432 Rev. A. C. Smith on the Birds of Portugal. 



Avifauna which, if properly investigated, would yield a rich 

 return to repay the exertions of the inquirer. 



Moreover it is not alone in rare species that the ornithologist 

 would expect to reap a valuable harvest, but in the differences 

 and shades of colour, and in the variation of size which even the 

 commoner birds offer in different localities, and more especially 

 under different climates, that he would look for interesting re- 

 sults in this extreme south-western corner of Europe ; and to this 

 point my particular attention was directed before I set out on 

 my journey. 



Bearing this in mind, and resolved not to overlook the 

 commonest species, I took every opportunity during my few 

 weeks' tour in Portugal to examine all the birds which came in 

 my way. To this end I wandered through plains and forests, 

 by banks of rivers, and amidst the rocks and mountains, armed 

 with double-barrelled gun and double field-glass — the latter, I 

 take leave to add, quite as serviceable to the student in ornitho- 

 logy as the former. I also frequented the markets in Lisbon 

 and other towns every day at early morning, and overhauled all 

 the feathered bouquets composed of the smaller birds of all ranks 

 and orders, which seem so attractive to continental epicures 

 generally. Moreover I visited frequently the excellent Museum 

 at Lisbon, and the indifferent one at Coimbra, which, so far as I 

 can ascertain, comprehend all the natural-history collections in 

 the country ; and there I carefully examined, verified, and cata- 

 logued every specimen asserted to have been captured in Por- 

 tugal. Lastly, I was fortunate in meeting with many intelligent 

 men, who were not only willing to impart valuable information, 

 but were able to do so in a language which I could understand : 

 amongst these I must especially mention Dr. Suche and Pro- 

 fessor Barboza du Bocage, — the former a fellow-labourer of 

 Vigors, an experienced collector and preserver of some of the 

 larger mammals and reptiles in South America; the latter the 

 scientific and indefatigable director of the Museum at Lisbon, 

 with whom I had many pleasant interviews, and who pointed out 

 to me the more remarkable objects in the national collection, 

 which (thanks to his exertions) is already assuming considerable 

 importance, and must in the course of a few years, if the present 



