INTRODUCTION. 



The Catalogues which follow occupied the late Mr. Blyth during the 

 last three years of his life. Sir A. Phayre, K.C.S.I., now Governor of 

 Mauritius, had requested him to undertake a sketch of the Natural 

 History of Burma, which should form a chapter in a work on that 

 country then under preparation. The MS. when obtained from Miss 

 Blyth, after her brother's death, proved to constitute a more elaborate paper 

 than Sir Arthur's purpose required. Blyth, as was his wont, had gone into 

 the subject con amore, and had poured out all he knew of the Mammal and 

 Avi-fauna of Burma. An Introductory* Note, apparently not quite com- 

 pleted, accompanied the Catalogues, and reserving this as sufficient probably 

 for his object, Sir Arthur handed over the rest of the MS. to me, suggesting 

 that the pages of this Journal would be the most appropriate place for such 

 a paper. 



This suggestion was one in which I cordially concurred ; but the late Dr. 

 Stoliczka, the able editor of Part II. of the Journal, was far away in Kashgar, 

 and Dr. Anderson, of the Indian Museum, was in England. There might be a 

 difficulty, in their absence, in passing this roughly written MS. through 

 the press in Calcutta. Here, on the contrary, the most competent editorial 

 aid offered ; and having received the kindest assurances from Lord Valden, 

 Dr. Anderson, and Dr. Dobson, I addressed the President of the Society, 

 and proposed that the Catalogues should be published in London. This 

 proposal was at once assented to, with a due expression of thanks on the 

 part of the Council of the Society, both to Sir A. Phayre and to the gentle- 

 men just named, whose respective shares in this publication will be explained 

 in the sequel. 



More than one obituary notice of Blyth and his scientific labours, by 

 competent and kindly pens, has already appeared in the columns of those 

 Journals to which he had been in the habit of contributing. This seems 



