Ref'ort of the Director for 1^22 17 



192 1 and 1922, constitute doubtless the most important anthropological 

 study so far made in Polynesia. (See p. 21). During 1921 the land shell 

 fauna of Guam and Saipan were studied, the fungi of Hawaii were sys- 

 tematically collected and an ethnological survey of Lanai was completed — 

 the first such survey of any Hawaiian island. During 1922 a geological 

 survey of Kauai and a botanical survey of the Marquesas were completed, 

 an expedition was sent to Fanning Island, and remarkably large collections 

 were made in Guam. 



Plans for 1923 include a systematic scientific survey of Johnston 

 Island, Wake Island and of fifteen islands and reefs lying between Niihau 

 and Ocean islands ; an ethnological expedition to Tahiti ; and a collecting 

 expedition to the Marianas and to the Caroline Islands. All these expedi- 

 tions serve not only to enlarge and to fill gaps in the collections now on 

 hand, but also to meet the needs of other institutions and to furnish data 

 for increasing the value of the Museum publications. 



Survey of the Hawaiian Bird Reservation 



Preliminary arrangements have been made for a scientific survey of 

 the scattered islands included within the roughly defined Hawaiian Bird 

 Reservation (Latitudes 22°-28°N, Longitude 161 "-175° W). Conferences 

 with officials in Washingfton and at Pearl Harbor indicate the prob- 

 ability that the Navy Department will provide a ship for conducting re- 

 searches during the months of April, May, and June, 1923, under the 

 auspices of the United States Biological Survey and the Bishop Museum. 

 The position of these islands, the large differences in their topography, 

 shores, and surrounding waters, and the interesting zoological, botanical, 

 and ethnological materials so far obtained from them suggest that the pro- 

 posed expedition may yield important contributions to science. 



The Whitney South Seas Expedition 



A generous gift of Mr. Harry Payne Whitney has enabled the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History to organize a zoological expedition on an 

 unusually comprehensive scale. Under the direction of a committee of 

 eminent ornithologists — Dr. Leonard C. Sanford, Dr. Frank M. Chapman 

 and Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy — the field party, in charge of Mr. Rollo 

 H. Beck, established headquarters at Papeete late in 1920. During 192 1 

 extensive collections were made in Tahiti and other islands of the Society 

 group, at Christmas Island, at the Marquesas, and on several islets of the 

 Tuamotu group. During 1922 the schooner "France," purchased by the 

 expedition, was used for continuing investigations in the Marquesas, 

 Austral, and Gambler island groups and at Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno, 

 Elizabeth and Ducie islands. 



