54 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



in excess of the receipts for the preceding year, the number of acces- 

 sions or "lots" of material having been eighty-six. The scientific 

 value of the accessions for the year just closed exceeded that for the 

 year 1894-95, including, as they did, a rare and extinct parrot [Nestor 

 product us), presented by Dr. W. L. Ralph; one species doubtfully 

 extinct, many types of new species, and a number of rare specimens. 

 Si)ecimens or collections of unusual importance have been received from 

 more than forty individuals and establishments during the year. The 

 list of important contributors for the preceding year was headed by 

 ]\Ir, A. Boucard, Isle of Wight, England. He has been a very gener- 

 ous contributor, having presented during this year more than 2,800 

 specimens from various parts of the world. His liberality toward the 

 IMuseum is very highly appreciated. 



Among other important accessions the following may be mentioned: 

 From Dr. W. L. Abbott, 217 specimens, representing 83 species, from 

 Madagascar, and 67 specimens, mainly eagles and hawks, from Kashmir 

 (gift); Lieut. Wirt Robinson, United States Army, 167 specimens from 

 Margarita Island, Venezuela, and Bogota, Colombia, including types of 

 11 species (gift); Rev. H. T. Heyde, 1404 Erato street, New Orleans, 

 La., 183 bird skins from Central America (j)urchase); H. P. Attwater, 

 San Antonio, Tex., 367 specimens from Texas (purchase) ; Dr. A. Fenyes, 

 H('louan, Egypt, 79 specimens from Egypt (gift) ; 190 birds collected 

 by Robert Ridgway, in Florida and other States, for the U. S. National 

 Museum; S. Daunefaerd, New Zealand, 9 specimens from Chatham 

 and Snares Islands (purchase); F. Stephens, Witch Creek, Cal., type 

 of i^peotyto cunicularia obscura (gift); William Brewster, Cambridge, 

 Mass., 141 specimens from Mexico and Lower California (gift); Charles 

 E. Kern, Washington, I). C, 85 specimens from Costa Rica and Nica- 

 ragua (gift) ; F. W. True, U. S. National Museum, and D. W. Pren- 

 tiss, jr., Washington, D. C, 142 specimens collected in Alaska; Richard 

 C. McGregor, Palo Alto, Cal., 119 birds from California and Colorado. 



The material received during the year has been catalogued and dis- 

 tributed in the various series of the collection, and a considerable 

 number of unidentified species have been determined. Mr. J. H. Riley, 

 of Falls Church, Va., gave his services gratuitously for about six 

 months, during which time valuable assistance was rendered in the 

 matter of cataloguing. Mr. H. C. Oberholser, of the Department of 

 Agriculture, has been engaged for a year or more in rearranging the 

 neotropical seriesyand several families of Passeres have received atten- 

 tion. This work is also done gratuitously, and has been performed out- 

 side of office hours. 



Mr. Ridgway states that a large amount of incidental work has 

 been performed, sucli as furnishing information of a technical character 

 in response to requests received through the mail; the preparation of a 

 card catalogue of the sectional library; the preparation of data relat- 

 ing to the type material in the department, and the reading of proof 



