472 Letters, Extracts, Notices, §c. 



Academy of Sciences of Vienna to Northern Brazil was 

 noticed, allow me to offer a few remarks upon the 

 subject. The journey of the expedition in the three 

 Brazilian Slates of Bahia, Piauhy, and Maranhfio, together 

 with the stay at Para, occupied about eight months, from 

 the middle of February to the middle of October 1903. 

 The route selected was through the following places, in each 

 of which a more or less lengthened stay was contemplated — 

 Bahia, Zoazeiro on the river S. Francisco, Barra do Rio 

 Grande, Santa Rita, the Lake of Paranagua, S. Antonio de 

 (iilboez, Santa Philomena, and, lastly, down the Rio Parahyba 

 to its mouth. This long journey approaches the route of 

 the celebrated traveller Spix in 1818 in two points only, 

 and it was the leading idea of our expedition to attempt the 

 solution of certain problems in the geographical distribution 

 of animals in a district in which, for so long a period, little 

 or nothing had been observed or collected. The weather 

 and climate were favourable during the whole of our 

 journey, and the people of the country traversed, as well as 

 our personal staff, exerted themselves in a most satisfactory 

 way to assist us in our work. 



The extraordinarily dry and uniform " Catinga "-forest, 

 which occupies the greater part of this extensive area, is not 

 specially rich in birds. The most numerous examples of 

 tiiis class of animal life are members of the Neotropical 

 families Tyrannidae, Dendrocolaptidoe, and Formicariidae, 

 and to these groups our attention Mas specially directed. 

 Of Psittaci, again, we obtained specimens of eight species, 

 and of the Cracidaj and Tinamidae examples of about 

 eight species each in this district, without intruding into the 

 original forest-region. We were particularly fortunate in 

 our collection of the Raptores of the " Catinga "-region. 



Our journey ended in Para, where the members of the 

 expedition received a most hearty welcome and hospitable 

 reception from Dr. Goeldi, the Director, and the other 

 members of the scientific staff of the Para Museum. I hope 

 and believe that the collections made during this expedition 

 will receive careful examination, and that the result will 



