prospectus. 
A naonographical Description of the Birds of this county has not hitherto been undertaken, 
although a county so fruitful in this beautiful part of creation, and offering such an ample field to 
the enquiries of the Ornithologist. The most cursory inspection of the face of Devon, would 
convince the beholder that its spreading woods and thickly-intermingled hedgerows, its cultivated 
hills, and warm and luxuriant vallies, the sea which environs two of its sides, and even its very 
heaths and moors, afford favorable asylums to the feathered race. Nor would the observer err. 
The multitudes of birds which annually resort to Devonshire, and the still greater flocks that 
constantly reside with us, abundantly prove it worthy the attention of him who directs his studies 
to the examination of this part of the works of nature. 
In an age so enlightened as the present, it would be fruitless, indeed, to endeavour to re- 
commend the study of natural history by a long detail of the advantages resulting from it ; as it 
evidently tends to enlarge and strengthen the powers of our minds, and properly employ 
our leisure time. And, especially, as from the stores of nature we obtain every thing that 
is conducive to the sustenance of the body, to its repair, or its preservation. The benefits which 
we have received from the labors of the naturalist are innumerable. To him are we indebted 
for many exotic plants and animals which adorn our gardens and our fields, administer to our 
wants, or gratify our inclinations. Most, if not all, of the farinaceous plants, so necessary to 
our existence, are not the spontaneous gift of nature to our soil ; but to the hand of man are 
we indebted for their introduction. The pheasant, which decorates our woods, yields- a rich 
viand to the epicure, and affords amusement to the sportsman, came from afar. The peacock, 
which embellishes the inclosures of the rich, is not a native of Britain ; and even the race of 
common poultry, so long reclaimed from the wilds of the forest, and so long an inhabitant of 
our isles, which furnishes our entertainments with delicacies, and supplies us with a profusion of 
wholesome and nutritious food, derives its origin from Persia, or the still more distant regions of 
India. 
The science of ornithology, though but a small link in the chain of natural history, abounds 
with interesting examples of patience, sagacity, ingenuity, and affection ; with objects for the 
gratification of our appetites, for the enlivening of our prospects, and for the soothing of our 
ears with their melodies. But, above all, this beautiful page in the grand volume of nature is 
crowded with countless proofs of the omniscience of the Creator, and displays, in no small degree, 
his wisdom, magnificence, and power. 
Of all men the author is the worst critic on his own work, he beholds it with the partial eye of 
St fond parent, and endeavours to screen its very defects ; he praises as a beauty that which to the 
rest of mankind appears as deformity, he incurs censure for his presumption, or, what is still more 
rare, injures his own productions by his diffidence. By its own merit then let this work stand or 
fall ; the author has devoted many of his leisure hours to the investigation of the manners and 
actions of the birds, which he professes to describe, and the present work is the offspring of the 
information obtained in the research. 
ASHBURTON, 23d March, I 8 O 9 , 
Printed by GEORGE SIDNEY, Northumbcriand.Street, Strand, London. 
