752 Oh'iiuary. 



XXXI. — Obituary. 



Mr. A. D. Millar, 



It is with much regret that we learn of tlie death, on ^lay 

 10th List, of Mr. Alfred Duchesne Millar, who has been a 

 Colonial Member of this Union since 1905. He was born 

 at Durban on July 30th, 1858, the son of the Hon. Mr. J. 

 Millar, member of the Natal Legislative Council. He was 

 educated in Natal, and spent the whole of his life there, 

 never, we believe, having visited England or even Europe. 



Millar took np the Law as a profession, and was well- 

 known in Durban, where he practised, as a man of the 

 strictest integrity and a very sound lawyer. For many 

 years he was Vice-President of the Natal Law Society. All 

 his spare time was devoted to sport and natural history. 

 He was an extraordinarily good observer, and it was a most 

 interesting experience to accompany him for a walk m the 

 " bush," when he would recognise and name every bird 

 and insect met with. He was also a very expert taxi- 

 dermist, and made excellent bird-skins ; his collection of 

 insects was a delight to look at, every specimen being most 

 neatly prepared and mounted. 



While engaged on the volumes on the ' Birds of South 

 Africa,^ the writer of this notice was in constant corres- 

 pondence with Millar, who helped him with the loan of many 

 rare birds which were not represented in the collection 

 of the South African Museum, and furnished him with 

 numerous notes on the life-histories of the birds of Natal. 



Millar published very little under his own name, and I can 

 find only two short papers of his in the Journal of the South 

 African Ornithologists' Union. These are entitled, " Orni- 

 thological Notes from Natal," and " On the Nidification of 

 the Striped Kingfisher {Halcyon chelicati)." He took a 

 great deal of interest in the Durl)au Museum, to which both 

 he and his brother Harold contributed largely. He was a 

 member of the Museum Committee from 1895, and its 



