Vol. IX] EVERMANN— DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR ip/p 371 



the shore or on a boulder out in the stream where the water 

 rushes and swirls in the wildest way, the spray giving the bird a 

 veritable shower bath. But, as if this were not enough, the 

 ouzel bows to you a few times then takes a "header" off the 

 rock to the bottom of the stream where, clinging and scraping 

 along by means of claws and bill, it searches for caddis-fly larvae 

 and other aquatic insects upon which it feeds. That this little 

 bird can thus remain and move about under water is very sur- 

 prising, indeed. 



The nest of the Ouzel, a large globular structure composed 

 almost entirely of moss which is kept alive and green by the 

 spray, is usually placed in a cavity in the bank or on a rocky 

 ledge where it is splashed by the water ; sometimes it is placed 

 even behind a waterfall. The nest shown in this group was 

 about a foot above the water in a hole in a large rock in Pesca- 

 dero Creek, San Mateo County, California. One of the birds 

 is shown sitting on the rock, the other is seen in the entrance to 

 the nest. Above the nest is shown an azalea shrub {Azalea 

 occidentalis) in flower. The Water Ouzel is the only species 

 in North America of the family to which it belongs. It is found 

 from the Yukon south in the mountains to the Mexican border 

 and from the Black Hills westward to the Pacific. 



This group was prepared by Mr. Paul J. Fair. Miss Olive 

 E. Cutter painted the background. 



The Museum therefore has completed at this date 16 large 

 groups (ten mammal and six bird), four intermediate (all 

 mammals), and ten small panel groups (seven bird and three 

 mammal ) . 



Space is left for only one more large group and 25 small 

 panel groups. It has been provisionally decided to install in 

 the one remaining large case a group of Grizzly Bears. As the 

 California Grizzly Bear which occupied such a prominent place 

 in the early history of the State is now believed to be extinct, 

 it is proposed to get one of the nearly related species, either 

 from the Yellowstone Park or from the Stikine River, Alaska. 



PERSONNEL 



A few changes in the personnel of the Museum staff have 

 taken place within the year. 



