ORNITHOLOGY. 
70*5 
M. le Vaillant, author of a Voyage to the Cape of Good 
Hope, and of the “ Natural Hiftory of the Birds of Afri¬ 
ca,” is eminently distinguished by the ardour and acute- 
nefs with which he has profecuted his ornithological 
refearches, and has availed himfelf with laudable dili¬ 
gence of his rare opportunities of collecting accurate de¬ 
tails relative to every fpecies which he undertakes to 
illustrate. 2. His Natural Hiftory of the Birds of Paradife, 
Rollers, Promeropes, Toucans, and Barbets, is perhaps 
the moft highly-finithed and fumptuous publication that 
has appeared in any of the departments of ornithology. 
The figures, about one hundred in number, are engraved 
by Peree, from the drawings of Barraband, coloured by 
Langlois, and retouched by the pencil of the original 
defigner; while the elder Didot has executed the typo- 
graphy in his beft ftyle, on vellum paper. Each figure is 
as large as life, and is ufually drawn from a fpecimen 
in the liigheft ftate of prefervation; and, in many cafes, 
an exaCt reprefentation of the female bird has alfo been 
obtained. Though the pre-eminent merit of the work 
confills in the figures and defcriptions, it is in many in- 
ftances agreeably diversified by traits of character which 
the author remarked in the living bird, and by fome in¬ 
teresting hints of a more general complexion, which his 
accurate and extenfive obfervation enabled him to collect. 
3. Hiftory of the Birds of America and India. This work, 
which is executed in the fame ftyle of elegance with that 
upon the Birds of Africa, proceeded no farther than 
eight numbers, forming one volume; at leaft we have met 
with no more in England. We have availed ourfelves 
very confiderably of thefe works in the courfe of our 
ornithological articles; not, however, without frequently 
exprefling a wish that the author had been more liberal 
of his fynonyms and references, and had treated fyfte- 
matic writers with more refpeCt. We Should not forget, 
that methodical nomenclature, though the refult of art, 
and liable to many errors, is entitled at leaft to fubordi- 
nate regard, and is an unfpeakable aid to the memory. 
The Natural Hiftory of Tanagers, Todies, and Mana- 
kins, by Anfeline Gaetan Defmareft, with coloured en¬ 
gravings, from drawings by Paulina de Courcelles, pupil 
of Barraband, is another of thofe recent and fplendid 
productions of the Parisian prefs which refleCt fo much 
honour on the zeal, industry, and tafte, of the French 
naturalifts. The paper, type, and figures, all befpeak the 
excellence of the refpeCtive artifts who have produced 
them, as well as the love of chafte and elegant embellish¬ 
ment which has prefided over the undertaking. Befides 
defcriptions and plates of the male, the author has alfo, 
not unfrequently, reprefented the female or young of 
the fame fpecies, or an individual as it appears in the 
moulting ftate. 
The Natural Hiftory of Birds, by George Edwards, in 
four quarto volumes, without any reference to country 
or method, contains many excellent coloured defigns 
and correct defcriptions; and the fame remark applies to 
his Gleanings pf Natural Hiftory,' the moft confiderable 
portion of which relates to birds. See the article Ed¬ 
wards, vol. vi. 
Several other writers of our own country have de- 
fcribed and delineated the birds of this island with various 
degrees of merit. The ornithological part of Pennant’s 
British Zoology has always been regarded as a work of 
high authority. Hayes’s Natural Hiftory of British Birds, 
with their portraits accurately drawn and beautifully 
coloured from nature; Lord’s Natural Hiftory of British 
Birds; Lewin’s Birds of Great Britain, with delinea¬ 
tions of their eggs, in 3 vols. 4to. Walcott’s Synopfis of 
British Birds, 2 vols. 4to. a work on British Ornitho¬ 
logy, by Mr. Graves; Mr. White’s Natural Hiftory of 
Selborne; and Bewick’s Hiftory of British Birds, with 
figures engraved on wood, in 2 vols. royal 8vo. 1805; are 
all entitled to notice: but the limitation of our plan for¬ 
bids us to dwell on them. We lhalj therefore clofe this 
Vol. XVII. No. 1214. 
introduction, by pointing fo a work which feems not yet 
to have procured its due Share of the public favour; we 
mean the Ornithological Dictionary, or Alphabetical 
Synopfis of British Birds, by George Montagu, F. L.S. 
&c. in two fmall oCtavo volumes. We are acquainted 
with few publications of the kind that contain a larger 
quantity of accurate and important information within 
fuch a narrow compafs. As a book of reference, it is 
well calculated to fuit the occafions of ordinary readers, 
and even to convey inftruCtion to the learned Student. 
The fynopfis and fpecific defcriptions evince much dili¬ 
gence and accuracy; and various articles are enriched by 
the refult of perfonal obfervation and extenfive travel. 
Sufficiently aware of the fallible indications of plumage, 
the writer is more folicitous to reduce than to multiply 
distinctions ; and, in doubtful cafes, has Sometimes had 
recourfe to the unequivocal teft of difieCtion. Some of 
the articles, however, are difmifl'ed with too much bre¬ 
vity ; and the ftyle is deficient in polish and correCtnefs. 
If any of our readers are defirous of procuring a more 
complete catalogue of works published on ornithology 
prior to the year 1760, they will find it in Gronovius’s 
Bibliotheca llegni Animalis atque Lctpiilei , ac recenfio auc- 
torum et librorum qui (le regno animali et lapideo , metho- 
dici, pliyjice, fyc, trad ant. 
CLASSIFICATION. 
The clafs Aves, or Birds, is the fecond in the Linnasan 
fyftem; and it is divided into fix Orders, which the illuf- 
trious mafter of our fcience confiders as having fome ana¬ 
logy with the firft fix orders of the clafs of Mammalia, 
excluding the order of Cete. 
I. Accipitres, analogous to the Ferae. 
II. Picte, analogous to the Primates. 
III. Anseres, analogous to the BeUnce. 
IV. Grallte, analogous to the Bruta. 
V. Galling, analogous to the Pecora. 
VI. Passeres, analogous to the Glires. 
This beautiful and cheerful portion of created nature 
con fills of animals having a body covered with feathers 
and down; jaws protracted and naked; wings two, 
formed for flight, and two feet. They are aerial, vocal, 
fwift, and light; and destitute of external ears, lips, teeth, 
ferotum, womb, bladder, epiglottis, corpus callofum and 
its arch, and diaphragm. The generic characters are 
taken from the bill, tongue, noftrils, cere, caruncles, and 
other naked parts. 
Under the article Natural History, vol. xvi. p. 599, 
we have given an outline of this branch of it, as to the 
number of genera and Species. The following is a more 
particular account of the 
ORDERS and GENERA. 
Order I. Accipitres, or Rapacious Birds. The 
characters of this order are—Bill fomewhat hooked down¬ 
wards, the upper mandible dilated near the point, or 
armed with a tootli: noftrils open; legs Short, Strong; 
feet formed for perching; toes warty under the joints; 
claws hooked and Sharp-pointed; female larger than the 
male. This order includes the four following genera: 
Vultur. - - Bill hooked ; head naked. 
Falcu. - Kill hnnkpd, mvered at the bafe with a 
cere. 
Strix. - Bill hooked, with a frontlet of covered 
briftles. 
Lanius. - - Bill llraightiSh, notched, 
II. Picie, or Pies. Bill Sharp-edged, convex above; 
legs Short, Strong; feet formed for walking, perching, or 
climbing. This order confifts of twenty-four genera, in 
three divifions: 
1. Feet formed for perching. 
Trochilus. - Bill bent down, filiform, tubular at the 
point. 
9 I 
Certhia, 
