AN ORNITHOLOGICAL GENIUS 137 
late Prof. Alfred Newton, who was not lavish 
in his compliments :— 
“ This is not the place to dwell on MacGillivray’s 
merits; but X may perhaps be excused for 
repeating my opinion that, after Wlllughby, 
MacGillivray was the greatest and most original 
ornithological genius save onei 1 (who. did not live 
long enough to make his powers widely known) 
that this island has produced.” 2 
And again he says 
i6 Among ornithologists of the highest lank 
there have been few whose opinion is more worthy 
of attention than MacGillivray, a trained anatomist 
and a man of thoroughly independent mind.” 
Independence and Carefulness of his Work. 
The qualities of independence and thoroughness 
which made MacGillivray so sure-footed as an 
ornithologist were characteristic of the man, and 
might be illustrated in reference to all his works. 
His book of 400 pages on the molluscs of the 
north-east of Scotland was completed in less than 
two years, during which he had many other irons in 
the fire. But there is no careless work in it. He 
deals with 340 species, more than two-tliirds of 
which were collected by himself. With one excep¬ 
tion he admitted no species that he had not 
examined himself; and all the specific descriptions 
were original. He certainly made too many new 
1 Probably H. N. Turner. 
2 Dictionary of Birds , 1896, Introduction, p. 60. 3 Ibid ., p. HL 
