British Birds' Eggs and Nests Book

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: INTKODUCTOEY CHAPTEHS. S IV. GRALLATORES. Family I. Charadriidx . . Plover-kind. II. Gruidse . . . Crane-kind. 4 III. Ardeidse . . . Heron-kind. IV. Scolopacidx . . Woodcock-kind. V. Ballidx '. . . Rail-kind. VI. IMpedidx . . Lobed-foot-kiud. V. NATATORES. Family I. Anatidss . . . Duck-kind. II. Colymbidx . . Diver-kind. HI. Alcadx . . . Auk-kind. IV. Pelecanidx . , Pelican-kind. V. Laridas.... Gull-kind. Such being the skeleton of our classification, the details necessary for the completion of the entire system or frame will be most conveniently given as we proceed to notice in detail the various Orders, their component Families and subordinate members. chapter{Section 4CHAPTER II. Any one who is conversant with Yarrell's admirable " British Birds," will most likely have noticed that that author gives in almost every case very precise measurements of the eggs of each particular species of Bird described. And it might, at first sight, seem to be so necessary to give such measurements that one would very likely feel half inclined to pronounce a Book of Birds' Eggs very imperfect, which omitted all notice of dimensions. But the fact is, such measurements are, in so very many different instances, altogether fallacious and likely to mislead. Thus Mr. Yarrell's measurements of the Blackbird's egg are, " the length one inch, two lines; the breadth ten lines." That is no doubt a good average or approximate measurement, but I have Blackbirds' eggs before me which vary between half a line, or of an inch, less, and a line, or T'T of an inch, more in length, and between half a line, more or less, in breadth. Again, I have two Starlings' eggs on my table, both taken from the same Pigeon-cote, in Essex; one of which is 1-fo inch long by $$ inch broad; the ot...Read More