A Merrill, /« Memoriam : Charles Emil Bendire. "j^J^ 



dedicated to him, viz. : Megascops asio hendirei Brewster, Loxia 

 curvirostra bendirei Ridgway, and Harporhynchus bendirei Coues, 

 his name will be remembered in other branches of science. Thus, 

 a mammal bears the name Atophyrax bendirei Merriam ; a fish, 

 Potamocottus bendirei Bean, and three fossil trees are Acer bendirei 

 Lesquereux, Rhus bendirei Lesquereux, and Mars ilea bendirei 

 Ward. He also first cleared up the life history of the ' Red 

 Fish ' of Idaho, showing that the supposed little land-locked red 

 salmon, Oncorhyncluis kejmeriyi^ is really the young breeding male 

 or grilse of Oncorhynchiis nerka. 



While in Wa^shington on leave of absence and on duty from 

 September, 1883, to August, 1884, Major Bendire, at Professor 

 Baird's request, assumed charge, as Honorary Curator, of the 

 Department of Oology in the U. S. National Museum, which was 

 in a neglected condition. Most of the eggs of North American 

 land birds were stored without order and very many were of more 

 or less doubtful identification, but the latter have since been elim- 

 inated from the collection ; the eggs of the water birds were in a 

 somewhat more satisfactory condition, and many are still retained. 

 With his characteristic energy. Major Bendire at once went over 

 this material and incorporated with it his private collection of about 

 8,000 specimens, which he presented to the Museum, and which 

 is the basis of the present collection of about 52,000 specimens, 

 acquired largely by his personal efforts and by the gifts of his 

 friends and correspondents. This collection is the culmination of 

 Major Bendire's life work as an oologist ; its excellent arrange- 

 ment, the fine condition and careful identification of the speci- 

 mens, and the full series of most species being too well known to 

 the members of the Union to need detailed description. There 

 are few of us who have not gladly contributed sets of especially 

 rare eggs, knowing that they would nowhere be of more real sci- 

 entific use and value than in our friend's custody. 



Having rearranged the collection of eggs to his satisfaction 

 and made it available for study while constantly adding to it, he 

 was prepared to undertake a work which he had long had in mind, 

 and which was suggested to him by Professor Baird. This was 

 to be an Oology of North American birds, but as notes and 

 material gathered by an extensive correspondence and careful 



