40 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



All important part of the administrative work of the curator has been 

 the extension of the collections through exchange, and several of the 

 most important accessions have been thus acquired. Among the most 

 important exchanges have been those with the Musee d'Histoire Nat- 

 urello, of Paris, 80 specimens, 79 species, from Madagascar and Cochin 

 China 5 with the British Museum, 225 specimens, 179 species, from In- 

 ilia and Europe; with the Mexican Geographical Exploring Expedition, 

 J 35 specimens, 75 species, and with Count Uans Von Berlepsch, of 

 JMii^den, Germany, CO specimens, 50 species, of South American birds. 

 Two thousand five hundred and eighty-one specimens have been sent 

 out in exchange and a full equivalent received. The routine work has 

 been j^ushed forward as rapidly as possible, the exhibition series having 

 been entirely arranged and twelve additional exhibition cases filled. 

 More than half of the mounted collection has been transferred to exhi- 

 bition stands of the improved standard, recently adopted. The final 

 labeling of the exhibition series has been deferred by delays at the 

 Government Printing Ofllce, and advantage has been taken of the delay 

 to revise the labels, in order that they may accord with the order of 

 classification adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union. The 

 " Code and Check -list of Xorth American Pirds," adopted by the Ameri- 

 can Ornithologists' Union, which has been published during the year, 

 was prepared by a committee of the Union holding its sessions in the 

 Ornithological Laboratory of the jMuseum, and the systematic work in- 

 volved was based ui>oii the national collections. The almost universal 

 adoption of this check-list in America, and the consequent harmony of 

 arrangement between the national collections and those in niiiseiiin col- 

 lections throughout the country, will not only greatly facilitate the work 

 of this department in the future, but will be of great advantage to the 

 ju-ogress of ornithology. 



The curator, Mr. Pidgway, and the assistant curator, Dr. Stejneger, 

 have published about fifty pai)ers upon the collections during the year, 

 occupying about 500 octavo pages. 



Among the investigations in progress are Mr. Ridgway's studies 

 of IJm2yi(Jona.r, ruffinus, Larus, Jl^'strclata, Colinus, and Lagoons. ]\rr. 

 Pidgway has also in preparation a manual of Xorth American birds for 

 the use of naturalists and sportsmen. Dr. Stejneger has in preparation 

 a monograph of the birds of Japan, for use in the preparation of which 

 the Japanese Government has sent out a largo number of specimens. 



Another important research completed during the year was that by 

 Professor Ferrari-Perez, of the Geographical Exploring Ivxpedition of 

 jMexico, upon the birds of Mexico, the entire collection of birds among 

 the national collections having been brought to "Washington for deter- 

 mination and comparison, and his paper being based upon the studies 

 of the two iiatioiuil collections. 



The number of specimens in the collection is now 35,945, 7,000 of 

 which have been set apart for the exhibition series. The universal cry 



