19 1 7-] the Birds of Yemen. 131 



commas in tlie list of species. Finally, we are indebted to 

 the publishers, Messrs. Macmillan & Co., for permission to 

 copy two of the maps in that work which show the route 

 traversed and the general situation of Yemen (Plate III). 



Note on the History of Arabian Ornithology. 



The earliest zoological explorer of Yemen was Pehr 

 Forskal (1736-1763), a young Danish naturalist, and a 

 pupil of Linnaeus. He accompanied the celebrated traveller 

 Carsten Niebuhr on his expedition to the east in 1761. 

 After visiting Egypt they sailed down the Red Sea to 

 Jiddah and Loheia, whence they travelled inland to various 

 l)laces in the interior of Yemen. Forskal unfortunately 

 died at Yerim, on the road from Mokha to Sanaa, in 1763. 

 After his return to Europe, Niebuhr edited his young 

 companion's manuscript account of his collections. These 

 consisted largely of plants and insects, but three birds from 

 Yemen are included as well as others from other countries — 

 the Bee-eater, the Hornbill, and the Kingfisher, examples 

 of all of which are contained in Bury's collection. 



The next naturalists to visit these regions were two young 

 Germans, F. W. Hemprich and C. G. Ehrenberg. They did 

 not apparently penetrate into the intei'ior of Arabia, but 

 visited the coast ports. Hemprich, like Forskal, sacrificed 

 his life to his enthusiasm. He fell ill at .liddah, and died 

 in 1825 at Massowah, on the African coast of the Red Sea. 

 In this case also the survivor, Ehrenberg, edited his com- 

 panion's manuscripts under the title of ' Symbolae Physicse,' 

 the portion dealing with the birds being published between 

 1828 and 1833. Ehrenberg also published an incomplete 

 account of his travels under the title 'Naturgeschichtliche 

 Reisen durch Nord-Afrika und West-Asien* (Berlin, 1828). 



Riippell, well-known for his travels in north-east Africa, 

 also visited Arabia Petrsea and some of the towns alonjr 

 the Red Sea coast, including Jiddah, "where he apparently 

 did some collecting, as some of his types came from there. 

 He does not seem, however, to have penetrated into the 



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