6o Obituary, [,E-,^ 



calling many years for Mr. Henry Young, then in Little Collins- 

 street, Melbourne. He joined the Australian Museum, Sydney, in 

 December, 1886, when he was engaged temporarily to write a 

 " Catalogue " of Australian eggs (No. 12 of the Australian Museum), 

 which appeared in 1889. In August, 1891, Mr. North was per- 

 manently appointed Assistant in Ornithology, a position he held 

 till his death. 



Mr. North contributed to various scientific periodicals, including 

 the "Records" of his own institution, but his greatest work was 

 the " Special Catalogue No. i," being the second edition of 

 " Catalogue No. 12," entirely rewritten, with additions, and styled 

 "Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Austraha and 

 Tasmania," in four volumes, quarto size, and published by the 

 trustees, under Mr. R. Etheridge, J. P., curator The work was 

 adorned with excellent type-blocks of many birds, while the egg 

 illustrations were by process photography, a small edition being 

 hand-coloured. Although an inordinate length of time was taken 

 in the publication of the work, it reflected much laborious toil of 

 a painstaking kind by the author, ana was wonderfully accurate. 

 Il was what was omitted that disappointed students. Mr. North 

 had a dread of amateur contemporary writers, and, rather than 

 incorporate anything that he deemed doubtful, ignored the authors 

 altogether. This, however, did not detract from his personal work, 

 which was much, in the interests of Australian ornithology. 



For his ornithological attainments Mr. North was elected a 

 Colonial Member of the British Ornithologists' Union — an honour 

 which can only be held by ten persons at one time in the British 

 Overseas Dominions. He was also a Corresponding Fellow of the 

 American Ornithologists' Union. Mr. North did not associate 

 himself with the Australasian Union, probably because for many 

 years his health was extremely delicate, and he had not strength 

 to attend regularly at his Museum, or to do much work. 



Mr. North was an original member of the Field Naturalists' Club 

 of Victoria, and remained a member for over 30 years. In 

 boyhood's days his first field outings were along the foreshore of 

 the bay between Sandridge (now Port Melbourne) and St. Kilda, 

 where Red-capped Dottrels used to nest on the sand and "Tangs" 

 (Ephthianura) bred in the short Ricinocarpus bushes, while many 

 first bird-observing lessons were gained among the manna gums 

 and by the rush-covered natural lagoon which teemed with water- 

 fowl in Albert Park. 



Mr. North, in his day, was a swift athlete, and one occasion, 

 with a few yards handicap, he beat L. L. Mount, the Canadian 

 champion. Mr. North was younger brother to Bendigo's suc- 

 cessful citizen, Mr. H. Y. North. 



