Page:A list of the birds of Australia 1913.djvu/11

 hese were systematically described by Latham and Shaw, sometimes in the books themselves and otherwise in the Museum Leverianum and the Naturalists' Miscellany. The first and most important contribution to the systematic study of the Australian avifauna was made by Latham, when he published his Second Supplement to the General Synopsis of Birds, and concurrently a Supplementum to his Index Ornithologies. This appeared in 1801, and is essentially based upon Australian birds. It is really surprising to learn that no fewer than 171 names are there proposed for birds ascribed to "Nova Hollandia." There can be no question as to who should be considered the "grandfather" of Australian Ornithology, conceding to John Gould the Australians' tribute of "father."

In the History of the Collections of the British Museum, the late Bowdler Sharpe wrote concerning the source of Latham's information, and concluded that "up to the present time it has never been knoWN where Latham obtained the material for describing so many Australian, or, as they were then called, 'New Holland,' birds." In making this statement Dr. Sharpe had overlooked the fact that in 1843 both G. R. Gray and Hugh Strickland, in conjunction with John Gould, had published full accounts and given considerable study to the paintings utilized by Latham in describing the above 171 birds.

Sharpe's full description of the 295 paintings known as the Watling Drawings, is now fairly well known to Australian workers, and the history given there is approximately correct. These paintings are well and accurately done and the majority of them are easily recognizable. I hope shortly to reproduce some of these, so that Australians will have the opportunity of criticising them.

The fact that 171 names were proposed, makes this contribution stand out very prominently, and if any later limit than that of Linné 1758 were to be considered, this would have the chief claim.

In the Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, published in thirty-six volumes during the years 1816-1819, the ornithological articles were written by Vieillot. That brilliant ornithologist took the opportunity to monograph whole groups in a clever manner. At his disposal were the large collections made in Australian waters by Péron and Lesueur, and he made good use of them. As a consequence some seventy odd names are credited to Vieillot, but on account of his inability to recognize