Research Catalog

Title

Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum.

Author

British Museum (Natural History). Department of Zoology.

Publication

London : Printed by order of the Trustees, 1874-1898.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Sharpe, Richard Bowdler, 1847-1909.
• Seebohm, Henry, 1832-1895.
• Gadow, Hans, 1855-1928.
• Sclater, Philip Lutley, 1829-1913.
• Salvin, Osbert, 1835-1898.
• Hartert, Ernst, 1859-1933.
• Ogilvie-Grant, W. R. (William Robert), 1863-1924.
• Hargitt, Edward, 1835-1895.
• Shelley, G. E. (George Ernest), 1840-1910.
• Salvadori, T.
• Saunders, Howard, 1835-1907.
• Keulemans, J. G. (John Gerrard), 1842-1912
• Smit, Joseph, 1836-1929

Description

27 volumes : illustrations, 387 color plates; 23 cm

Summary

This enormous undertaking, which, according to one of the prefaces, professes to be a complete list of every bird known at the time of publication, kept growing even as it was being written. The Museum added eagerly to their already vast collections during the decades of publication, acquiring by gift the great collections of A.O. Hume on Asian birds, and those of Sclater and Salvin and Godwin on Neotropical birds, so that the size of the collection nearly tripled between 1874 and 1888. Sharpe originally intended to do all the work himself, but others were called in when this became clearly impossible. The plates are all of birds not previously illustrated. In the decades following its publication this catalogue was universally acclaimed as the most important work on systematic ornithology that has ever been published. (Ayer Library catalogue, p. 96). And even after one hundred years it remains an essential reference for the serious ornithologist, as it underpins a great deal of modern bird classification. With 387 plates, most hand-coloured lithographs, some chromolithographs, by William Hart, J.G. Keulemans, Joseph and Peter Smit.

Subject

• British Museum (Natural History) > Catalogs
• Birds > Catalogs and collections
• Birds
• Birds
• Oiseaux

Note

• Each vol. has also special t.-p.

Contents

• v. 1. Accipitres, or diurnal birds of prey, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 2. Striges, or nocturnal birds of prey, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 3. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Coliomorphœ, containing the families Corridœ, Paradiseidœ, Oriolidœ, Dicruridœ, and Prionopidœ, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 4. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Cichlomorphœ: pt. I, containing the families Campophagidœ and Muscicapidœ, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 5. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Cichlomorphœ: pt. II, containing the family Turdidœ (warblers and thrushes) by H. Seebohm.--v. 6-7. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Cichlomorphœ: pt. III-IV, containing the ... family Timeliidœ (babbling-thrushes) by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 8. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Cichlomorphœ: pt. V, containing the families Paridœ and Laniidœ (titmice and shrikes) and Certhiomorphœ (creepers and nuthatches) by H. Godaw.--v. 9. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Cinnyrimorphœ: containing the families Nectariniidœ and Meliphagidœ (sun-birds and honey-eaters) by H. Gadow. (cont.)
• (cont.) v. 10. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Fringilliformes: pt. I, containing the families Diciœidœ, Hirundinidœ, Ampelidœ, Mniotiltidœ and Motacillidœ by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 11. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Fringilliformes: pt. II, containing the families Cœrebidœ, Tanagridœ, and Icteridœ, by P.L. Sclater.--v. 12. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Fringilliformes: pt. III, containing the family Fringillidœ, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 13. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Sturniformes, containing the families Artamidœ, Sturnidœ, Ploceidœ, Alaudidœ. Also the families Atrichiidœ and Menuridœ, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 14. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Oligomyodœ, or the families Tyrannidœ, Oxyrhamphidœ, Pipridœ, Cotingidœ, Phytotomidœ, Philepittidœ, Pittidœ Xenicidœ and Eurylœmidœ, by P.L. Sclater. (cont.)
• (cont.) v. 15. Passeriformes, or perching birds. Tracheophonœ, or the families Dendrocolaptidœ, Formicariidœ, Conopophagidœ, and Pteroptochidœ, by P.L. Sclater.--v. 16. Picariœ, Upupœ and Trochili, by O. Salvin. Coraciœ, of the families Cypselidœ, Caprimulgidœ, Podargidœ, and Steatornithidœ, by E. Hartert.--v. 17. Picariœ, Coraciœ (contin.) and Halcyones, with the families Leptosomatidœ, Coraciidœ, Meropidœ,Alcedinidœ, Momotidœ, Todidœ, and Coliidœ, by R.B. Sharpe. Bucerotes and Trogones, by W.R. Ogilvie-Grant.--v. 18. Picariœ, Scansores, containing the family Picidœ, by E. Hargitt.--v. 19. Picariœ. Scansores and Cocyges, containing the families Rhamphastidœ, Galbulidœ, and Bucconidœ, by P.L. Sclater, and the families Indicatoridœ, Capitonidœ, Cuculidœ, and Musophagidœ, by G.E. Shelley. (cont.)
• (cont.) 20. Psittaci, or parrots, by T. Salvadori.--v. 21. Columbœ, or pigeons, by T. Salvadori.--v. 22. Game birds (Pterocletes, Gallinœ, Opisthocomi, Hemipodii) by W.R. Ogilvie-Grant.--v. 23. Fulicariœ, (Rallidœ and Heliornithidœ) and Alectorides (Aramidœ, Eurypygidœ, Mesitidœ, Rhinochetidœ, Gruidœ, Psophiidœ, and Otididœ) by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 24. Limicolœ, by R.B. Sharpe.--v. 25. Gaviœ and Tubinares. Gaviæ (terns, gulls, and skuas) by H. Saunders. Tubinares (petrels and albatrosses) by O. Salvin.--v. 26. Plataleœ (ibises and spoonbills) and Herodiones (herons and storks) by R.B. Sharpe. Steganopodes (cormorants, gannets, frigate-birds, tropic-birds, and pelicans) Pygopodes (divers and grebes) Alcœ (auks) and Impennes (penguins) by W.R. Ogilvie-Grant.--v. 27. Chenomorphœ (Palamedeœ, Phœnicopteri, Anseres), Crypturi, and Ratitœ, by T. Salvadori.

LCCN

06036218

OCLC

• ocm04686548
• 4686548
• SCSB-396384

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library