PREFACE. THE present volume more than maintains its interest and importance in the details of British Zoology. This is particularly the case with the Mammalia, and we cannot but allude to the description by Mr. Millais of a new species of Vole from the Orkney Islands. To discover a mammal new to Britain, and that an undescribed species, is at the present day more extraordinary than unearthing the remains of some extinct monster hitherto unknown to Paleontology. The most important record added to the tale of our British Birds has been communicated by Mr. Aplin, and relates to the breeding of the Black-necked Grebe (Podicipes nigricollis) in these islands. A paper on the measurements and weights of the eggs of the commoner Charadriida, by the Messrs. Buchanan, affords not only valuable data, but almost denotes a fresh field for investigation in oology. In Pisces, Mr. Patterson has commenced an annual report on Norfolk fishes, and we hope that this communication will promote similar records from other parts of our coasts. The "Story of a Pearl," by Prof. McIntosh, has focussed attention on some lower forms of animal life, and shows what a vast field still awaits the observations of marine zoologists. Material for bionomical investigation is far from being exhausted in these islands, and a wealth of material still awaits the arrival of more workers. In our next volume we are promised a series of monthly reports from our London Zoological Gardens, written by one |
