delineation of the lives of these wild and scarce-known creatures as 
any one man may hope to produce. 
The system of punt-gunning, with its moments of intense excite¬ 
ment, and its dangers by wind and wave, both by day and night, fill 
chapters that “ read like romance.” 
The illustrations comprise sepia-drawings and pen-and-ink 
sketches by the Author, and are from life. 
The book is addressed not so much to' ornithologists (though 
they may glean stray grains therein) as to the average reader who 
possesses some love for the “ out-bye ” country and its bird-life in 
their wilder aspects. 
FROM PRESS NOTICES OF FIRST EDITION (1889) 
“We have a book on birds in their haunts by a writer who is 
thoroughly master of his subject—one who has plenty to say, and 
who also knows how to place his experiences vividly before the 
reader. The portions devoted to the Cheviots and the moorlands 
recall the scent of the heather, while the narrative of adventures by 
day and by night in a gunning-punt along the ‘ slakes’ off Holy 
Island is pervaded by the keen salt breezes from the North Sea. . . . 
The haunts and habits of wildfowl by day and night have never 
before been so clearly pointed out in any work with which we are 
acquainted. ”■— A thenceum. 
“One of the pleasantest books conceivable. . . . Every lover of 
a country life will delight in his vivid sketches of sporting experi¬ 
ence and wild life on the moors. . . . The author’s enthusiasm is 
something irresistible. Even the drawbacks of that ‘waiting-game,’ 
wildfowling, appear as of no weight when estimating the glories of 
the sport as set forth in the admirable chapters on ‘ Wildfowl of the 
North-East Coast,’ ‘Midnight on the Oozes,’ ‘Wildfowl and the 
Weather,’ and so forth.”— Saturday Review. 
“ An invigorating out-of-door air pervades this book, and a happy 
directness of description. ... In sporting experience, so far as 
concerns the north-east coast, Mr. Chapman stands in the front 
rank, and discourses of it with an authority beyond controversy or 
challenge.”— Land and Water. 
“Will enchant all who are fond of birds. Sympathy with all 
living creatures, careful observation with cautious deductions, and 
strong love for the bleak moors and wild scenery of the Cheviots— 
such are the characteristics of this most interesting book. . . . The 
illustrations add a great charm to a book redolent of wild life and 
careful observation.”—- Academy. 
