tailieunhanh - THE NATURALIST IN LA PLATA

The plan I have followed in this work has been to sift and arrange the facts I have gathered concerning the habits of the animals best known to me, preserving those only, which, in my judgment, appeared worth recording. In some instances a variety of subjects have linked themselves together in my mind, and have been grouped under one heading; consequently the scope of the book is not indicated by the list of contents: this want is, however, made good by an index at the end. It is seldom an easy matter to give a suitable name to a. | THE NATURALIST IN LA PLATA BY W. H. HUDSON . JOINT AUTHOR OF ARGENTINE ORNITHOLOGY WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY J. SMIT THIRD EDITION. NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1895 PREFACE. The plan I have followed in this work has been to sift and arrange the facts I have gathered concerning the habits of the animals best known to me preserving those only which in my judgment appeared worth recording. In some instances a variety of subjects have linked themselves together in my mind and have been grouped under one heading consequently the scope of the book is not indicated by the list of contents this want is however made good by an index at the end. It is seldom an easy matter to give a suitable name to a book of this description. I am conscious that the one I have made choice of displays a lack of originality also that this kind of title has been used hitherto for works constructed more or less on the plan of the famous Naturalist on the Amazons. After I have made this apology the reader on his part will readily admit that in treating of the Natural History of a district so well known and often described as the southern portion of La Plata which has a temperate climate and where nature is neither exuberant nor grand a personal narrative would have seemed superfluous. The greater portion of the matter contained in this volume has already seen the light in the form of papers contributed to the Field with other journals that treat of Natural History and to the monthly magazines Longmans The Nineteenth Century The Gentleman s Magazine and others I am indebted to the Editors and Proprietors of these periodicals for kindly allowing me to make use of this material. Of all animals birds have perhaps afforded me most pleasure but most of the fresh knowledge I have collected in this department is contained in a larger work Argentine Ornithology of which Dr. P. L. Sclater is part author. As I have not gone over any of the subjects dealt with in that work bird-life has not received