42 EEPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1908. 



bats and other small mammals were supiDlied to Mr. Oldfield Thomas 

 and Mr. Kimd Andersen, of the same museum. Dr. Glover M. Allen 

 examined specimens of South American bats, and Dr. H. D. Reed 

 borrowed a number of specimens for use in the preparation of a 

 list of species occurring in the vicinity of Ithaca, New York. Mr. W. 

 K. Gregory, of Columbia University, New York, spent several days 

 at the Museum studying the skulls and teeth of insectivores from an 

 evolutionary standpoint ; Mr. E. E. Heller, of the University of Cali- 

 fornia, examined types of mammals of northwestern America; and 

 Mr. J. T. Nichols, of the American Museum of Natural History, 

 devoted some time to making comparisons of porpoise skulls. As in 

 23revious years, the naturalists of the Biological Survey made exten- 

 sive use of the collections. 



Birds. — Doctor Abbott and Doctor Mearns, as previously explained, 

 were among the principal contributors of bird skins. Mr. Robert 

 Ridgway, curator of the division, was in Costa Rica from January 

 to May, 1908, on the invitation of Mr. Jose C. Zeledon, a zealous 

 friend of the Museum, who most generously paid the expenses of the 

 field work, besides personally supervising its details and employing 

 a ^professional taxidermist. The principal object of Mr. Ridgway "s 

 trip was to collect information and specimens for use in the prepara- 

 tion of his manual on the Birds of North and Middle America, now 

 in course of publication by the Museum. He brought back with him 

 about 1,600 specimens. 



Costa Rican birds to the number of 154, including topotypes of 

 recently described species, were also obtained from Mr. Outram Bangs, 

 of Boston, parth^ by gift and ]:)artly by exchange. The late Mrs. 

 P. L. Jouy presented about 500 birds, chiefly North American, which 

 had been collected by her husband ; Corpl. Robert A. Schroder, U. S. 

 Army, contributed 45 specimens, including the type of a new sub- 

 species of fantail flycatcher, from Mount Malindang, Mindanao 

 Island; Maj. John R. A^liite, a number of sj)ecimens from Palawan; 

 and Mr. Owen Bryant, of Cohasset, Mass., a collection of 48 New- 

 foundland birds, containing two skins of a recently described wood- 

 pecker. Twenty-five specimens from southeastern Europe, Morocco, 

 etc., were donated bv Mr. J. H. Riley, of the Museum; and 9 speci- 

 mens from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, were obtained in 

 exchange from Mr. J. H. Fleming, of Toronto, Canada. Among the 

 latter were examples of several sjDecies which have become rare. Mr. 

 E. J. Court, of Washington, j)resented the type specimen of the 

 heron, Ardea herodias treganzce. 



The important task of relabeling the stud}^ collection of bird skins 

 progressed satisfactorily, covering the contents of 71 quarter-unit 

 and 19 half-unit cases. This Avork is now complete for al)out three- 

 sevenths of the collection. New written labels were supplied for the 



