﻿NO. 7 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I926 79 



stay at Trinidad, our work having been facilitated in innumerable 

 ways by the cordial cooperation of the officials of the California Sea 

 Products Company. 



EXPLORATIONS IN SIAM 



Many years ago the Smithsonian Institution received from the 

 National Institute, in Washington, a collection of about lOO speci- 

 mens of birds from Prince Momfanoi (also called Chawfanoi) of 

 Siam, half-brother of the King of that period, and " in truth, right- 

 ful heir to the throne" according to Dr. Ruschenberger (Voyage 

 around the World, 1838). He was reported to be an enlightened 

 man, who loved pets, had many live animals and birds, and had a 

 museum in which were many stuffed birds and animals, set up 

 by himself. Due to faulty preservation, a large proportion of the speci- 

 mens received from Prince Momfanoi have long ago been destroyed 

 through the ravages of insects, but the record of his gift remains. 



From 1896 to 1899, Dr. W. L. Abbott, the veteran explorer, spent 

 several months of each year working through the province of Trang. 

 in the peninsular part of Siam, giving the Institution its second col- 

 lection of birds from that country. Later, in 1914-1916, he supported 

 Mr. Cecil Boden Kloss in the latter's exploration of parts of south- 

 eastern Siam and the Franco-Siamese boundary, which resulted in 

 over 130 additional birds. In 1916 and 1918, Mr. Kloss visited the 

 southwestern and other parts of the country, contributing 496 more 

 specimens. In 1924, over 200 birds were received from Dr. Abbott, 

 collected by J. H. Chambai and K. G. Gairdner; these were from 

 south and central Siam. In the same year. Dr. Hugh M. Smith, 

 while engaged in fisheries investigations for the Siamese govern- 

 ment, obtained a few specimens in the southern part of the country, 

 especially from the island of Koh Chang, in the Gulf of Siam, 

 including a new species of small " timaline " bird, Pellonieum st)iithl. 



During the years 1925 and 1926, Dr. Smith continued his natural 

 history work, with the aid of a Dyak collector, and has sent to the 

 Smithsonian Institution 968 birds from southern and central Siam. 

 In addition to birds, he has forwarded about 70 skins of mammals, 

 several hundred mollusks, crustaceans, fishes, reptiles, and ethnologi- 

 cal material. Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of mollusks, says, " Dr. 

 Hugh M. Smith's work in Siam has enabled him to make distinct 

 contributions in the field of mollusks. I feel sure that quite a few 

 new species and races will eventually be described when this material 

 is worked over with a fine-tooth comb. All of it fills a decided 



