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2 I N T R O D U C T I O N. 



in 1849, appeared Mr. Blyth's ' Catalogue of the Birds in the Museum of the Asiatic Society,' wherein were 

 incorporated the results of all his previous labours, as well as those of Jerdon. Another writer, Lord 

 Arthur Hay, in future to be better known to the scientific world after his accession to the titles of Viscount 

 Walden and Marquis of Tweeddale, had also written one or two small papers on Indian Birds ; and Mr. Gould 

 had himself published his illustrated folio work entitled " A Century of Birds from the Himalaya 

 Mountains." A great change, however, had taken place in our knowledge of Himalayan birds since the day 

 when it was considered of importance to figure one hundred species from this part of India. This was due 

 to the exertions of Mr. B. H. Hodgson, the British Resident in Nepal, who as early as the year 1836 

 commenced to publish papers in which he introduced to the notice of naturalists some animals of the 

 greatest interest from the bill regions of Nepal. His enormous collections were presented by him to the 

 British Museum in 1843 and 1845, together with a complete set of native drawings, which are remarkable for 

 their accuracy and give many details of the anatomy of the species figured. In 1844 Mr. Hockson 

 gave a complete catalogue of the Birds of Nepal in Gray's 'Zoological Miscellany,' founded on the above- 

 named drawings and his own ample collections. In 1849 he again presented the British Museum with a 

 collection of animals, and gave largely to the museums of other countries also, Blyth's 'Catalogue' 

 testifying to his munificence as regards Calcutta. On his return to India his subsequent collections were 

 given to the Indian Museum at Fife House ; but after the closing of that establishment he again presented a 

 large number of specimens to the British Museum, in 1859. Two lists of Mr. Hodgson's donations have 

 been published by the Trustees of the last-named institution — one in 1846, and another in 1863. 



In commencing to write the ' Birds of Asia,' Mr. Gould followed the majority of naturalists in 

 treating the continent according to its political boundaries. In those days it must be remembered that 

 Dr. Sclater had not revolutionized the study of ornithology by his division of the earth into natural 

 zoo-geographical regions, nor had Mr. Wallace arisen to point out to us the demarcation between the Indo- 

 Malayan and Austro-Malayan subregions, while the existence of a Mediterraneo-Persic subregion had not 

 been forced upon the attention of ornithologists. We have not space here to discuss in detail the zoo- 

 geographical divisions of the continent of Asia; but the natural divisions into which it is partitioned 

 may be studied to advantage in two works— Mr. Wallace's 'Geographical Distribution of Animals,' and 

 Captain Elwes's paper entitled " On the Geographical Distribution of Asiatic Birds," published in the 

 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for 1873. 



It will therefore be understood that, when the late Mr. Gould commenced his work, the area which 



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