XXXIV 



Gochnan, F. DuCane. Natural History of the Azores or Western Islands. 1 vol. 8vo. London, 

 1870. 



Vernon Harcourt, E. Notes on the Ornithology of Madeira. (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1855, 

 pp. 430-438.) 



Webb, P. B., et Bertlielot, S. Histoire Naturelle des lies Canaries. 4to. Paris, 1835-1850. 



In the foregoing list I have given, as concisely as I can, the titles of such works as I believe 

 will be found of use to students of Western Palsearctic Ornithology, omitting such as appear to 

 me to be of but little value for reference. Amongst those which I have found most useful for 

 general reference I may enumerate the following, viz.: — Great Britain. Macgillivray's 'British 

 Birds,' which will always rank high as containing such excellent field-notes ; Yarrell's ' British 

 Birds,' which is perhaps the best work of reference on British ornithology, the fourth edition 

 by Professor Newton being especially reliable, and indeed, when completed, it will be by far 

 the best work on our avifauna. Gould's ' Birds of Great Britain ' certainly stands preeminent 

 as far as the magnificent illustrations are concerned ; but the letterpress is far from being equal 

 to the plates. 



On European ornithology generally, the most useful handbook is Degland and Gerbe's 

 ' Ornithologie Europeenne,' which I have found better for reference than Fritsch's ' Vogel 

 Europa's,' though the latter is a cheap and useful work. Gould's ' Birds of Europe ' contains 

 excellent illustrations ; but the letterpress is now far behind the times, and it is rather heavy 

 and cumbersome, as well as expensive. For Scandinavia — Collett's ' Remarks on the Ornithology 

 of Northern Norway,' Collin's ' Skandinaviens Fugle,' and Nilsson's ' Skandinavisk Fauna ' are 

 all worthy of commendation ; but Professor Sundevall's ' Svenska Foglarne ' is, so far as it goes, 

 certainly the best work on the birds of Sweden ; but unfortunately it was incomplete when he 

 died, and will probably never be completed. Russia appears sadly wanting in a good general 

 work on the avifauna of that vast empire, and I know of no single work that I can recommend, 

 although there are, as will be seen by the foregoing list, not a few local catalogues ; but Finland 

 can boast of a very excellent little work, ' Finland's Foglar,' the first volume of which was written 

 by my friend the late Magnus von Wright, and the second volume (published after his death) 

 by Palmgren. 



But the best and most reliable work on continental European ornithology is undoubtedly 

 Naumann's ' Naturgeschichte der Vogel Deutschlands,' a work of which I cannot speak in too 

 high terms, and one which every ornithologist who can read German should possess. Fallon's 

 ' Oiseaux de la Belgique ' is a tolerably useful little book on Belgian ornithology ; and Schlegel's 

 ' Vogels van Nederland ' is a most reliable work on the birds of Holland, and has excellent illus- 

 trations. As regards French ornithology there are many useful works on local natural history ; 

 but, excepting Degland and Gerbe's ' Ornithologie Europeenne,' and Vieillot's ' Faune Francaise,' 

 there is no work that treats of the birds of France as a whole ; and the latter of these is now 

 rather out of date. Bailly's ' Ornithologie de la Suisse ' must also be cited here as an almost 

 indispensable work of reference. Spain and Portugal both lack a good general work on their 

 ornithology ; but Colonel Irby's ' Ornithology of the Straits of Gibraltar ' gives first-rate data 



