524 Obituary. 



Carl J. Sundevall, a Foreign Member of our Union^ 

 ■whose death took place in the present year, long occupied a 

 distinguished place amongst ornithologists of the present time. 

 For nearly forty-five years his name has been constantly 

 before the world in connexion with this subject, as well as 

 others, in which he was almost equally eminent. Systematic 

 ornithology owes much to Sundevall's industry ; and his two 

 chief works on this subject, published, the one in 1835, the 

 other in 1873, have largely influenced the systems of other 

 workers. Indeed the ' Methodi naturalis Avium disponen- 

 darum Tentamen,' will long serve as a mine of wealth to future 

 systematists, from which characters of greater or less impor- 

 tance in bird-classification can be derived. Sundevall, like 

 many others of his day, based his systems of classification 

 upon external characters alone; and for this reason his con- 

 clusions, in many cases, have been very properly called in 

 question when the characters of the higher groups of birds 

 have been discussed. The belief, we are glad to say, is con- 

 stantly gaining ground, that no arrangement can be consi- 

 dered satisfactory until the whole organism of birds has been 

 investigated, and the distinctive characters found brought 

 forward to show the relationship between dififerent groups. 

 This, however, is no reason why work like Sundevall's should 

 be laid aside as of no use. Its true value is to be found by 

 using in a different sense the characters shown in his pages 

 to exist. 



Other work of Sundevall's is also of high merit. His 

 List of the Birds of Calcutta shows how well he employed 

 a short visit to that district of India, and how ably he worked 

 up his materials at home. Besides his journey to India, he 

 undertook another to northern regions, when he accompanied 

 the French " Expedition du Nord," which sailed more than 

 thirty-five years ago under the direction of Gaimard. To 

 the Zoology of this expedition Sundevall largely contributed. 



Though thus occupied in studying the birds of various parts 

 of the globe, the ornithology of his native land, Sweden, was 

 by no means neglected ; and ' Svenska Foglarua,' a work in- 

 complete at the time of his death, bears the characteristics of 



