192 Obituary. [Ibis, 



The volumes dealing with the birds are four in number — 

 one of text and three of plates ; they were written by Prof. 

 Alphonse Milne- Edwards and M. Grandidier in collaboration, 

 and form a most complete account, splendidly illustrated, of 

 the strange avifauna of that island. They were published 

 at intervals between 1876 and 1885. 



M. Grandidier was a member of the Academy of Sciences 

 since 1885, was President of the Paris Geographical Society 

 from 1901 to 1905, and received their Gold Medal in 1872. 

 Only so recently as last July he was made Commander of 

 the Legion of Honour. 



John Macouk. 



We regret that we have omitted to chronicle the death 

 of Prof. John Macoun^ who has been a Colonial Member of 

 the Union since 1905. It occurred at Sidney, Vancouver 

 Island, British Columbia, on 18 July, 1920, when he was a 

 little over eighty-eight years old. 



Professor Macoun was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1832. 

 and emigrated to Canada in 1850. For some years he taught 

 school and was at one time professor of natural sciences 

 at Albert College, Belleville, Ontario. In 1882 he was 

 appointed naturalist to the Geological Survey of Canada and 

 held that post until his death, though he had retired from 

 active work in connection with the position some eight years 

 previously and had settled in Vancouver Island. 



Prof. Macoun, while best known as a botanist, was one 

 of the old school of naturalists whose labours embraced the 

 whole field of natural history for his province. During his 

 many journeys, which embraced every part of the Dominion 

 from the Yukon to Nova Scotia, he gathered great collec- 

 tions of animals and plants, now housed in tlie National 

 Museum and the National Herbarium at Ottawa. His 

 l)est-known work in Ornitliology is his ' Catalogue of 

 Canadian Birds ' published in 1900-1901, and reviewed 

 in 'The Ibis' (1901, p. 505; 1901, p. 157 ; 1905, p. 281). 

 Of this a French translation was issued in 191G, but unfor- 

 tunately without any additional information. 



