384 Dr. G. Hartlaub on the OrnitJioloyy of Madagascar. 



operation however did not in general extend far beyond the 

 narrow limits of two or three French possessions on the east 

 coast. And in truth everything combines to impede, or rather 

 to make almost impossible, for a long time to come, any material 

 extension of this knowledge. A sad experience (to adopt the 

 words of a recent author, Eugene de Frobcrville) has taught us 

 that a fearful scourge rules over the sea- coast of Madagascar, and 

 that the European who thirsts for knowledge has but slight hope 

 of escaping the fatal attacks of the coast- fever, which makes the 

 island equally inaccessible to the peaceable researches of science 

 and to the invasions of war. Beyond this pestiferous coast-line, 

 the traveller has to encounter a suspicious and bloodthirsty 

 government which takes every means to resist his progress. All 

 efforts to overcome these constant and powerful obstacles have 

 hitherto been ineffectual ; travellers the most highly endowed in 

 mind and body have been defeated by them, and as Froberville 

 well observes, the Marsden or Kaffles of Madagascar is as yet 

 unborn. 



In the hope of conferring a service upon ornithologists, we 

 here endeavour to collect together all that is known on the very 

 peculiar and interesting bird-fauna of the greatest island of East 

 Africa. The oldest information on the birds of Madagascar 

 occurs in Flacourt's ' Histoire de la grande isle Madagascar,' 

 published at Paris in 1661. The 40th chapter of this, in many 

 respects valuable, work contains a list of nearly 60 species of 

 birds which inhabit that island. Unfortunately however we learn 

 little more of them than their Madagascar names. Some of them 

 are indeed described in a manner which, though short, is recog- 

 nizable, others however not at all, or in a way which makes all 

 identification impossible. Among the very small figures in the 

 copper plates may be recognized certain South African species, 

 as the Cape penguin, and, very evidently, Grus pavonia. Under 

 the head of " Night Birds " Bats are included. We believe we 

 are able to identify with certainty about 16 species of Flacourt's 

 list, and we can only estimate its scientific value at a very low 

 rate. Our next source of imformation is on the contrary one of 

 high merit. Brisson describes in his ^ Ornithologie ' 38 birds 

 from Madagascar, and with that well-known completeness and 

 accuracy which was peculiar to him above all the zoological wi'iters 

 of his day. The greater number of these species were sent by 

 the learned traveller Poivre to Reaumur's collection ; a portion 

 of these are still extant in the National IVIuseum of the Jardin 

 des PlanteSy another portion have apparently been lost, and of 

 some species our knowledge is wholly confined to the Brissonian 

 description. This is the case, among others, with the Merula 

 madagascariensis anrea, with Liiscinia madagascariensisj and 



