ISlotes on British Guiana and its Birds. 315 



XXXII. — Afeiv Notes on British Guiana and its Birds. 

 By W. L. ScLATER, B.A., F.Z.S. 

 My timCj during the recent visit which I made to Demerara, 

 was very short, and my attention was by no means specially 

 devoted to its birds. Nevertheless, as I am tokl that some 

 few notes on my journey may not be unacceptable to 

 readers of ' The Ibis/ I have great pleasure in offering them 

 herewith. 



In the first place, I Avish to point out how easy it is now-a- 

 days, to any one who can spare three or four months for the 

 purpose, to visit the tropics, and how much there is to be 

 done in Natural History, even in what is supposed to be 

 one of the best known of the English colonies. 



The whole time of my absence from England last autumn 

 and winter was under four months, during which I was only 

 engaged in serious collecting for a period of about six Aveeks. 

 Yet it will be seen on referring to the papers Avhich some of 

 my kind friends have prepared for the ' Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Society/ upon the small collections of Mammals, 

 Reptiles, and Worms which I was enabled to make, that, in 

 each of these classes of animal life, forms new to science 

 were obtained. I have also great hopes that among the 

 Insects and Arachnids, which have not yet been examined, 

 some objects of interest will be found. 



With reg-ard to the Birds, I must confess I did not exert 

 myself seriously. Knowing the enormous series which that 

 energetic collector, Mr. Henry Whitely, has of late years 

 forwarded from British Guiana, and of which Mr. Salvin 

 has given such an excellent account in this Journal, I thought 

 it better to devote my scanty time to other objects. 



I have therefore only a few general remarks to make 

 upon this subject, and one or two notes to ofier upon special 

 points. 



The colony of British Guiana forms, roughly speaking, an 

 oblong slice cut out of the north-eastern sea-board of South 

 America, about 200 miles in breadth, and extending some 400 

 miles into the interior. Of this area the sea-border, for an 



