﻿258 ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS. 



men following his example. The travels in Mexico 

 that have yet been published are miserably deficient 

 in any thing really valuable relative to its animals; so 

 that the collector who should visit or take up his resi- 

 dence here has a wide and interesting field for prosecut- 

 ing his labours and of enriching our collections with 

 specimens. Texas, Honduras, and Guatamala are still 

 more imperfectly known ; and who can tell how many 

 new and splendid birds inhabit the wide extending 

 virgin forests of the coast on both sides the Isthmus ? 

 The whole of West India Islands are nearly in the 

 same predicament. Cuba, indeed, is now, or was very 

 lately, the residence of the celebrated author of the 

 Horce Entomologicce, and several continental naturalists 

 have visited the same island, so that we may hope soon 

 for some certain information upon its productions ; but 

 in regard to Jamaica, and the whole of the remaining 

 islands, we know scarcely any thing on their ornithology, 

 and very little on their other animals. At Tortola there 

 are persons who have long been in the practice of stuff- 

 ing the more richly coloured humming-birds, &c, for 

 sale, but those of ordinary plumage are neglected ; and 

 as these, even in tropical countries, constitute the ma- 

 jority, it follows that many species, even in that island, 

 must remain unknown to us in Europe. The inhabi- 

 tants of the Bahama islands must not, however, be 

 confounded with the listless planters of the West 

 Indies. A literary and scientific society has recently 

 been established, and to the kindness of its active and 

 intelligent secretary, Mr. Lees, we are indebted for 

 several of the native birds ; sufficiently interesting to 

 show how highly desirable would be a further investi- 

 gation of this portion of the local zoology. Beyond the 

 Mexican Gulf lies the vast continent of South America, 

 unquestionably the richest ornithological portion of the 

 world, whether as regards variety of species or splendour 

 of plumage. But before we introduce the collector to 

 these regions, we desire to impress upon his attention 

 the peculiar interest that attaches to the birds of the 



