PREFACE. 



I was induced to take a great interest in the fauna of the Sandwich or Hawaiian 

 Islands when I was an undergraduate at Cambridge, and Professor Newton showed me 

 some of the wonderful species of birds discovered on those islands by Mr. Scott Wilson. 

 At that time I had just engaged Mr. Henry Palmer to make a collection of birds, &c., 

 for me on the Chatham Islands, south of New Zealand, and I determined that if the 

 first trip turned out a success I would send him to the Sandwich Islands. On receipt 

 of a most interesting collection from the Chatham Islands (which included the new 

 Pigeon, Hemiphaga ckathamemis), I immediately instructed Palmer to start for Honolulu, 

 where he arrived in December 1890, and stayed on the Sandwich Islands till August 1893. 

 During this period he collected 1832 birds on the following islands :— Oaliu, Hawaii, Kauai, 

 Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Niihau, Laysan, French Frigate ShoaJs, Lisiansky, and Midway or 

 Brooks. Although, considering the long time spent on this group of islands, the collection 

 was by no means large, it was most interesting, for Palmer procured all the known 

 resident land-birds, with the exception of Moho apicalls, Chcetoptlla angustiplurna, Hemu 

 gnathus ellisianus, Iletcrorhynchus lucidus, Psittirostra olivacea, Pennida ecaudata, and 

 Pennula saitdwichensis, which are all undoubtedly extinct, and most of the sea-birds. In 

 addition to these Palmer discovered fifteen species entirely new to science, and several birds 

 new to the islands. The proof of the exhaustiveness of Palmer's work is that Mr. Perkins, 

 though an experienced zoologist and a thoroughly trained collector, found only one new bird 

 after Palmer left, and failed to get several found by the latter, viz., Drepcmis pacifica, 

 Ciridops anna, Hemignathus lanaieusis, Rhodaca nthis jlaviceps, and Loxops rufa. 



In conclusion, I can only hope that my readers will not find this final part has 

 suffered by the long lapse of seven years between the appearance of the second and third 

 parts of the book. I have much pleasure in thanking all those who have very kindly helped 

 me during the progress of this work, and more particularly Mr. Scott Wilson, Mr. Perkins, 

 Dr. G. Hartlaub, Professor Studer, Professor Brandt in Kiel, Dr. von Lorenz of Vienna, 

 Professor lleichenow, Count von Eerlepsch, Dr. H. O. Porbes, Professor Schauinsland, 



