REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 23 



lections from especially interesting regions. Most prominent was a 

 series of 615 Philippine birds presented by Dr. E. A. Mearns, U. S. 

 Army, and obtained by him on the islands of Mindanao, Dinagat, 

 Basilan, Cagayan Sulu, and Sulu, the most noteworthy specimens 

 coming from Mount Apo. The collection as a whole contains prob- 

 ably three new genera, about 19 new species and subspecies, a num- 

 ber of topotypes, and several other forms not previously represented 

 in the Museum. Doctor Mearns also brought 3 line specimens of 

 the Nicobar pigeon as a gift from Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, U. S. 

 Army, which the latter collected on an islet near Mindanao and 

 prepared himself. The W. L. Abbott collections contained 316 speci- 

 mens of birds obtained in the Mergui Archipelago and on the islands 

 of Banka, Billiton, and Karimata, between Sumatra and Borneo, 

 which add several rare species to the Museum series. 



The Philippine Museum at Manila sent in exchange over 150 well- 

 prepared skins, including topotypes of some recently discovered 

 species. A specimen of the very rare Philippine monkey-eating 

 eagle was presented by Mr. Fletcher L. Keller, and 2 specimens of 

 the equally rare Celebes giant swift were given by Dr. Daniel G. Beebe. 

 Mr. George A. Goss and Mr. II. D. Dodge, of Waterbury, Connecticut, 

 donated a small collection from Mount Kinabalu, British North 

 Borneo, consisting mainly of topotypes of species described within 

 the last ten years and also containing one new species. Another 

 small but choice collection obtained in the interior of China during a 

 geological reconnoissance by Mr. Bailey Willis and Mr. Eliot Black- 

 welder, under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution, was contrib- 

 uted to the Museum. 



A very important series of over 750 Costa Rican birds, contributed 

 by the National Museum of that country, furnishes the curator, Mr. 

 Robert Ridgway, with much desired material for his work on the 

 Birds of North and Middle America. Mention should also be made 

 of a collection of birds from Jamaica, obtained by Mr. W. R. Maxon, 

 of the Museum staff, and one from South Carolina and New Hamp- 

 shire, presented by Mr. Nathan Clifford Brown, of Portland, Maine. 

 Mr. Homer Davenport, of Morris Plains, New Jersey, lias generously 

 continued to send specimens of rare pheasants, geese, etc. Among 

 the specimens turned over by the National Zoological Park a Cali- 

 fornia condor and a cassowary are especially noteworthy. 



The additions to the section of birds' eggs, comprising 129 nests 

 and 665 eggs, contained some interesting material, the most valuable 

 coming from Mexico. The principal contributors were Dr. W. L. 

 Ralph, Dr. E. A. Mearns, U. S. Army, Dr. J. C. Call, and the members 

 of the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture. 



The more important accessions in the division of reptiles were a 

 collection of 561 specimens from Japan, Formosa, and adjacent 



