BibliograpMcal Notice, 447 



Wliitely at Quongo^ November 18, 1887, and is now in tlie 

 British Museum. 



Immature male. Similar to the adult in its first plumage. 

 The first signs of the male plumage in the present bird are 

 the approach of orange-red feathers on the sides of the face, 

 throat, abdomen, under tail-coverts, and tail. 



The young male described is in tlie McConnell Collection, 

 and was collected in the Takutu Mountains. 



BlBLIOGllAPHICAL NOTICE. 



The Life of Alfred Newton. By A. P. R. \A^ollaston. . 



There must bo few ornithologists of any standing within the British 

 Empire who have not been waiting with what patience they might 

 possess for a 'Life of Alfred Newton' to appear. And now, at 

 last, after unavoidable delays, it has appeared, and Mr. A. E. B. 

 Wollaston must be heartily congratulated on having drawn for us, 

 out of the mass of facts and correspondence which it was his difficult 

 task to sift and condense, a life-like sketch of the man as he was, 

 and of the great intluence which he exerted for the good of orni- 

 thology. 



In his capacity as a Professor of Zoology in the University of 

 Cambridge, Alfred Newton could never be said to have reached the 

 high-water mark of academic fame ; but as an English ornithologist 

 he occupied an authoritative position which was not only somewhat 

 peculiar, but which it is safe to say will never be surpassed for 

 many a long day. 



In the comparatively narrow circles of ornithology he made 

 himself famous and ever memorable, first, by his ' Dictionary of 

 Birds' and its masterl}- Introduction, probably one of the best 

 things which has ever been written by an ornithologist ; secondly, 

 by his enormous correspondence and the unsparing, unselfish way 

 in which he imparted his knowledge of birds, bird-lore, and bird- 

 literature to those who sought his aid ; thirdly, by his Sunday 

 evening gtitheriugs in his college rooms at Magdalen ; and, fourthly, 

 by his whimsicalities. 



Newton did not suffer fools gladly, but once his friend you were 

 always his friend. Like all notable men he had his little ways, 

 his little peculiarities, and his little prejudices. It is probable that 

 these only endeared him the more to those who really knew him. 

 With his passing the curtain may be said to have been rung down 

 upon a stage across which i)a8sed a school of leisured men who may 

 be said to have revivified the study of ornithology in the British 

 Isles, and also by their indefatigable and enthusiastic etibrts laid a 

 sure and solid foundation upon which their younger and no less 

 enthusiastic followers of the more modern school are surely building 

 worthily and well. Of the older school, Newton may be said to 

 lia\ e been the inspiration and the duyen. Not only did he tr.ivcl 



