ON THK PROGRESS AND PRESENT STATE OP ORNITHOLOGY. 187 



took up zoology as an afterthought, and as a relief from more important duties. 

 But Mr. Blyth went to India a ready-made zoologist, who had long devoted 

 himself to the study as a science, and was well acquainted with its literature 

 and its principles. Of the zeal and success with which he is now bringing 

 into order the heterogeneous materials of Indian zoology, the pages of the 

 ' Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal ' bear ample testimony. Besides 

 many detached memoirs, the monthly reports which Mr. Blyth presents to 

 the Asiatic Society contain a mass of interesting observations, and present 

 an example which the curators of European museums M'ould do well to imi- 

 tate. By preparing complete lists of the species comprised in each successive 

 accession to the museum, accompanied by critical remarks on the more novel 

 or interesting specimens, previous to their being incorporated into the general 

 collection, a number of important observations on structure, habits and geo- 

 graphical distribution are preserved from oblivion. In the midst of these 

 active and useful labours Mr, Blyth retains his interest in European science, 

 and occasionally sends communications of great value to the ' Annals of Na- 

 tural History.' 



While treating of Northern India I may mention the Catalogue of the 

 Birds of Assam, by Mr. M'Clelland, in the ' Zoological Proceedings,' 1839. 

 The author avoided the too common error of describing as new every species 

 which was unknown to him, by the judicious plan of attaching provisional 

 names and descriptions to such species, and then sending them to a highly 

 competent naturalist in England, Dr. Horsfield, to be revised prior to publi- 

 cation. 



The presidency of Madras can boast of a ' Journal of Literature and Sci- 

 ence,' and of zoologists, Messrs. Jerdon and Elliott, equal in activity and 

 scientific attainments to those of Bengal. The various memoirs of these gen- 

 tlemen on the characters and habits of the birds of Southern India are of high 

 value. Mr. Jerdon has commenced the publication of a series of ' Litho- 

 graphed Drawings of Indian Birds,' illustrating many rare species in a style 

 which does credit to the artists of India. 



A few species of Indian birds have been described by Professor Jameson 

 in the ' Memoirs of the Wernerian Society,' vol. vii., and several others are 

 figured in Royle's ' Botany of the Himalaya Mountains,' and in the zoological 

 part of Jacquemont's ' Voyage dans I'lnde,' Paris, 1843, the plates of which 

 are beautifully executed, Mr. Blyth has drawn up a notice of the species 

 received from the British officers in Tenasserim, and of the desiderata which 

 remain to be sought for in that province. The zoological portion of M, Be- 

 langer's ' Voyage aux Indes Orientales,' ISS^, contains descriptions and figures 

 of many of the birds of Pegu and Java, among which are several novelties. 

 Some of the species of continental India are also described in the same work. 

 Ornithological information will also be found in Delessert's ' Souvenirs d'un 

 Voyage dans I'lnde, 



Malasia Under this name may be included the peninsula of Malacca 



and the islands of the Indian archipelago, which taken collectively form a 

 well-marked zoological region, whose fauna, though for the most part agreeing 

 generically with that of continental India, presents an almost wholly distinct 

 series of species. The first contributor to the ornithology of this region was 

 Brisson, who described, with an exactness that may serve as a model even at 

 the present day, many new species of birds from the Philippine Islands, Son- 

 nerat described some more species in 1776, but scarcely anything has since 

 been added to our knowledge of the vertebrate zoology of that particular 

 group of islands ; and it is to be regretted that a considerable collection of 

 birds recently brought thence by Mr. Cuming, were dispersed before any 



