Preface. 
_ present themselves to view. From my boyhood the 
study of Nature has been my great delight, and this 
is the inducement which has caused me to write and 
illustrate the volume now placed before my readers. 
As our feathered tribes will not bear intrusion,’ a 
telescope is of great use in aiding us to discern the 
actions of our wild birds, and through this medium 
we may come to know much of the wonderful and 
delightful works of our great Creator. 
To my own mind, the theme of my book has been * 
full of interest, amusement, and edification, and : 
would trust it will prove to be none the less so to all 
who may give the following pages a careful, generous, 
and candid perusal. 
Should my readers wish to seek for rarer specimens 
than are to be found in this work on Ornithology, I 
would refer them to the volumes of Messrs. YARRELL 
and HEWITSON. 
