The author commences with a general sketch of bird structure, purposely avoiding histological detail and the elaborate description of anatomical facts which are in the mind of the author not of great use in classification.
In consequence of a very generally expressed wish amongst the personal friends of the late William Alexander Forbes, to possess some permanent memorial of him. It was decided, that the most appropriate and desirable one would be the publication, in a collected form, of all the papers published by Forbes in various scientific journals and periodicals, with a portrait of the author.
