28 HAWAIIAN BIRDS. 



ornithology, since that year witnessed the inception of the labors 

 of Mr. Wilson, an enterprising young Englishman, whose work 

 in the Islahds, completed ■ in 1890, was crowned with most grat- 

 ifying success. His collection of island birds was the most ex- 

 tensive made up to that time, containing no fewer than fourteen 

 new species of Passeres, including two new genera. In addition 

 Mr. Wilson was able to place in the hands of Dr. Gadow speci- 

 mens of the most important avian types still existing in the 

 islands, and this material formed the basis of most important con- 

 clusions as regards the systematic position of Hawaiian birds and 

 of their derivation. The beautifully illustrated quarto which em- 

 bodied the results of Mr. Wilson's labors, published in parts, was 

 issued in complete form in 1899. , 



The years of 1890-92 were years of renewed activity in the 

 study of Hawaiian birds. Two collectors were sent to the island* 

 by Mr. Rothschild, and very large and important collections were 

 made by them. These collections were sent to the Tring Museum. 

 England, and formed the basis of many important contributions 

 by Mr. Rothschild to English , scientific journals and later of the 

 royal quarto entitled "The Avifauna of Laysan and the Neighbor- 

 ing Islands, with a Complete History to date of the Birds of the 

 Hawaiian Possessibns." This volume, in three parts, with its 

 many and fine illustrations, and including in its scope the whole 

 Hawaiian group, must ever remain a landmark in Hawaiian 

 ornithological literature. 



The year 1892 also witnessed the beginning of the natural his- 

 tory work in the islands of Mr. R. C. L. Perkins. This gentleman 

 was sent out conjointly by the British Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science and by the Royal Society. His general col- 

 lections were very large, and are. by far the most important ever 

 made in the islands. They are deposited in the British Museum 

 and in that of the Cambridge University, England. A consider- 

 able number also are in the Bishop Museum, Honolulu. Not the 

 least important part of Mr. Perkin's contributions to the natural 

 history of Hawaii^ are his notes upon the habits of its birds. 

 Though not a professed ornithologist, Mr. Perkins published ma- 

 terial showing him to be an acute and accurate observer, and his 



