128 Letters, Announcements, i^c. 



for 1871, gives the best summary of what he has done to 

 advance our knowledge of the Chinese avifauna. 



During the latter part of the time that Swinhoe was working 

 at the birds of the Chinese littoral, the interior of the country 

 was being most ably investigated by Pere Armand David ; so 

 that China, instead of being the ter7'a incognita as regards 

 our knowledge of its birds that it was twenty years ago, may 

 now rank amongst the fairly explored countries of the globe. 



Swinhoe's communications to this Journal commenced in 

 1860, after which scarcely a number, and certainly no volume, 

 appeared without a contribution to its pages from him. His 

 last communication to us bears the date of the same month 

 as that of his death ; and the fine Formosan species there 

 described and figured, from a specimen obtained by Prof. 

 Steere, supplements his own important discoveries in the same 

 island. 



Swinhoe was elected an Honorary Member of the British 

 Ornithologists' Union in 1862, and passed to the list of 

 Ordinary Members at his own choice in 1876. He was a 

 Member of several of the scientific societies of London, as 

 well as a Pellow of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. He was 

 elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1876. It is much 

 to be hoped that Mr. Swinhoe's fine collection of Chinese 

 birds may be kept together in its entirety, and find a home 

 in some public institution or private museum where the 

 specimens will remain accessible, as they always were in 

 their late owner's possession, to his brother workers in 

 science. 



