CLASSIFICATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND 

 LIFE-HISTORY STUDIES 



Research and services performed by the Bu- 

 reau's Bird and Mammal Laboratories, located at 

 the U.S. National Museum, involve all of the ac- 

 tivities of handling and maintaininij the extensive 

 study collections, identification services to coopera- 

 tors and scientists throuo-liout the country and in 

 foreign nations, and much in tlie way of extension 

 education to many of the very large number of 

 people who visit tlie Museum and the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



CuratoriaJ irork. — In 1960, tlie Laboratories re- 

 ceived, prepared, cataloged, carded, and loaned a 

 total of 3,390 bird and 8,753 mammal specimens. 

 In addition, the entire bird collection, including 

 that of the Smithsonian Institution, with facilities, 

 was moved from its old location to quarters on the 

 top floor of the new, air-conditioned, east wing of 

 the Xatural History iMuseum. The moving job 

 required tlie liandlingof about 325,000 bird skins, 

 including 2,744 type specimens. The mammal 

 portion of the collection, containing 305,000 skins 

 and 2,980 type specimens, will be moved to new 

 quarters when they are available. 



Taxonoinic and d/.sfr/hufion ftfvdiex. — Histori- 

 cally, taxonomic researcli is one of the oldest func- 

 tions of the Bureau and its predecessor agencies. 

 In 1962, formal studies included geograpliic varia- 

 tion in Canada geese and hermit thrushes, birds of 

 the northern Rocky Mountain region, methods of 

 detennining sex in cranes, a taxonomic review of 

 the bobcats, distribution of Alaskan mammals, the 

 mammals of Delaware, Mainland, and the District 

 of Columbia, and characteristics of game-bird car- 

 casses to permit positive identification in court 

 trials involving migratory birds. Various other 

 lesser and informal studies were active. 



Walrus. — By agreement with the U.S. Public 

 Health Service, Dr. Francis H. Fay of the Arctic 

 Health Research Center was engaged to prepare 

 for publication the results of his many years of 

 research on the Pacific "Walrus, mostly on St. 

 Lawrence Island. Dr. Fay is proceeding on a 

 manuscript concerned witli tlie distribution and 

 biology of the species throughout its range. 



During the aerial sui-vey of sea otters on April 

 8, 1962, about 100 walruses were observed on Amak 

 Island in the Beriiig Sea, about 20 miles northeast 

 of Cold Bay near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. 

 This occurrence on Amak Island, a traditional 



Careful identification of wild birds and mammals is 

 one of the important jobs of the Bureau's Bird and 

 Mammal Laboratories in the U.S. National Museum. 

 Often positive identification is possible only through 

 exacting measurement and comparison of a large series 

 of individuals. (Photo by Richard H. Manville) 



hauling ground, is the first in numy years and may 

 be an indication of an expanding walrus popula- 

 tion. The Bureau's estimate of walruses in Alas- 

 kan waters, made in 1961, is 90,000. 



Bat handing. — In 1962, approxiamtely 80,000 

 bats were banded by Branch cooperators, the larg- 

 est number in any single year. A total of 1,087 

 recoveries were reported to the Laboratory during 

 the year. Out of this program, now several years 

 old, there has come new knowledge on the homing 

 instinct in bats, discovery of bat flyways to the 

 coasts of Connecticut and Massachusetts, a longev- 

 ity record of 19 years for the big brown bat, other 

 valuable records on age and movements, and a 

 growing interest in this unique group of nmnnnals. 



Rare and endangered species. — Current interest 

 in the preservation of rare and endangered species 

 has brought to the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and 

 Wildlife many requests for infonnation. A tabu- 

 lation indicates that approxinuitely 16 species of 



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