TOWNSEND AND WETMORE : THE BIRDS. 165 



from carrying out his intention by press of other work. In completing 

 the identification of these specimens he permitted the use of manu- 

 script notes, made during his preUminary examination, tliat have 

 proved of much value. 



Much difficulty has been encountered in identifying the subspecific 

 forms in many species discussed in the.following pages through lack of 

 sufficient material for comparison. These cases have been treated 

 with as much care and attendon as practicable, but in some instances 

 it has been impossible to assign anything more than a specific name. 

 In such comparisons the early collections of Titian R. Peale, made 

 during the U. S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, have been of 

 great value. The importance of the birds in Peale's collections from 

 an historical standpoint is not to be over-estimated, especially as a 

 large part of the original type-specimens upon which Peale based his 

 names of new species have been available for study. This collection 

 was formerly mounted, but now all of the birds have been taken down 

 and remade and are kept as study skins. 



The treatment of the fruit pigeons of the genus Ptilopus in the 

 present paper is highly unsatisfactory. The entire group of these 

 pigeons is badly in need of revision, but in the present case this was 

 impracticable because of a lack of sufficient material from many 

 localities. Little attempt has been made here to accord the species 

 any other treatment than that given them by Count Salvadori in the 

 twenty first volume of the British Museum Catalogue of Birds, but 

 it is believed that a number of new forms may be described eventually 

 from the specimens listed herein. Additional collections from other 

 islands are needed, however, before these may be diagnosed properly. 



A series of 105 skins, forty-seven species or subspecies, from the 

 specimens collected during the Albatross expedition, has been placed 

 in the M. C. Z. The remaining specimens, including the types of 

 forms described here as new, are in the collections of the U. S. N. M. 



In the following pages is given an annotated list of the species and 

 subspecies identified, with descriptions of such forms as appear to be 

 new. All measurements are given in millimeters. 



