26 DICTIONARY OF BIRDS 



in the gardens of tlie Zoological Society, was begun about 1855, with a 

 brief text by Mitchell, at that time the Society's secretary, in illustra- 

 tion of them. After his death in 1859, the explanatory letterpress was 

 rewritten by Mr. Sclater, his successor in that office, and a volume was 

 completed in 1861. Upon this a second series was commenced, and 

 brought to an end in 1868. Though a comparatively small number of 

 species of Birds are figured in this magnificent work (17 only in the 

 first series, and 22 in the second), it must be mentioned here, for their 

 likenesses are so admirably executed as to place it in regard to orni- 

 thological portraiture at the head of all others. There is not a plate 

 that is unworthy of the greatest of all animal painters. 



Proceeding to illustrated works generally of less pretentious size 

 but of greater ornithological utility than the books last mentioned, 

 which are fitter for the drawing-room than the study, we next have to 

 consider some in which the text is not wholly subordinated to the 

 plates, though the latter still form a conspicuous feature of the pub- 

 lication. First of these in point of time as well as in importance is 

 the Nouveau Recueil des Planches Colorizes d'Oiseaux of Temminck and 

 Laugier, intended as a sequel to the Planches Enlumin^es of D'Aubenton 

 before noticed, and like that work issued both in folio and quarto size. 

 The first portion of this was published at Paris in 1820, and of its 102 

 livraisons, which appeared with great irregularity (Ihis, 1868, p. 500), 

 the last was issued in 1839, containing the titles of the five volumes 

 that the whole forms, together with a "Tableau Methodique," which 

 but indifferently serves the purpose of an index. There are 600 plates, 

 but the exact number of species figured (which has been computed at 

 661) is not so easily ascertained. Generally the subject of each plate 

 has letterpress to correspond, but in some cases this is wanting, while on 

 the other hand descriptions of species not figured are occasionally intro- 

 duced, and usually observations on the distribution and construction of 

 each genus or group are added. The plates, which shew no improve- 

 ment on those of Martinet, are after drawings by Huet and Pretre, the 

 former being perhaps the less bad draughtsman of the two, for he seems 

 to have had an idea of what a bird when alive looks like, though he 

 was not able to give his figures any vitality, while the latter simply 

 delineated the stiff and dishevelled specimens from museum shelves. 

 Still the colouring is pretty well done, and experience has proved that 

 generally speaking there is not much difficulty in recognizing the species 

 represented. The letterpress is commonly limited to technical details, 

 and is not always accurate ; but it is of its kind useful, for in general 

 knowledge of the outside of Birds Temminck probably surpassed any of 

 his contemporaries. The " Tableau Methodique " offers a convenient 

 concordance of the old Planches Enlmninees and its successor, and is 

 arranged after the system set forth by Temminck in the first volume of 

 the second edition of his Manuel d' Ornithologie, of which more presently. 



The Galerie des Oiseaux, a rival work, with plates by Oudart, seems to 

 have been begun immediately after the former. The original project was 

 apparently to give a figure and description of every species of Bird ; but 

 that was soon found to be impossible; and, when six parts had been issued, 



