28 Die TIO NA R V OF BIRDS 



Keulemans's best manner, many rare species of Birds are figured, some of 

 them for the first time. 



All the works lately named have been purposely treated at some 

 length, since being costly they are not easily accessible. The few next 

 to be mentioned, being of smaller size (octavo), may be within reach of 

 more persons, and therefore can be passed over in a briefer fashion without 

 detriment. In many ways, however, they are nearly as important. 

 Swainson's Zoological Illustrations, in three volumes, containing 182 

 plates, whereof 70 represent Birds, appeared between 1820 and 1821, 

 and in 1829 a Second Series of the same was begun by him, which, 

 extending to another three volumes, contained 48 more plates of Birds 

 out of 136, and was completed in 1833. All the figures were drawn by 

 the author, who as an ornithological artist had no rival in his time. 

 Every plate is not beyond criticism, but his worst drawings shew more 

 knowledge of bird-life than do the best of his English or French con- 

 temporaries. A work of somewhat similar character, but one in which 

 the letterpress is of greater value, is the Centurie Zoologique of Lesson, a 

 single volume that though bearing the date 1830 on its title-page, is 

 believed to have been begun in 1829,^ and was certainly not finished 

 until 1831. It received the benefit of Isidore Geoff"roy St.-Hilaire's 

 assistance. Notwithstanding its name it only contains 80 plates, but of 

 them 42, all by Pretre and in his usual stiff style, represent Birds. 

 Concurrently with this volume appeared Lesson's Traite dJ Ornithologie, 

 which is dated 1831, and may perhaps be. here most conveniently 

 mentioned. Its professedly systematic form strictly relegates it to 

 another group of works, but the presence of an " Atlas " (also in octavo) 

 of 119 plates to some extent justifies its notice in this place. Between 

 1831 and 1834 the same author brought out, in continuation of his 

 Centurie, his Illustrations de Zoologie with 60 plates, 20 of which represent 

 Birds. In 1832 Kittlitz began to publish some Kupfertafeln zur Natur- 

 geschichte der Vogel, in which many new species are figured ; but the work 

 came to an end wjth its 36th plate in the following year. In 1845 

 Eeichenbach commenced with his Praktische Naturgeschichte der Vogel the 

 extraordinary series of illustrated publications which, under titles far too 

 numerous here to repeat, ended in or about 1855, and are commonly 

 known collectively as his Vollstandigste Naturgeschichte der Vogel.'^ Herein 

 are contained more than 900 coloured and more than 100 uncoloured 

 plates, which are crowded with the figures of Birds, a large proportion of 

 them reduced copies from other works, and especially those of Gould. 



It now behoves us to turn to general an^ particularly systematic 

 works in which plates, if they exist at all, form but an accessory to the 

 text. These need not detain us for long, since, however well some of 

 them may have been executed, regard being had to their epoch, and 

 whatever repute some of them may have achieved, they are, so far as 

 general information and especially classification is concerned, wholly 



1 III 1828 he had brought out, uuder the title oi Manuel d' Ornithologie, two handy 

 duodecimos which are very good of their kind. 



- Techuically speaking they are in quarto, but their size is so small that they may 

 be well spoken of here. In 1879 Dr. A. B. Meyer brought out an Index to them. 



