268 



THE ZOOLOGIST. 



NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 



A Handbook to the Birds of Burmah, including those found in the 

 adjoining State of Karennee. By Eugene W. Oates. 

 VoLI.,roy.8vo, pp.481. London: Porter, and Dulau& Co. 



1883. 



Few of our readers, especially if they be members of the 

 British Ornithologists' Union, require to be reminded that Mr. 

 Oates has long been engaged on this important work, which 

 a residence of some years in Pegu and a close study of the avi- 

 fauna of British Burmah have qualified him to undertake. On 

 his return to England two years since he brought back with him 

 a large collection of bird-skins, with voluminous field-notes 

 relating to all the species collected or observed ; and the revision 

 of all this material has resulted in the appearance of the first 

 volume of his projected work. 



In this volume 400 species are dealt with, or, in other words, 

 just half the number which have been ascertained to occur in 

 British Burmah and the State of Karennee. This estimate, it 

 may be observed, is considerably in excess of that set forth in 

 Blyth's ' Catalogue of the Mammals and Birds of Burmah,' pub- 

 lished in 1875 (wherein only 600 species of birds are included), 

 and shows the great advance which has been made since that date 

 in the study of Burmese Ornithology. This is due to the labours 

 of such excellent field-naturalists as Mr. Oates and his fellow- 

 workers in the same field, Mr. Davison, Major Lloyd, Major 

 Feilden, and Captain Wardlaw Ramsay. Undoubtedly very much 

 also is due to the co-operation of Mr. Allan Hume, whose Indian 

 journal, ' Stray Feathers,' has been so useful in diffusing know- 

 ledge and encouraging the study of Indian Ornithology not only 

 in India, but wherever attention is scientifically bestowed upon 

 this most attractive class of Vertebrates. 



We have only to turn to some of the annual volumes of 

 ' Stray Feathers ' and ' The Ibis ' to see how the above-named 

 naturalists, amongst others, have been gradually paving the way 

 for the preparation of a comprehensive work on the Birds of 

 Burmah ; and, in glancing over these volumes, we cannot help 

 noticing the name of one zealous Indian ornithologist, now no 





