270 Lord Waldcn on Mr. Allan Hume's 



and a good bit of the shell of each gone also. "We distinctly 

 noticed on them the marks of the front teeth of a squirrel ; 

 and as the "wood was full of the common species, concluded 

 that it was the work of Sciurus cinereopectus, J. E. Gray. 

 The note of this Owl may be heard for a great part of the 

 night in its breeding-localities. It consists of a long cdu, 

 uttered loudly and with stress. Ephialtes ylabripes was de- 

 scribed in the Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1870, vol. vi. p. 152. 



XXXII. — A Reply to Mr. Allan Hume's Revieiv* of ' Die 

 Papageien' of Dr. Otto Finsch. By Arthur, Viscount 

 Walden, M.B.O.U. 



Dr. Finsch published the first volume of his famous mono- 

 graph of the Psittacidse in 1867 ; the second volume in 1868. 

 Mr. Hume has [l. c.) reviewed the work in 1874. It is of the 

 highest importance that the reader of the Review and of the 

 following remarks should constantly bear the last two dates in 

 his memory. But the reader will be disappointed if, misled 

 by the full title of Mr. Hume^s re\aew, " Die Papageien/^ he 

 expects a comprehensive accomit of the entire work. For, 

 though the footfall of Mr. Hume is not usually deterred by 

 angelic fears, in this critique of a complete work on the Parrots 

 of the world he has only favoured us with the benefit of his 

 views on Dr. FinscVs treatment of eleven species, belonging 

 to a single genus, Palaornis. Truly but a small portion of 

 Dr. Finsch's exhaustive monograph of the Order ! Mr. Humor's 

 critical remarks, though thus narrowed, cannot be described 

 as either strictly complimentary or enucleate. He assures 

 us his " relations " with Dr. Finsch " have always been most 

 friendly ^^ {t. c. p. 28) ; but his first impulse, after grudging 

 the postage on a second copy, was " to throw the book into the 

 fire " [t. c. p. 4) ; and in this dignified frame of mind he pro- 

 ceeds, by a pitiless bespattering of Dr. Finsch, to still further 

 cement their "friendly relations. ^^ Besides many smaller, 

 two serious charges are brought against Dr. Finsch. He is 



* Stray Feathers, ii. pp. 1-28 (1874). 



