536 Mr. P. L. Sclater 07i the Geographical 



The only remaining work on this subject to which I think 

 it necessary to call attention on the present occasion is 

 Gould's 'Birds of New Guinea^ (80). Left incomplete by 

 its author at the time of his death, this splendid series of 

 illustrations was brought to a conclusion in 1888 by Dr. R. 

 Bowdler Sharpe. It is^ of course, of enormous value as fur- 

 nishing us with a series of accurate figures of about 300 species 

 of Papuan birds, but in point of scientific merit must yield 

 the palm to Salvadori's more complete publication. 



2. The Australian Suhregion. 

 Gould's * Birds of Australia' (81) and the Supplement 

 thereto, published in 1869 (82), are still our principal au- 

 thority on the birds of this subregion, and are likely to 

 long remain so. Slight additions are continually being made 

 to the Australian list, principally by Mr. E. P. Ramsay, of the 

 Australian Museum, Sydney, and other local workers on the 

 Australian Ornis. Mr. Ramsay's ' Tabular List of Australian 

 Birds' (83), published in 1888, enumerates 760 species, 

 showing in all 88 additions to those recognized by Gould in 

 his ' Handbook.' 



3. The Muoriun Suhregion. 

 Of the peculiar ornis of New Zealand we are fortunate in 

 having an excellent account in the second edition of Sir W. 

 L. Buller's 'History of the Birds of New Zealand' (84), 

 recently completed in two volumes. In this elaborate work 

 we have not only full particulars of every species of New- 

 Zealand bird, but also life-like illustrations of them prepared 

 by one of our leading ornithological artists. I do not say 

 that the subject is absolutely exhausted, but it will be 

 difficult indeed just at present to make any considerable 

 additions to it. 



4. The Pacific Suhregion. 

 Many stray papers have been published on the birds of 

 the Pacific Islands during the past fifteen years, but except 



