British Museum, Mr. Charles Chuhh, I have checked every one of the
references quoted in this hook—nearly seventeen thousand in number!
The labour involved in this work will he appreciated hy any one who
is accustomed to “ verify his references.” In my desire to make the
hook as useful as possible I have gone fu rth er and have pu t in a
number of ex tra synonyms from popular works, such, for instance, as
Oates’s ‘ Birds of British India,’ which in a few years will have familiarized
Indian naturalists and sportsmen with a certain set of names
which do not occur in Gould’s works, though the species may he duly
figured therein.
Thus, for instance, The Eulvous-fronted Suthora (Suthora fulvifrons)
occurs in the ‘ Birds of Asia,’ vol. iii. pi. 71. Oates calls these birds
“ Crow-Tits,” and the above-named species is the “ Eulvous-fronted
Crow-Tit ” of his ‘ F au n a of British In d ia ,’ Birds, vol. i. p. 66. I have
therefore placed “ Crow-Tit ” in th e present Index, in case any one,
remembering the bird’s English name, might have forgotten the Latin
title.
Again, in the *■ Birds of Asia,’ vol. v. pi. 52, Gould figures :—
Crypsirhina cucullata. The Hooded Crypsirhina.
This is th e “ Hooded Racket-tailed Magpie ” of Oates’s hook (Eaun.
Brit. Ind., Birds, i. p. 35), so I have added the la tte r names in th e ‘ Index.’
I t might have been better, perhaps, to have printed such names as are
thu s added in brackets or in a different ty p e ; bu t this notion did
not occur to me u n til too late, and it must he remembered th a t this
- Index ’ was not primarily written for scientific men, h u t for people
who own a set of Gould’s works, and who want to find a particular
plate in the series, as was the case with Lord Wharncliffe and Lord
Walsingham in the instance alluded to a t the commencement of the
“ Preface.” I t is therefore incumbent upon me to give a
W a r n in g to O r n it h o l o g is t s
to verify th eir references, and to look up the original quotations, after
consulting the present work. I tru s t th a t they will find all the
references which they s e e k ; h u t they will also meet with other synonyms
which are not published in Gould’s works, and which have merely been
inserted to aid those who are familiar only with recent work and
modern nomenclature.
I have, moreover, duplicated many references, with the object of
giving a complete index to Gould’s plates for any one studying
particular groups of birds, and it is again necessary to repeat my
caution as to copying the synonyms from this ‘ In d e x ’ without
consulting the hooks themselves.
As an example, tak e “ Savi’s Warbler.” I have (p. 294) given the
reference to th e plate in the ‘ Birds of E u ro p e ’ as well as to th a t in
th e ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ although the name really occurs only in
th e la tte r work. I n th e ‘ Birds of Europe ’ it is called th e “ Willow
Locustelle,” a name under which very few people would now th in k
of looking for it.
The choice of English names for exotic birds seems to have been more
or less a stumbling-block to Gould, as it is to every one, and several
amusing mistakes have occurred through the publication of his works in
parts. Generally he got out of th e difficulty hy repeating th e Latin
name. Thus “Amydrus tristrami ” became “ Tristram’s Am ydrus;” h u t
in th e manufacture of English titles for some of th e species of Hummingbirds
we get some curious names, such as “ Aurelia’s Puff-leg ” !
I t is quite comprehensible th a t an author, issuing in parts a work
which takes many years to complete, should repeat English names,
through forgetting th a t he had bestowed them in a previous number; b u t
one or two amusing mistakes of this kind are found even in th e | H an d book,’
where, for instance, two “ B e au tifu l” Parrakeets occur within
a few pages of each other, as well as two “ Pied ” Crow-Shrikes,
“ Easciated ” Honey-eaters, “ Shining ” Flycatchers, “ W hite-throated ”
Honey-eaters; two “ Sclater’s ” Honey-eaters in the ‘Birds of New
Guinea,’ two “ Pied ” Cormorants in the ‘ Birds of Australia,’ two
“ Elegant ” Tits in th e ‘ Birds of Asia,’ two “ Helmeted ” Eriar-hirds in