PROSPECTUS

OF THE WORKS

ON ORNITHOLOGY, ETC.,

BY

JOHN GOULD, F.R.S.

I. THE BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN. London, 1873.

The publication of this work commenced in 1862, and is now complete in twenty-five Parts at Three Guineas a Part, or £78 15s. the whole. Any person desirous of obtaining one of the few remaining copies may do so by communicating with the Author.

II. A CENTURY OF BIRDS FROM THE HIMALAYA MOUNTAINS. 1 Volume, Imperial Folio, containing 80 Plates, with descriptive letterpress. Price £14 14s. London, 1832.

This work, of which no copies remain, was commenced in January 1831, and completed in August 1832. It contains figures and descriptions of 100 Birds which were at that time either new or very imperfectly known.

III. THE BIRDS OF EUROPE.

5 Volumes, Imperial Folio, comprising 449 Plates, with descriptive letterpress, Introduction, Price £76 8s. London, 1837.

&c.

Of this work also no copies remain; and it is a source of much satisfaction to the Author to know that when a copy is offered for sale by public auction, on the demise of a Subscriber, it realizes considerably more than its original cost,-in some instances as much as £100 and even £120.

IV. THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 7 Volumes, Imperial Folio, containing Figures of 600 species, with descriptive letterpress and a large amount of Introductory matter. Price £115. London, 1848.

This work, of which no copies remain, was originally published in Thirty-six Parts, each containing Seventeen Plates with descriptive letterpress, at the price of Three Guineas each Part, with the exception of the Thirty-sixth, the price of which, in consequence of the large amount of introductory matter, was £4 12s.

A SUPPLEMENT TO THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

Such a work as the 'Birds of Australia' could not be kept incomplete for an indefinite period; it was, therefore, brought to a close in 1848, when all the species then known had been figured; but as Australia became more and more known, additional species of birds were discovered, rendering a Supplement necessary, in order to keep the subject complete. Parts I., II., III., IV., and V., price £3 3s. each, have been published as a-sufficient number of novelties came to hand; and with Part V. Titles and every requisite to form the whole into a Volume have been furnished. This Supplementary Volume, containing many novelties of the highest interest, the Author considers to be one of the most important he has produced, whether regarded as a continuation to the seven volumes which preceded it, or as a separate work. Price 15 Guineas.

A HANDBOOK TO THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA.

This work has been published in consequence of the Author having been led to believe that a résumé of the subject in an 8vo form, without Plates, would be acceptable to the possessors of the folio edition, as well as to the many persons in Australia who are now turning their attention to the Ornithology of the country in which they are resident, and because he was moreover assured that such a work was greatly needed to enable the explorer during his journeyings, or the student in his quiet home, to identify the species that might come under his observation, and as a means by which the curators of the museums, now established in all parts of the world, might arrange and name the Australian birds entrusted to their charge; and he believes that the two volumes (containing over 600 pages each) in which it is comprised will fully answer the desired

end.

The price of the Two Volumes, which contain a considerable amount of additional and interesting information, and many species not in the folio edition, is £2 10s.

V. THE BIRDS OF ASIA. In course of publication.

To no portion of the globe does there attach so much interest as to that vast extent of the Old World which we designate Asia. It is there that all the productions of nature essential to the well-being of man occur in the greatest abundance. The most important of our domestic quadrupeds, the most valuable and interesting of our domestic Gallinaceous birds, were first reclaimed in Asia. It is in Asia that animal life exhibits in its forms the highest degree of organic development, together with a variety in those forms in accordance with the varied physical characters of this extensive region, where the grandest mountain-ranges alternate with steppes, sandy deserts, inland seas, and interminable forests of gigantic growth. That the Zoology, then, of such a country should have called forth the notice and study of able minds cannot be surprising; and yet it is remarkable that no one has attempted a work comprehending a general history of its ORNITHOLOGY. This hiatus in Ornithological literature the Author proposes to fill up by publishing a work on The Birds of Asia,' precisely similar in every respect to his former works on 'The Birds of Europe' and 'The Birds of Australia.' Its size and manner of execution will be the same; and it will be published in Parts, price Three Guineas each.

Of this work twenty-five Parts have been published up to 1873; and for the present it will still appear at the rate of not more than one or two Parts a year.

VI. A MONOGRAPH OF THE RAMPHASTIDÆ, OR FAMILY OF TOUCANS. 1 Volume, Imperial Folio, containing Fifty

two Plates, with descriptive letterpress, &c. Price £12 12s. London, 1854.

An edition of this work was published in 1834, at the price of £7; but the extensive researches since carried on among the Great Andean Ranges of South America having led to the discovery of many additional and beautiful species belonging to this extraordinary group of Birds, a revision of the work not only became necessary, but an entirely new edition was deemed imperative; and accordingly one, with the whole of the former Plates redrawn, was published in 1854, at the price of £12 12s.

The history of this South-American group is very peculiar; and their manners and actions are as remarkable as their aspect, in some respects reminding us of the Hornbills of India and Africa, while in others they are unlike those of any other group of the feathered race. To a consideration of these points the Introduction is devoted.

VII. A MONOGRAPH OF THE TROGONIDE, OR FAMILY OF TROGONS. 1 Volume, Imperial Folio, containing Thirtysix Plates, with descriptive letterpress. Price £8. London, 1838.

This work, in unison with the Monograph of the Toucans, comprises the history and figures of all the species of the group known up to the date of publication. The members of the Trogonidæ are remarkable for a gorgeous style of colouring, for recluse habits, and for the union of insect diet with such aliments as fruits and berries, in accordance with which the beak is modified; they are divided between the warmer latitudes of America and India, with the exception of one species, which is peculiar to Africa. With the plumes of some species the Mexican kings and Caciques are said to have adorned their head-dresses.

The same reasons which induced the Author to publish a new edition of the Monograph of the Ramphastidæ, have also rendered another edition of this Monograph desirable; and accordingly one is now in preparation, comprising all the new species and information required respecting this family of birds during the last twenty-five years. It will be completed in four Parts, at £3 3s. each, the first and second of which is now ready for delivery.

VIII. A MONOGRAPH OF THE ODONTOPHORINÆ, OR PARTRIDGES OF AMERICA. 1 Volume, Imperial Folio, containing Thirty-two Plates, with descriptive letterpress. Price £8 8s. London, 1850.

The interest which attaches to this work is threefold. First, it displays, even to the most unpractised eye, the broad distinction which subsists between the Partridges of America and those of Europe; secondly, the species are all remarkable for the elegance of their forms and for the chaste beauty of their colouring; and thirdly, at no distant date these Birds will be regarded in America, as our Partridges in Europe are, as game, and perhaps preserved by law,-their flesh being as delicate for the table as that of our ordinary bird, from which, however, they differ considerably in the structure of the beak, and in general habits and economy.

IX. A MONOGRAPH OF THE TROCHILIDÆ OR HUMMING-BIRDS.

Having from an early period devoted himself to the study of these beautiful birds, and acquired a most valuable and extensive collection of a group peculiar to America and its adjacent islands, the Author determined upon publishing a Monograph of a family unequalled for the gorgeous and ever-changing brilliancy of their hues, the variety of their form, the singularity of their habits, and the extent of their territorial distribution. Anxious to render his representations of these lovely objects as faithful as possible, the Author instituted a series of experiments upon. a new mode of colouring, which has been so far successful that the birds are as closely imitated as art can hope to see accomplished; he has also endeavoured, as far as possible, to associate each species with one of the plants of its own region, thereby adding an additional charm to a work which he trusts will be equally acceptable to the artist and the lover of nature, and which has been so successful that it is perhaps the most popular of his productions.

Complete in five Volumes, price £78 158.

X. THE MAMMALS OF AUSTRALIA.

The Author's visit to Australia having enabled him to procure much valuable information respecting the habits and economy, and many new species, of the singular and interesting Mammalia of that country, he has determined upon publishing a work on the subject. With respect to the importance of such a work no doubt can exist; and as the author is deeply impressed with this idea, so will he endeavour to render it equal to its associate publication on the Ornithology of that remarkable region. To the Plates every attention, even to the minutest details, has been rendered; and the Author's original notes and observations have furnished him with a store to draw upon for many points of interest. In execution it is precisely similar to the 'Birds,' and is completed in Thirteen Parts, each containing Fifteen Plates, price £3 3s., or in Three Volumes, price £41. This work has been so highly approved of, that by many it is regarded as more interesting than the 'Birds' of the same country.

With the exception of the 'Handbook to the Birds of Australia,' all the above works are in Imperial Folio, with the Plates and Descriptions in the same style, and form a uniform series.

LONDON: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 26 CHARLOTTE STREET, BEDFORD SQUARE, W.C.

August 1873.