8 



THE OOLOGIST 



ings of the birds or animals and may 

 be considered the early approach to 

 the habitat group which followed and 

 which had a painted background and 

 more expanse of territory. The only 

 other records of early American group 

 work are found in the histories of 

 Peale's Philadelphia Museum where 

 birds were grouped together but Dr. 

 Witmer Stone states that they were 

 miscellaneous in character and con- 

 tained varieties of different sorts of 

 birds, mounted on rocks, branches, 

 etc., with a general painted back- 

 ground covering the whole. Dr. Stone 

 knows of no one who did this kind of 

 work between Peale and Werner and 

 while there were also a few groups in 

 the Carpenter Collection at German- 

 town, Pa., with painted backgrounds 

 they were very crude in character and 

 he feels that neither the Peale or Car- 

 penter groups could be strictly con- 

 sidered habitat groups. Mr Werner, 

 however, as I now believe him to be, 

 was the first American to produce hab- 

 itat groups of birds or animals. His 

 wife informs me that the idea was his 

 own and he made his first habitat group 

 with a painted background in 1870 

 which was sold to a private party. 

 His exhibit at the Centennial in 1876 

 while not strictly habitat in character 

 showed however the male, female, 

 nest, eggs, and immediate haunts of 

 the birds and animals and antedate 

 the a'bove-named groups of the same 

 character. I have in my possession 

 about seven small groups as the above 

 mounted by Mr. Werner in 1868 and 

 1869 with original data in his own 

 handwriting. The famous Arab and 

 Camel group formerly owned by the 

 American Museum but now in the 

 possession of the Carnegie Museum at 

 Pittsburgh which was imported from 

 abroad was first exhibited at the Paris 

 Exhibition in 1869. 



Mr. William Brewster, one of our 



most noted ornithologists, voices his 

 appreciation of Mr. Werner and his 

 work in the Nuttall Bulletin for 1879 

 pages 75, 80, 99, and 103 where he dis- 

 cusses briefly several rare birds and 

 eggs which formed a part of a collec- 

 tion obtained by Mr. Werner in April 

 and May 1878. He says in part: "1 

 recently had the pleasure of examining 

 a superb collection of birds and eggs 

 obtained by Mr. William H. Werner 

 in Comal County Texas during the 

 months of April and May 1878. Among 

 the specimens represented are many 

 of great rarity, and several of the 

 eggs are believed to be entirely new 

 to science." Mr. Brewster all through 

 this article describing such birds as 

 Golden-cheeked Warbler, Texas King- 

 fisher, Band-tailed Hawk and others 

 gives Mr. Werner great credit for con- 

 siderable data which he uses 



In another article on notes upon 

 the distribution, habits and nesting of 

 the Black-capped Vireo Mr. Brewster 

 states "From the above it will appear 

 that to William H. Werner is due all 

 credit for discovering the first authen- 

 tic nest of tlie Black-capped Vireo 

 known to science." Later near the end 

 of the page in a foot-note is written 

 "Mr. Werner has sent me for exami- 

 nation an exquisite little study in 

 water colors of a pair of Black-capped 

 Vireos with their nest and egg, taken 

 from specimens in his fine collection. 

 Probably many who visited the Cen- 

 tennial Exhibition at Philadelphia will 

 remember seeing there his exhibit of 

 several groups of mounted birds, all 

 masterpieces of taxidermal skill." 



Mr. Werner ma'de a number ot mar- 

 vellous collections of birds and ani- 

 mals. His first collection for any in- 

 stitution was made for the Kutztown 

 Normal School. According to records 

 obtained from Dr. Charles Boyer, head 

 of that school, a committee was ap- 

 pointed to confer with Mr. Werner on 



