82 Mr. Breeds ‘Birds of Europe 
tlioritatively between Mr. Wailes's stained glass and that of 
Munich; would be nearly as soon accused of a false quantity as 
of mistaking Dresden china for Sevres; or, if of a less aesthetic 
turn of mind, can tell you, without referring to his “ Murray,” 
the population of Hamburg or Naples within an odd hundred, 
the height of the Hospice of St. Bernard above the sea, the 
depth of the Fall of Terni or the length of the Loire. All these 
he is conversant with; and, as regards the natural history of his 
native islands, the British ornithologist might be able to tell 
you which of the western counties never re-echo the notes of the 
Nightingale, at what elevation the haunts of the Ptarmigan 
begin in Scotland, or whether the Jay ever visits Ireland. But 
ask the same man whether he considers Falco concolor a Euro¬ 
pean species, or if he can describe the differences between Frin- 
gilla hispaniolensis and F. cisalpina, and he will stare as much as 
if he were being submitted to a competitive examination by the 
Civil Service Commissioners. In fact, M. Temminck's f Manuel 
d’Ornithologies is nearly the only work on the birds of Europe 
(for Mr. Gould^s splendid publication deters the general public 
by its expense) the existence of which English naturalists* com¬ 
monly recognize; and their practical knowledge of this book 
has been chiefly confined to the accounts of those species which 
are found in their own islands. It was therefore with no small 
satisfaction that we first heard of Mr. C. R. Breeds intention to 
publish that which forms the subject of the present notice, be¬ 
lieving, as we do, that it is impossible to get a right notion of 
even our indigenous birds, without those illustrations which 
a knowledge, more or less extensive, of the ornithology of the 
Continent alone can furnish. We do not wish it for a moment 
to be thought that we undervalue the labours of those ornitho¬ 
logists who have confined their writings to the elucidation of those 
species only which occur in the British Isles. Our Pennants, 
Montagus and Bewicks, our Yarrells, Thompsons and Macgil- 
livrays are, and will justly continue to be, held in high estimation; 
* We beg to be understood, that throughout this article we shall use this 
and the similar terms of 4 ornithologist 9 and c zoologist’ in the widest sense 
possible, comprehending in it every one whose tastes or profession render 
him partial to the study of Natural History. 
