The Survey of Western Palestine was carried out under the auspices of the Palestine Exploration Fund between 1871 and 1877, and its results were published in a series of books between 1882 and 1888. This volume was written by H. B. Tristram (1822–1906), the naturalist, geologist and Anglican priest, whose The Land of Israel is also reissued in this series. Although he declined a bishopric in Jerusalem, he made four separate trips to Palestine in order to compile this catalogue of its flora and fauna. Including all native vertebrates, molluscs and plants known at the time, the work was first published in 1884 and laid the foundation for zoological study in Palestine. The catalogue offers a fascinating insight into the theories of late Victorian taxonomy as well the species it classifies here. Also included are detailed drawings and a scholarly preface summarising and tabulating Tristram's research.
