Review of Dr. Finsch's ' Die Papageien.' 211 



of gratitude to Mr. Brooks for having first shown in detail, 

 through the Editor of 'The Ibis' (1871, p. 445, note), the 

 real nature of this interesting species. Otherwise it might, 

 for many years, if not for ever, have remained an object of 

 hopeless longing to the Indian field ornithologist, and a per- 

 plexing puzzle to his less fortunate brethren the cabinet natu- 

 ralists of the world. But as this useful information has been 

 " paraded "" only " in what is supposed to be Latin '' and 

 without a '^ full, sound, sufficient English or German " de- 

 scription, below is given "^ a translation for the benefit of the 

 "500 millions of people" by whom "100 years hence" 

 English will be spoken ; and who will then only possess " ex- 

 purgated editions " of ' The Ibis,' if it " survives," and " from 

 which all the ' Latin ' has been carefully expunged." 



As previously stated, one of the most serious accusations 

 brought against Dr. Finsch is that of slighting discourtesy to 

 Jerdon, Blyth, and other Indian naturalists. I have carefully 

 read and reread the whole of Dr. Finsch's text, and have been 

 unable to discover a passage that can, unless twisted, be fairly 

 said to support the charge. " Dr. Finsch, a cabinet natu- 

 ralist, on the strength, mainly, of some mis-sexed specimens 

 in museums, takes on himself to disregard and disbelieve the 

 positive statements of working field naturalists. INIost pa- 

 thetically does he lament oiu* ignorance, (he should have 

 spoken for himself, I think, not others !). He says (p. 26);" 

 and then follows Dr. Finsch's general remarks commencing 

 with, " Unfortunately we lack almost entirely a thorough ob- 

 servation of the Parrots" (Papag. i. p. 26) — remarks abso- 

 lutely true when Dr. Finsch wrote, even if applied to the 

 Indian Parrots, and still so of the greater part of the species 

 to this day. Dr. Finsch in the passage quoted uses the word 

 " Parrots " generally and in its widest sense. Mr. Hume, by 

 restricting its meaning to the half dozen or so of species he 

 has seen, dexterously turns Dr. Finsch's general remarks into 



* " A manufactured bird, body of the Rufmis-bellied Fairy blue-chat, 

 head of tlie Indian grey-tit " (Ibis, I. c). Dr. Finsch, although stigmatized 

 a " pseudo-classicist " by Mr. Hume (t. c. p. 4), is doubtless competent to 

 supply a " full, soimd, sufficient German " description, if required. 



