70 Department of Zoology. 



1886-1887. Birds. The Department received in 1887 the Tweeddale 

 Collection of Birds and ornithological works. This most valuable 

 donation was made by Captain G. R. Wardlaio Ramsay, the 

 Marquis of Tweeddale's nephew. It consisted of about 35,000 

 specimens, of which 27,000 were estimated to require incor- 

 poration into the collection. It excelled in certain local faunas, 

 such as the Birds of the Philippine Islands, Andaman Islands, 

 Malay Peninsula, etc., in which the British Museum was 

 deficient. The library, which was transmitted by Captain Ward- 

 law Ramsay at the same time, consisted of about 2300 volumes, 

 among them a number of the most costly ornithological works 

 (by Gould, Temminck, Audubon, etc.), and was, by the donor's 

 express desire, placed in contiguity with the study-series of birds 

 in the Bird Room. 



Beside this grand collection, further large instalments of Birds 

 were received of the Godman and Sahin, Seebohm and Sclater 

 Collections ; and a selection from the late Sir W. Jardine's Collec- 

 tion (507 specimens) was purchased. 



Reptiles. Small collections continued to be received for this 

 branch, too numerous to be mentioned in detail, but the com- 

 pletion of the new edition of the Catalogue of Lizards by Mr. 

 Boulenger permits of an authentic statement as regards the 

 growth of this part of the collection within forty years. That 

 time had elapsed since the Trustees published the first edition as 

 a small 16 volume, prepared by Dr. Gray, who enumerated 471 

 species, represented by 1489 examples in the Museum. The 

 later edition consists of three 8 volumes, well illustrated, 

 enumerating 1617 species, of which 1206 are in the Museum, 

 represented by 9803 specimens. The collection, thus, is believed 

 to be unrivalled, like the catalogue itself, which will be the 

 standard work for this order of Reptiles for many years to come. 



Of the accessions to the collection of Fishes, "beside those 

 mentioned above, should be mentioned a consignment of 329 

 specimens from Muscat, presented by Surgeon-Major A. S. G. 

 Jayakar ; and the collection of Deep-sea Fishes obtained in the 

 Faeroe Channel during the cruises of H.M.SS. Knight Errant 

 and Triton in 1880 and 1882. This proved to be the most 

 important contribution that up to that time had been made 

 to our knowledge of the bathybial fishes of the British area. 



The British Saloon received a very valuable and instructive 

 accession by Lord Walsingham's donation of his unique collection 

 of larvae of British Lepidoptera. They were mounted by 

 the donor himself in life-like attitudes upon twigs or leaves, 



