^g^'] 'Dal-ey, Notes of a Visit lo Mallacooia Inlet. 127 



e.g., the Topknot Pigeon of the Pacific slope and the beautifu^ 

 large Flinders Pigeon of Queensland, skins of which I exhil^ited 

 a few months ago. 



{To be continued.) 



i 



THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, MELBOURNE. 



The H. L. White Ornithological Collection. 



At the invitation of the Hon. Director, Sir Baldwin Spencer, 

 a large and representative gathering of Melbourne ornith- 

 ologists met at the National Museum on Friday evening, 12th 

 October, to inspect the valuable collection of x^ustralian bird- 

 skins recently presented to the museum by Mr. H. L. White, 

 of " Belltrees," Scone, New South Wales. The donor, who is 

 well known as a keen enthusiast in all matters pertaining to 

 Australian ornithology, and whose excellent collection of 

 Australian birds' eggs is probably the most complete of its 

 kind, succeeded in bringing together at considerable expense 

 and labour an exceedinglv valuable collection of bird-skins 

 by sending out collectors from time to time to more or less 

 remote parts of Australia. In so doing he was the means of 

 bringing to light many rarities and of contributing very con- 

 siderably to our knowledge of the distribution of x\ustralian 

 birds. 



The collection, which is contained in six large cabinets, is 

 in an excellent state of preservation, and is arranged and 

 labelled in accordance with Mr. Gregory M. Mathews's " List 

 of the Birds of Australia." It comprises over 4,900 skins 

 and 1,100 species and sub-species, as enumerated in Mathews's 

 " List," including 22 types and co-types. It is Mr. White's 

 intention to add to the collection from time to time, wdth the 

 object of making it as complete as possible. 



In presenting the collection to the National Museum, his 

 chief object has been, while ensuring its permanent preservation, 

 to make it available for reference to scientific workers, and, 

 with a view of encouraging the study of ornithology, to 

 members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union in 

 particular, to which body he has presented his duplicate 

 specimens, besides giving practical evidence of his earnestness 

 in other directions. In order to forward Mr. White's desire 

 in this direction, the Trustees of the Museum have arranged 

 that the collection will be available for reference purposes to 

 members of the R.A.O.U. one evening each month, in addition 

 to the usual official hours. 



Special arrangements were made by Mr. White for the 



