VI PREFACE. 



Forbes entered upon the duties of his office with characteristic 

 energy ; and during the three following sessions of the Zoological 

 Society brought before the scientific meetings a series of most 

 interesting and valuable communications, mainly derived from his 

 studies of the animals that came under his examination. He 

 had a happy knack of presenting abstruse points of anatomy in an 

 easily comprehensible form, and especially directed himself to the 

 investigation of the muscular structure and voice-organs of birds, in 

 continuation of the researches of his predecessor Garrod on the 

 same subjects. 



In the summer of 1880 Forbes made a short excursion to the 

 province of Pernambuco, Brazil, of which he published an account 

 in ' The Ibis ' for 1881 ; and in the following year passed his 

 holiday in the United States, in order to make the acquaintance 

 of his American brethren in science and their collections. In 

 July 1882 he left England on what promised to -be a splendid 

 opportunity of visiting the eastern tropics with every advantage 

 and without risk. Detained at Shonga (a station some 400 miles 

 up the Niger, below Rabba) by the breaking-down of his commu- 

 nications, Forbes fell a victim to dysentery, and died on the 14th of 

 January, 1883, thus adding another name to the long list of 

 martyrs to science in the deservedly dreaded climate of Western 

 Africa. 



Forbes was carefully nursed, during his last illness, by Mr. 

 Greenshields, agent of the United African Company at Shonga. 

 His remains, deposited at first within the compound of the 

 factory at Shonga, were subsequently disinterred under the kind 

 care of the same excellent friend and brought to England, and 

 buried on April 1st, 1884, in the quiet churchyard of West 

 Wickham in Kent, in the presence of his sorrowing relatives 

 and friends. Forbes's family have specially requested me also to 

 mention the name of Mr. M'Intosh, Manager of the United 

 African Company, as having most kindly assisted them in the 

 somewhat difficult arrangements necessary for this purpose. 



At a meeting of the Zoological Club (of which Forbes had been 



