9400 Notices of Books. 



temperature and every kind of vegetation ; and as a consequence, an 

 inevitable result, the greatest diversity exists among the feathered 

 tribes. In the Index to this work, as in the country itself, the most 

 strikingly English of hawks, sparrows, crows, martins, cuckoos, pipits 

 and herons, mingle with and jostle against the most tropical of vul- 

 tures, parrots, peacocks, monauls, adjutants, snake-birds, and frigate- 

 birds. When we use such titles as ' Birds of Australia,' ' Birds of New 

 Zealand,' ' Birds of Canada,' or ' Birds of Britain,' we convey an idea, 

 although perhaps not a very exact one, of the objects of which we are 

 speaking or writing; there is a peculiarity of characters common to 

 the entire contents of each of these avi-faunas ; but that the case is 

 entirely different with India the preceding observations will suffi- 

 ciently prove. On this account, on account of this extraordinary 

 diversity, India is the country in which a systematic arrangement of 

 birds can be studied with the greatest probability of attaining true and 

 satisfactory results. There are, however, some points which might, I 

 think, be brought prominently forward as worthy of especial notice ; 

 such, for instance, as the great abundance of gallinaceous birds, both 

 as regards species and individuals ; and such as the absence of the 

 Struthionidae, which form so prominent a feature in Australia, Africa 

 and South America. It was scarcely to be expected that an author, 

 giving his mind so thoroughly to life-history and specific differences, 

 should also enter on the wider field of generalities and statistics of 

 bird-distribution. In this, however, no one is so well qualified as 

 Mr. Jerdon : it is not to be imagined that the mere compiler or critic, 

 even though furnished with these abundant materials, can hereafter 

 arrive at conclusions with such certainty and accuracy as one who 

 has collected the information on the spot, — one, indeed, to whom 

 alone we still look for a well-digested summary of his own invaluable 

 labours. 



In conclusion, I can only express a sincere desire that my ornitho- 

 logical readers will not fail to possess themselves of a work so replete 

 with interest and instruction : I do not hesitate to assure them that 

 the purchase-money will be well expended, and will produce an ample 

 return in increasing their knowledge of Ornithology. 



Edward Newman. 



