114 Recent Ornithological Publications. 



collector's number was inscribed in his own handwriting. At 

 the same time a note-book was kept in which the colour of the 

 iris, bill and legs, form of the tongue, contents of the stomach, 

 and various other peculiarities were carefully registered, together 

 with remarks on its habits and the distribution of the species. 

 Natterer returned to Europe in 1835, but unfortunately died in 

 the prime of life, before he had hardly commenced the publi- 

 cation of his numerous discoveries, leaving his enormous col- 

 lections almost untouched in the drawers of the Imperial Ca- 

 binet of Zoology at Vienna. 



Until recently little had been done to render this valuable mass 

 of material available for the purposes of science. But about ten 

 years ago Herr August von Pelzeln, who had then lately suc- 

 ceeded to the charge of this part of the Imperial Collection, 

 began to work out and describe the species of certain groups 

 and to publish the results along with extracts from Natterer's 

 MSS.* Stimulated by the favour which these papers have 

 met with from ornithologists, and urged on by their solicitations, 

 Herr von Pelzeln has now undertaken the great labour of pre- 

 paring and publishing a complete catalogue of all the species 

 collected by Natterer, together with descriptions of the no- 

 velties and extracts from the MS. notes of the deceased natu- 

 ralist. Of this work we have the first two portions, containing 

 the Accipitres and the Passeres down to the end of the Denti- 

 rostres (according to the Grayian System) now before us. The 

 catalogue gives us not only a list of the species, with descrip- 

 tions of such as are new, but likewise states the exact locality 

 at which each specimen was obtained. To illustrate the geo- 

 graphical distribution still further, a tabular resume is ap- 

 pended, in which the ground traversed by Natterer is divided 

 into six principal " faunas," and the occurrence of each species 

 in one or other of those " faunas " is indicated. These faunas, 

 which are further illustrated by a map showing Natterer's routes, 

 are as follows : — 



* Herr von Pelzeln's numerous papers in tlie ' Sitzungsbericlite ' of 

 the Vienna Academy, and in the ' Abhandlungen ' of the Zoological and 

 Botanical Association of Vienna, have been constantly referred to in ' The 

 Ibis,' 



