Recent Ornithological Publications, 515 



5. Swedish. 

 The lands visited by Linnaeus form classic gi'ound to the na- 

 turalist; and hence lierr Meves in 1867 was led to undertake 

 an " CElandska Resa," but with less general objects than his 

 great forerunner, since ornithology was the single aim of the in- 

 dustrious and intelligent conservator of the Stockholm Museum 

 in visiting (Eland. Other specialists, however, have been there 

 also — " Ibises " among the number; for whither have they not 

 wandered? but they do not seem to have found much to say for 

 themselves ; and indeed bread in which there is as much sand as 

 flour, and cold boiled eels with beans dressed in treacle, washed 

 down by a spirit in praise of which all that can be said is that it 

 is believed not to have been intentionally methylated, do not 

 make a cheering diet even for the most ardent ornithologist ; 

 and he would be scarcely inclined to renew his recollections of 

 such wretchedness by publishing his observations. This per- 

 haps was the cause of our friends' reticence ; but Herr Meves, 

 whom we sincerely hope may have fared bettei', is of stouter 

 heart, and his latest " Contribution to Sweden's Ornithology," 

 in the form of a " Report on a Journey to OEland and Scania " 

 made by the help of the Royal Scientific Academy of Stockholm 

 and printed in their ' CEfversigt ' for 1868, deserv-es sooie notice 

 here ; for though there is perhaps nothing of any remarkable 

 novelty among the author's observations, yet he is so safe a man 

 that we feel we at last possess a trustworthy account of the birds 

 of this not inconsiderable island, which was certainly not the 

 case so long as Lector Westerlund's list * was the only one to 

 be had. We have no wish to be hard on the errors of any body's 

 youth, and it is at least fifteen years since that gentleman pub- 

 lished his observations ; but one's confidence was rudely shaken 

 in the remainder by the erroneous assertion that Larus miautus 

 was commonly found and known by him to breed in the island. 



It is so long since we noticed (Ibis, 1865, p. S34) Professor 

 Sundevall's ' Swedish Birds 'f, that perhaps some of our readers 



* " CEfversigt af ffilaiuls Foglar och Amphibier." GiJtheborgs K. 

 Vetensk. och Vitterh. Samh. Handl. Ny Tidsfoljd, iii. (1853-54) 

 pp. 56-72. 



t Svenska Fosrlania med text af Professor Carl- J. Sundevall tecknade 



