﻿20 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192 
  9 
  

  

  The 
  assistant 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  the 
  bureau 
  has 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  drawn 
  

   up 
  a 
  detailed 
  plan 
  whereby 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  catalogue 
  could 
  be 
  re- 
  

   organized 
  and 
  publication 
  resumed. 
  The 
  initial 
  capital 
  required 
  

   under 
  this 
  plan 
  would 
  be 
  $75,000 
  for 
  equipping 
  a 
  printing 
  plant 
  and 
  

   maintaining 
  the 
  central 
  bureau 
  for 
  one 
  year. 
  After 
  the 
  first 
  year 
  

   the 
  enterprise 
  would 
  again 
  be 
  self-supporting 
  through 
  the 
  sale 
  of 
  

   the 
  catalogue 
  to 
  subscribers. 
  At 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  the 
  past 
  year 
  the 
  assist- 
  

   ant 
  in 
  charge 
  was 
  in 
  correspondence 
  regarding 
  the 
  plan 
  with 
  Prof. 
  

   Henry 
  E. 
  Armstrong, 
  F. 
  R. 
  S., 
  chairman 
  of 
  the 
  executive 
  committee, 
  

   in 
  whom 
  the 
  1922 
  Brussels 
  Convention 
  vested 
  authority 
  to 
  consider 
  

   and 
  propose 
  plans 
  for 
  resuming 
  publication. 
  

  

  NECEOLOGY 
  

  

  ROBERT 
  RIDGWAY 
  

  

  Kobert 
  Ridgway, 
  curator 
  of 
  birds, 
  died 
  at 
  Olney, 
  111., 
  March 
  25, 
  

   1929. 
  He 
  was 
  born 
  at 
  Mount 
  Carmel, 
  111., 
  July 
  2, 
  1850, 
  and 
  was 
  early 
  

   attracted 
  to 
  natural-history 
  subjects. 
  When 
  a 
  boy 
  of 
  14 
  years 
  he 
  

   came 
  to 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  Professor 
  Baird, 
  who 
  later 
  secured 
  for 
  him 
  

   the 
  position 
  of 
  naturalist 
  on 
  the 
  fortieth 
  parallel 
  survey 
  under 
  Clar- 
  

   ence 
  King. 
  He 
  went 
  to 
  San 
  Francisco 
  via 
  Panama 
  in 
  May, 
  1867, 
  and 
  

   spent 
  three 
  years 
  in 
  the 
  field. 
  He 
  prepared 
  a 
  report 
  on 
  the 
  collec- 
  

   tions 
  made 
  by 
  him, 
  which 
  was 
  published 
  in 
  1877. 
  In 
  the 
  meantime, 
  

   Professor 
  Baird 
  had 
  projected 
  a 
  work 
  on 
  birds 
  in 
  conjunction 
  with 
  

   Dr. 
  Thomas 
  M. 
  Brewer, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Ridgway 
  was 
  engaged 
  to 
  provide 
  the 
  

   technical 
  descriptions. 
  This 
  work, 
  the 
  History 
  of 
  North 
  American 
  

   Birds, 
  was 
  published 
  in 
  three 
  large 
  volumes 
  in 
  1874 
  and 
  covered 
  the 
  

   land 
  birds 
  only. 
  In 
  1884 
  the 
  two 
  volumes 
  on 
  water 
  birds 
  appeared, 
  

   completing 
  a 
  memorable 
  undertaking. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Ridgway 
  was 
  employed 
  at 
  intervals 
  by 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  In- 
  

   stitution 
  up 
  to 
  1874, 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  designated 
  as 
  ornithologist, 
  a 
  posi- 
  

   tion 
  he 
  held 
  under 
  varying 
  titles 
  to 
  July 
  1, 
  1880, 
  when 
  he 
  became 
  

   curator 
  of 
  birds, 
  and 
  continued 
  under 
  this 
  title 
  until 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  his 
  

   death. 
  He 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  busy 
  worker, 
  devoted 
  to 
  his 
  subject, 
  and 
  spent 
  

   little 
  time 
  in 
  recreation. 
  His 
  first 
  published 
  note 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  

   American 
  Naturalist, 
  in 
  1869, 
  and 
  from 
  that 
  date 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  his 
  

   communications 
  were 
  frequent, 
  amounting 
  to 
  well 
  over 
  500 
  titles 
  in 
  

   all, 
  exclusive 
  of 
  his 
  more 
  pretentious 
  works. 
  In 
  1886 
  he 
  published 
  

   a 
  Nomenclature 
  of 
  Colors 
  which 
  was 
  quickly 
  adopted 
  by 
  naturalists 
  

   and 
  became 
  the 
  standard 
  for 
  descriptive 
  work, 
  to 
  be 
  replaced 
  only 
  

   by 
  the 
  same 
  author's 
  Color 
  Standards 
  and 
  Color 
  Nomenclature 
  issued 
  

   in 
  1912. 
  Li 
  1887 
  his 
  Manual 
  of 
  North 
  American 
  Birds 
  made 
  its 
  

   appearance, 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  second 
  edition 
  in 
  1896. 
  

  

  For 
  many 
  years 
  Mr. 
  Ridgway 
  had 
  been 
  collecting 
  material 
  and 
  

   data 
  for 
  a 
  technical 
  treatise 
  on 
  the 
  birds 
  of 
  North 
  and 
  Middle 
  Amer- 
  

  

  