192 REPORT — 1844. 



The ornithology of South Africa is now far advanced towards complete- 

 ness. The ' Oiseaux d' Afrique ' of Levaillant formed an admirable ground- 

 work for the study, and through the labours of subsequent naturalists, there 

 is probably little more to be added to our knowledge of the subject. 



The enterprising Burchell characterized sevei'al new species in his ' Travels 

 in South Africa,' and others collected by Sir J. Alexander were described by 

 Mr.Waterhouse in the Appendix to that traveller's ' Expedition of Discovery 

 into the Interior of Africa,' 1838. But we owe the largest additions to 

 South African ornithology to the energy of Dr. Andrew Smith, who, in 1832, 

 planned and executed an expedition of discovery into the remote interior, 

 northwards of the Cape colony. The zoological results of this expedition 

 were first published by Dr. Smith in the ' South African Quarterly Journal,' 

 a scientific periodical printed at Cape Town, and less known in Europe than 

 it deserves to be. They will also be found in a pamphlet entitled, ' Report 

 of an Expedition for Exploring Central Africa,' Cape Town, 1836. By the 

 liberality of Her Majesty's government Dr. Smith has since been enabled to 

 publish these new and precious materials, under the title of the ' Zoology of 

 South Africa,' in a style and form corresponding to the ' Zoology of the 

 Voyage of the Beagle ' and of the ' Sulphur,' and forming a standard work for 

 the library of the naturalist. 



Of the birds of Madagascar but few have been described since the days of 

 Brisson. M. I. GeofFroy St. Hilaire has made known some remarkable forms 

 from that island in Guerin's ' Magazin de Zoologie,' ' Comptes Rendus,' 

 1834, and 'Ann. des Sciences Naturelles,' ser. 2, vol. ix. 



North America. — The ornithology of North America (exclusive of Mexico) 

 is now more thoroughly investigated than that of any other quarter of the 

 globe, except Europe. The fascinating volumes of Wilson, and the invalua- 

 ble continuation of his work by Prince C. L. Bonaparte, contributed to pro- 

 duce in the United States a great taste for natural history, and for ornitho- 

 logy in particular. The works of Wilson and Bonaparte have been made 

 more accessible in this country by means of smaller editions, one of which 

 was edited by Sir W. Jardine, and another by Prof. Jameson. A small 

 edition has also been published in America by T. M. Brewer, Boston, 184-0. 

 Foremost among the successors of Wilson is the indefatigable Audubon, 

 whose life has been spent in studying nature in the forest, and in depicting 

 with pen and pencil her manifold beauties. The plates of his ' Birds of 

 America,' more than 400 in number, are the work of an enthusiastic na- 

 turalist and a skilful artist, though the designs are sometimes rather outre, 

 and their size is inconveniently gigantic. The latter evil is however reme- 

 died in a smaller edition with lithographic plates, which the author has re- 

 cently published in America. The text to these plates, entitled * Ornitholo- 

 gical Biography,' is an amusing as well as instructive work, though written in 

 a too inflated style. Mr. Audubon has since published a ' Synopsis of the 

 Birds of North America,' Edinburgh, 1839, containing condensed descrip- 

 tions of the genera and species, and forming a very useful manual of reference. 

 Several of the species of SylvicolincE had been unduly multiplied by Audu- 

 bon, and their synonymy has been rectified by Dr. T. M. Brewer in Silliman's 

 ' Journal of Science,' vol. xlii. 



Mr. Nuttall's ' Manual of the Ornithology of the United States,' published 

 at Cambridge, U.S., 1832-34, is a very convenient hand-book, containing a 

 compendium of the labours of Wilson, Bonaparte and Audubon, accompa- 

 nied with many original observations on the habits of the species. The work 

 is illustrated with woodcuts, which, though not equal to the works of Bewick, 

 are executed in a similar style and with considerable success. 



