Recent Ornitholugical Publications. 113 



count of the birds collected by the Dutch naturalists, a commen- 

 tary on Dr. Hartlaub's well-known and excellent little volume 

 [cf. 'Ibis/ 1861, pp. 402-405), and several lists, one showing 

 roughly the geographical distribution of birds in Madagascar 

 and the neighbouring islands, and another the number of spe- 

 cimens from that subregion possessed by the Leydeu Museum, 

 amounting to upwards of 750. The commentary on Dr. Hart- 

 laub disposes in a very off-hand manner of many species and 

 genera of birds ; and we cannot but think that a good many of 

 the conclusions at which the authors arrive are such as they 

 would not reach had they more evidence before them. With all 

 its imperfections, however, the work will remain a lasting monu- 

 ment of the labours of Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam; and the 

 plates are generally so well drawn that, unlike many monuments, 

 it may always be contemplated with pleasure. 



3. German. 



The appearance of the first section of Ilerr von Pelzeln's 

 account of the late Jobann Nattercr's ornithological discoveries 

 iu Brazil^ has already been chronicled, and a few words of well- 

 earned commendation were bestowed upon itf. We take the op- 

 portunity of the issue of the second part of this work, which has 

 lately been received in this country, to explain to our readers a 

 little more fully its contents and objects, so that its importance 

 may be more completely appreciated. 



The late Johann Natterer was, as regards the class of birds to 

 which he principally devoted himself, perhaps the most energetic 

 and most successful collector that has ever lived. He dedicated 

 the eighteen best years of his life to the exploration of various 

 parts of the great empire of Brazil, and during this period accu- 

 mulated a collection of no less than 12,293 birdskins, repre- 

 senting about 1200 different species. Every specimen was not 

 only most beautifully prepared, but likewise provided with a 

 ticket on which the locality and date of collection, sex, and the 



* Zur Ornitliologie Brasiliens. Resultate von Johann Natterer's Reisen 

 in den Jahren 1817 bis 1835 dargestellt von August von Pelzeln, 

 Gustos an d. k.-k. zoologischenCabinete in Wien. II. Abtheilung. Wien, 

 1868-69. 



t Ibis, 1868, pp. 226, 227. 

 N. S.— VOL. V. I 



