarrell, and 
, ®’, or the excellent works on eggs published by Hewitson 
ana beebohm. 
of thC - W ° leading Publications on the subject, viz., those 
be ■ aCgilHvray and Yarrell, the palm for scientific merit must 
valuer t0 that ° f the Scotch naturalist, and the increasing 
a PDr ° b ' S W0 '^ S ’ da y by day and year by year, testifies to an 
cheerin' 011 -° f h ' S labour which would have gladdened and 
him !]~ llm *. n 11 ' S work > bad such regard been bestowed upon 
of Britn? 8 blS b^time. The popularity of Yarrell’s “ History 
ec bpsed S rh BlrdS ’” W ’ th ltS exquisite little woodcuts, completely 
^ the more modest publication of Macgillivray, and it 
