264 Obituary Notice. [.st^A^ril country, but those of Africa have always been a favourite subject of investigation with him, while one of his best-known works is his edition of Layard's ' Birds of South Africa.' " An Australian appreciation of the deceased ornithologist, by Mr. Tom Carter, of Western Australia, Avill be read with interest : — " My acquaintance with the late Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe dates back to about 1885, when the late Henry Seebohm introduced me to him. He had then recently returned from India, bringing back the famous Hume collections, part of which he showed us then being unpacked. I had the pleasure of meeting him on many subsequent occasions, the last being on 17th November last year, when I lunched and had a chat with him, two days before my return to Australia. He then seemed well and hearty, and, as he always was, full of enthusiasm and glad to see any ornithologist and learn of anything fresh about birds in any part of the world. He was of a genial disposition, without any ostentation, and, although he always had an immense amount of work on hand, he would cheerfully put it aside to inspect and discuss any new bird specimen. I have known him rise at an ornithological meeting and speak on behalf of an ornithologist (then long passed away) who had been referred to in a disparaging manner by one present, although his (Sharpe's) own views did not at all agree with those of the absent one. Dr. Sharpe was always ready to help and encourage any beginner in the often perplexing study of bird-life, and if he (Sharpe) did make a mistake on any point he would willingly admit it. With his unrivalled capacity for work and world-wide knowledge of birds, his place will indeed be hard to fill." Besides his wonderful personality, which endeared him to almost everyone he came in contact with, he was a giant at work. It would occupy about four pages of The Emu, closely printed, to enumerate all his works, but the following may be cited as of most interest to Australian students, namely : — " Catalogue of Birds." Of the twenty-seven volumes of this classical reference work he wrote eleven, while he was co-author of two others. " Handlist of the Genera and Species of Birds," vols. i.-v. " Monograph of the Birds-of-Paradise and Bower-Birds," folio, parts i.-viii. " Report on the Collections of Natural History made in the Antarctic Regions during the Voyage of the SoutJiern Cross : Aves." " The Birds of New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan Islands, including any New Species that may be discovered in Australia," folio, parts 13-35 (completed after John Gould's death).
