EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS. 



country ; yet this also is rapidly diminisMng. * In some 

 districts,' he says, ' where in former years they were exces- 

 sively abundant, their cry is now seldom or never heard ; ' 

 and though he adds that * in the wooded parts of the in- 

 terior they are as plentiful as ever,' it requires no prophetic 

 eye to see that, with the extension of settlement, the Kaka 



must succumb 



" Here we must pause. Mr. BuUer's book is in every 

 way worthy of its subject; and we trust that we have 

 ■■ shown that the subject is worthy of close attention- 

 whether we regard the various forms of .N'ew-Zealand 

 birds from the point of view of their intrinsic interest, or 

 from that of so many being now on the verge of extinc- 

 tion. It is easy to be wise after the event, and ornitholo- 

 gists at home do not in these days look back affectionately 

 towards their predecessors who have let so many species 

 pass away without tracing the process of extermination." 

 ■Nature (July 18, 1872). 



'* New Zealand is especially fortunate in the possession 

 of many admirable Naturalists, including geologists, bota- 

 nists, and zoologists. One of the latter (born and bred in 

 the colony), a gentleman who has made many zoological 

 contributions to the ' Transactions of the New-Zealand 

 Institute,' and whose acquirements, more especially as an 

 ornithologist, have been recognized by his having had con- 

 ferred upon him the Degree of Doctor of Science, as well 

 as the Fellowship of the Linnean, Geological, Royal Geo- 

 graphical, and Zoological Societies, is at present in London 

 passing through the press a magnificent work on the 

 Birds of New Zealand, one that cannot fail to bring pro- 

 minently into notice the present aspects of scientific cul- 

 ture in that colony." — Constitutional (Nov. 18, 1872). 



*' It is not often that thorough practical knowledge, both 

 in the field and at home, is possessed by the author of a 

 work like the present; but Dr. Bullcr has studied his sub- 

 ject in both aspects, and the value of his book is clearly 

 enhanced thereby. Moreover he has set about his task 

 in a way that shows us that he thoroughly appreciates the 

 difficulties surrounding it. His personal acquaintance with 

 the birds themselves has been followed up by a critical and 

 impartial investigation of the writings of previous authors ; 

 and, lastly, an independent examination of many of the 

 typical specimens in England has placed him in a position 

 to speak with great precision upon intricate points of 

 synonymy. The consequences to many of the indigenous 

 birds of New Zealand, arising out of its colonization by 

 Europeans seem likely to be so disastrous, that it is high 

 time that authentic histories of them should be put on 

 record before they finally disappear. Dr. Buller's work, 

 therefore, supplies what might have proved a serious omis- 

 sion in ornithological literature. It is not too late to write 

 a full life-history of those New-Zealand birds whose num- 



bers are rapidly diminishing ; but a few years hence it is 

 more than probable such a task could not be accomplished. 

 Though the present active causes may be novel, the rapid 

 destruction of the indigenous fauna of New Zealand dates 

 back to far beyond historic times ; for though Maori tradi- 

 tion may give an approximately recent time when the Moa 

 still survived, numbers of other similar forms have suc- 

 cumbed whose remains are now found in a semi -fossilized 

 state, and of these we have not another vestige of record. 

 They, like the Dodo and the Solitaire, seem to have fallen 

 victims to some enemy suddenly introduced into their do- 

 main, against which they were powerless to make success- 

 ful resistance. The remains of these extinct birds have 

 furnished the materials for Prof. Owen's series of exhaus- 

 tive memoirs on Dinornis and its allies. Dr. Buller's will 

 form a fit companion work, and thus provide us with a very 

 complete record of the birds of New Zealand both past and 

 present." — The Ibis, 



4 



" The first work professing to give a complete account of 

 the ornithology of New Zealand must needs be an impor- 

 tant one. This ornithic fauna presents so many points of 

 general biological interest, that only those of the islands 



east of Africa can be compared with it It 



was high time that a complete account of this fauna should 

 be given by a competent naturalist. Some of the most 

 interesting forms have already become almost, if not quite, 

 extinct ; others are fast expiring, or obliged to accommo- 

 date themselves to the changed conditions of the country. 



We do not say that the majority of the 



native species will not survive, though in diminished num- 

 bers of individuals ; but it is quite probable that some of 

 these survivors will be preserved by accommodating them- 

 selves to the new state of things, modifying in a more or 

 less perceptible manner their nidification, food, or some 

 other part of their mode of life : and if such changes 

 should occur, the student of a future generation will find 

 in Dr. Buller's work the means of comparing the birds of 



his time with those of the past The author 



has shown unremitting care in adducing all the information 

 that can possibly throw light on his subject ; he has spared 

 no pains in illustrating it in the most perfect manner ; and 

 the result is that a most valuable work is placed before the 

 student of ornithology, which will offer to every lover of 

 natural history real and permanent enjoyment, and which, 

 by its attractive form, will allure many a young man in that 

 colony from the pursuit of other branches into the camp of 

 ornithology." — Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 



" A mind may be so imbued with the views of Darwin 

 as to be blind to the evidence of his eyesight, deaf to the 

 logic of facts ; but there is no proof that Dr. Buller is 

 either; he is evidently friendly to Darwin's celebrated 



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