London: British Museum (Natural History), 1875. Octavo, 14 handcoloured plates by Keulemans. Publisher's cloth, some wear, library sticker on spine and library pocket. Inscribed " Capt. W. Vincent Legge with the author's kind regards".

Volume two from Richard Bowdler Sharpe's 27 volume Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum, 1874-1898.

PROVENANCE: William Vincent Legge (1841-1918) was born in Tasmania in 1841 and educated in England after which he joined the Royal Artillery. He was stationed in Ceylon and found time to pursue his serious interest in ornithology. He became secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society and reorganised the Colombo Museum. Birds of Ceylon was written in England after he left Ceylon in 1877. His interest in natural history, particularly birds, never waned and he was one of the founders of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union and its first president.