103 REPORT — 18/5. 



Mr. D. G. Elliot'a ' Birds of North America ' (IG), -whicii contains life-sized illus- 

 trations of many rare and previously xmfigured species, and Cooper's ' Birds of Cali- 

 fornia ' (17), devoted to an account of the birds of the Pacitic coast-region, which 

 has been edited by Prof. Baird from the late Mr. Cooper's MSS. Of the last-named 

 work, however, only the first volume is yet published. It will be thus seen that 

 we have ample means of acquiring the most recent information on the birds of the 

 Nearctic Region ; and in fact in no part of the world, except Europe itself, is our 

 knowledge of the endemic Avifauna so nearly approaching towards completion. 



c. Meptilcs and Batrachians of North America. — Holbrook's ' North American Rep- 

 tiles,' in five quarto volumes, published at Philadelphia in 1842-4 (18), contains 

 coloured figures of all the North-American Reptiles and Batrachians known to the 

 author, and is a trustworthy work. A large amoimt of information has been acquired 

 since that period, and published in the various " Railroad Reports" and periodicals by 

 Hallowell, Baird, Cope, and others. In 1853 Messrs. Baird and Girard published a 

 catalogue of North-American Serpents (19); and Prof. Agassiz devoted the 

 fir.st volume of his 'Contributions' (20) mainly to the Testudiuata of North 

 America. Prof. Biird tells me that Prof. Cope is now engaged in printing a 

 new catalogue of the Reptiles and Batrachians of North America, which will 

 contain an enumeration of all the species and an account of their geographical 

 distribution. ■ 



d. Fishes of North America. — On the Fishes of North America there is up to the 

 present time no one authority, and the inquirer must refer to the various works of 

 Cope (21), Agassiz (22), and Girard (23) for information. This, aided by the 

 copious references in Dr. Giinther's well-known Catalogue (24), hewill have little dif- 

 ficulty in obtaining, so far as it is available. But the "History of American Fishes" 

 is still to be written ; and I have no doubt that our energetic bretliren of the United 

 States will before long bring it to pass. 



2. Greenland. 



Of Greenland, which is undoubtedly part of the Nearctic Region, I have made a 

 separate section, in order to call special attention to the * Manual ' for the use of 

 the Ai'ctic Expedition of 1 875, prepared under the direction of the Ai-ctic Committee 

 of the Royal Society (2-)). A resum(5 of all that is yet known of the biology of 

 Greenland is included in this volume. I may call siaecial attention to the article 

 on the Birds by Prof. Newton, and on the Fi.shes by Dr. Liitken, both prepared 

 specially for this work. I am sure you will all join with me in thanking the present 

 Government for sending out this new Expedition so fully prepared in every way, 

 and in hoping that large additions may be made to the store of information already 

 accumulated in the ' Manual.' 



V. THE NEOTROPICAL REGION. 



The Neotropical Region is, I suppose, on the whole the richest in animal life of 

 any of the principal divisions of the earth's surface*. Much work has been done in 

 it as I'egards every branch of zoology of late years ; and I must confine myself to 

 noticing the most recent and most important of the contributions to this branclr of 

 knowledge. 



I believe the following to be altogether the most natural subdivisions of this Region, 

 which are nearly as they are set forth in Hr. v. Pelzeln's ' Ornithology of Brazil.' 



1. The Central-American Suhref/ion, from Southern Mexico to Panama. 



2. The Andean or Columhiati Subrer/ion, from Trinidad and Venezuela, along the 

 chain of the Andes, through Columbia, Ecuador, and Pern, down to Bolivia. 



3. The Amazonian Subrcr/ion, embracing the whole watershed of the Orinoco 

 and Amazons up to the hills, and including also the highlands of Guiana. 



* A general sketch of the Mammal-life of this Region is given in my article on the 

 Mammals of South America, in the 'Quarterly Journal of Science' for 18G.5 (1). A 

 systematic list of all the species of birds of the Neotropical Region is given in Sclater 

 and Salvin's ' Nomenclator Avium Neotropicalium,' London, 1873 (2). 



