338 Letters, Announcements, ^c. 



I expect to get into a house next week, and shall then begin 

 to pay attention to the birds around me; at present I do not 

 care to kill and examine any, as 1 have no means of preserving 

 them. I see two kinds of Humming-birds, two Swallows, a 

 Spiny-tailed Swift, and lots of unknown genera in my morning 

 rambles. Farewell. 



E. L. Layard. 



Para, June 1872. 



Dr. Buller^s work on the Birds of New Zealand"^", which we 

 mentioned in our last issue {antea, p. 194), has progressed to 

 its second part, three more remaining to finish it. 



It is not often that thorough practical knowledge, both in 

 the field and at home, is possessed by the author of a work 

 like the present ; but Dr. Buller has studied his subject in 

 both aspects, and the value of his book is clearly enhanced 

 thereby. Moreover, he has set about his task in a way that 

 shows us that he thoroughly appreciates the difficulties sur- 

 rounding it. His personal acquaintance with the birds them- 

 selves has been followed up by a critical and impartial investi- 

 gation of the writings of previous authors ; and, lastly, an 

 independent examination of many of the typical specimens in 

 England has placed him in a position to speak with great pre- 

 cision upon intricate points of synonymy. 



The consequences to many of the indigenous birds of New 

 Zealand arising out of its colonization by Europeans seems 

 likely to be so disastrous, that it is high time that authentic 

 histories of them should be put on record before they finally 

 disappear. Dr. Buller^s work, therefore, supplies what might 

 have proved a serious omission in ornithological literature. It 

 is not too late to write a full life-history of those New-Zealand 

 birds whose numbers are rapidly diminishing; but a few years 

 hence it is more than probable such a task could not be accom- 

 plished. Though the present active causes may be novel, the 

 rapid destruction of the indigenous fauna of New Zealand dates 

 back to far beyond historic times ; for though Maori tradition 

 may give an approximately recent time when the Moa still 



* A History of the Birds of New Zealand. Parts I. & II. 4to. 



