ON THE PROGRESS AND PRESENT STATE OP ORNITHOLOGY. 181 



which other authors have proposed, and by carefully estimating the value of 

 their groups, reducing the less important ones to the rank of sub-genera, 

 they have endeavoured' to bring the standard of their generic groups to an 

 approximate state of equalitj'. 



As a mere catalogue of the birds of Europe, the most full and the most 

 accurate is that by the Prince of Caniuo, published in the 'Annali delle 

 Scienze Naturali di Bologna,' lSi'2. It is an improved edition of that con- 

 tained in the 'Geographical and Comparative List of the Birds of Europe 

 and North America,' London, 1838, containing all the additional results at 

 which the labours of its author have arrived. The names, synonyms, and 

 localities of the species are given with the greatest accuracy, and by rigidly 

 adhering to sound principles of nomenclature, the author has introduced a 

 series of scientific names which there is reason to hope will be permanently 

 adopted. 



There remain some recent works on the ornithology of Europe, which I 

 have not had an opportunity of consulting, such as Gloger's ' Naturgeschichte 

 der Vogel Europas,' and others. 



Britain. — Prior to 1828 the only complete hand-books of British ornitho- 

 logy were the valuable but somewhat obsolete ' Ornithological Dictionary' of 

 Montagu, and the fascinating, though not always accurate, ' British Birds' of 

 Bewick. In the above year appeared the ' British Animals' of Dr. Fleming, 

 a work which had no small share in introducing into this country the im- 

 proved systems of modern zoology. The genera adopted are for the most 

 part those of Cuvier's ' Regne Animal,' and the specific descriptions and re- 

 marks, though brief, are in general accurate. 



A somewhat similar work, the ' Manual of British Vertebrata' of the Rev. 

 L. Jenyns, is one of the best examples of a hand-book that I am acquainted 

 with, containing every fact of importance connected with each species, and 

 being totally fi'ee from superfluous verbiage. 



Of the magnificent plates to Mr. Selby's ' Illustrations of British Ornitho- 

 logy,' I shall speak elsewhere. The letter-press, in two volumes, 8vo, 1833, 

 is very complete in its details, which are founded in great measure on the 

 personal observations of the author, and the synonymy has been worked out 

 with very great attention. 



In 1836 Mr. T. C. Eyton published a ' History of the rarer British Birds.' 

 It is intended as a supplement to the work of Bewick, containing the species 

 which had been added to the British fauna since his time, and it is illustrated 

 with wood-cuts, into which the artist has infused much of the spirit of that 

 celebrated engraver. 



Meyer's 'Illustrations of British Birds' are a series of coloured plates very 

 neatly executed. 



It remains to notice three other works on British ornithology, the nearly 

 simultaneous appearance of which is an evidence of the popularity of the 

 subject. 



Professor M'Gillivray, in 1836, published an account of the 'Rapacious 

 Birds of Great Britain,' which was followed in 1837 by his ' History of British 

 Birds,' in 3 vols. The author, who is an active field naturalist, as well as an 

 expert anatomist, gives very full descriptions of the external and internal 

 structure, as well as of the habits, of the several species and groups. These 

 are interspersed with matter of a more miscellaneous nature in the style of 

 Audubon's ' Ornithological Biographies', which render the work an entertain- 

 ing though voluminous production. The classification is novel, but cannot 

 be regarded as successful, the terrestrial birds being classed in two large sec- 

 tions, one of which consists of the Fissirostral and Raptorial birds, and the 



