114 Bulletin of the British 



but little to the scientific literature of Ornithology, had done 

 much to popularize our science by articles in the ' Saturday 

 Review ' and in other periodicals. 



Turning now to the leading events in Ornithology, I will 

 first call attention to the approaching completion of the great 

 ' Catalogue of Birds ' founded on the unrivalled collection of 

 specimens in our National Museum at South Kensington. 

 Twenty-one volumes of this most important work are, I need 

 hardly remind you, already published. As we are informed 

 in the recent Parliamentary Report of the British Museum, 

 Vol. xxii. (Game Birds) by Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant, 

 Vol. xxiii. (Rails, Cranes, and Bustards) and Vol. xxiv. 

 (Waders) by Dr. R. B. Sharpe, and Vol, xxv. (Gulls and 

 Petrels) by Mr. H. Saunders and Mr. 0. Salvin, are now in 

 preparation. 



We may hope, therefore, in the course of another year to 

 see the " beginning of the end " of the Catalogue. I need 

 hardly allude to the importance of a full general index 

 to conclude the work, but we may be quite sure that 

 Dr. Giinther has already considered this subject. 



In other branches of ornithological literature the most 

 pleasing novelty that has appeared since the termination of 

 our last session is, I think, the first part of Mr. Rothschild's 

 work on the ' Avifauna of Laysan/ A short time ago the 

 very existence of Laysan and its neighbouring islands was 

 hardly known to us. Mr. Rothschild's active collector has 

 produced from these specks of rock a mass of material 

 sufficient to fill a large quarto volume under Mr. Rothschild's 

 elaborate treatment. This serves to prove, if further evi- 

 dence were necessary, the importance of " island-life '' and 

 to show that no islet, however small and however remote, 

 should be allowed to escape the minute investigation of the 

 inquiring naturalist. On a cognate subject I may express a 

 hope that the work of Messrs. Scott Wilson and Evans on 

 the ' Birds of the Hawaiian Archipelago ' will shortly be 

 brought to a conclusion. When this is done our knowledge 

 of the North-Pacific Avifauna may be fairly supposed to 

 have made a very considerable advance. 



Another work long expected, Mr. Dresser's volume upon 



