Dedication
TO
THE HON. ADOLPHUS F. O. LIDDELL, Q.C.
My dear Neighbour,
If our accomplished and lamented friend, Mr. Broderip, had been spared to see the evidences of the extinct bird of the Mauritius described in the following pages, he would probably have taken a more direct share in the present work, and he certainly would have felt equal pleasure with myself in inscribing it to you, in whose society we so often enjoyed pleasant and instructive discourse in the sylvan walks and tranquil shades of Sheen.
Believe me,
Very sincerely yours,
RICHARD OWEN.
Sheen Lodge, Richmond Park,
August 1866.