TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 79 
Scansoriformes, Barbets and Toucans........ 9 14 
Piciformes, Woodpeckersi: 2. 2s 4 8 
Passeriformes, Thrushes, Sparrows and 
other perching birds..362 1290 
$13 2799 
Summary: Orders, 26; Species, 813; Specimens, 2,799. 
DEPARTMENT OF REPTILES. 
Raymond LL, Ditmars, Curator. 
Throughout the year the department was maintained at a 
uniformly high standard, but there were various difficulties in 
obtaining specimens and keeping the cages properly filled. With 
the exception of a moderate number of Australian specimens 
received during the summer, no foreign reptiles were obtainable. 
The arrival of the Australian reptiles was rather a mishap, as 
they spread a parasitic disease among several valuable speci- 
mens that had long been in the collection, and these were neces- 
sarily destroyed to prevent a general epidemic. Aside from these 
casualties there were few losses of importance throughout the 
year. 
With no market for the purchase of foreign specimens it 
was necessary to fill the gaps from losses of the small specimens 
with local material. Keeper George Palmer, of the Reptile House 
staff, collected a large number of snakes of various species in 
the mountains of Pennsylvania. Local collectors brought in 
many specimens, and we made many purchases of snakes, liz- 
ards, turtles and amphibians from collectors in the southern 
states. A considerable number of small amphibians and lizards 
required additional cages, as did the steadily growing economic 
rodent-reptile collection, which has attracted much interest. 
Owing to shortage of labor, the Reptile House keepers built all 
the necessary cages in a workshop fitted up by themselves, and 
produced excellent results, both in wood and metal construction. 
The establishment for breeding small stock used es freshly 
killed food, and maintained for a number of vears in a small 
room of the Reptile House, was elaborated in design and re- 
moved to a much larger room in the Small Mammal House where 
much better results will be obtained. The room vacated was 
