xvi INTEODTJCTIOK 



bad long taken an interest in the ornithology of the group, lost no time in noticing 

 this very important publication (Ibis, 1871, pp. 356-362), adding thereto some 

 valuable observations. This list has naturally proved a serviceable foundation for 

 future work. Forty-eight species were included, the author stating that this number 

 'probably comprises but little more than half the avifauna of the group.' That 

 the list should be free from error was not to be expected, and a revised version 

 of it, published in the ' Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for 1879 ' (pp. 41-58), 

 corrected some of the mistakes ; but it was an honest piece of work, doing credit to 

 its compiler. 



"In the meanwhile, however, the historic voyage of H.M.S. 'Challenger' had 

 commenced, and one of the places at which she was to call was the Sandwich Islands. 

 Of course the main object of her voyage was the exploration of the depths of the sea; 

 nevertheless, the terrestrial zoology of the countries visited, though forming a very 

 subordinate part of the original plan, was not to be wholly neglected — nor was it in 

 this case, for during the three weeks she stayed in Hawaiian waters (July 27th to 

 August 19th, 1875) her officers availed themselves to some extent of the opportunity 

 of studying the ornithology of the islands, though it does not appear that they had 

 received any special instruction in regard to our imperfect knowledge of it. Here, 

 then, was another great chance lost ; for had those who drew up the directions for the 

 scientific members of the Expedition taken the trouble to acquaint themselves with the 

 particular points on which investigation was needed, so as to indicate the lines on which 

 further research was desirable, no doubt some one of the ' Challenger's ' staff would have 

 supplied, even in the short time of her stay, some of the missing facts, or at least would 

 have thrown some light on the subject. As it was, the collection was reported as 

 * small' (twenty-four bird-skins and no specimen in spirit), and 'containing nothing 

 absolutely new except a single species of Anas,' afterwards named A. wyvilliana (Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 350). The late Prof. Moseley, in his 'Notes of a Naturalist 

 on the ' Challenger," stated (p. 514) that the last excursion on shore of his colleague, 

 Von Willemos-Suhm, was at Hilo in Hawaii with a native guide, ' in pursuit of the 

 interesting endemic birds,' and that 'almost the last notes he wrote were some on 

 the Sandwich Islands, relating especially to the birds,' but these notes, which have been 

 kindly entrusted to me by Sir John Murray, F.R.S., unfortunately prove to contain no 

 information of any interest — for the writer had evidently never been informed as to the 

 many points to which his attention might have been profitably directed." 

 What next followed may also best be recorded in Prof. Newton's words : — 

 " Having myself felt a good deal of interest in the avifauna of the Sandwich Isles — 

 which, like that of many other islands throughout the world, was, as I had learnt, 

 threatened with extirpation, chiefly in consequence of the destruction of the forests — 

 I could not fail to be disappointed at the meagre results obtained by our people on this 

 celebrated cruise, when it would have been so easy for them to have done better had 

 their attention been duly called, and I cast about in several directions to find some 



