344 BihliograpMcal Notices. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 



A History of the Birds of Ceylon. 

 By Captain W. Vincent Legge, U.A. London, 1880. 4to. 



This work, of which the first part was issued in November 1878, has 

 been completed by the publication of part 3, in September 1880. It 

 consists of nearly 1300 closely printed pages in 4to, and is illus- 

 trated by 34 coloured plates, a map, and several woodcuts. All the 

 leisure time which the author could spare from his military duties 

 during a residence of eight years and a half in Ceylon, and the in- 

 cessant labour of three other years after his return to England, 

 were devoted to its preparation. 



Yet, voluminous as the work is, it includes accounts of 371 

 species only of the fauna of Ceylon ; and it is therefore evident that 

 the author had a great deal to say upon his subject, and that in its 

 treatment he relied rather on his eye and pen than on the skill of 

 his artist. In fact, the book bears on every page the stamp of being 

 written by a man who combined the method of the systematic 

 student with the experience of the field-naturalist. The author's 

 object was not only to produce a scientific account of the birds of 

 the island, but to write it in such a manner as to render its contents 

 acceptable to the educated class of the inhabitants, and to inspire 

 them with a taste for the study of birds. In both respects he has 

 succeeded so well that, without hesitation, we can commend the 

 work as a pattern to all faunistic workers. The plates belong to 

 the best productions of M. Keulemans, and represent the species 

 peculiar to the island. 



As regards the arrangement of the text, the article on each bird 

 is composed of six parts, viz. synonymy, description, observations, 

 geographical distribution, habits, and nidifi cation. The descrip- 

 tions go considerably beyond the limits of a diagnosis, yet are as 

 concise and generalized as the variations of plumage of the species 

 will admit. The " observations" are given chiefly for the benefit of 

 the local student, and furnish collateral information as to continental 

 specimens of the same species, or as to other species representing 

 the Ceylonese types in India or elsewhere. The geographical dis- 

 tribution is worked out in a very elaborate manner, and must have 

 cost the author immense labour, on account of the number of works 

 which he had to consult critically. The distribution within the 

 island, the habits, and nidification are based chiefly upon the author's 

 own observations. Onl}^ owing to the difiiculty of observing the 

 birds on their nests, and of obtaining reliable information, he has 

 had to avail himself of the assistance gathered from A. Hume's 

 works on Indian oology, though he obtained many original 

 notes from a valued correspondent, Mr. Parker. As regards that 

 incubus of every ornithological work, the synonymy, the author, 

 very properly, has limited his references to the most important pub- 

 lications, paying particular attention to those which contain local 

 information on the occurrence of a species in Ceylon. Eor the 

 author found Ceylonese ornithology not an entirely uncultivated 



