President's Address. 129 



Philippine Islands from Mr. A. H. Everett, and a valuable 

 collection of 175 birds from the Hawaian Archipelago, 

 collected by Mr. R. C. L. Perkins, was presented by the Joint 

 Committees of the Royal Society and the British Associa- 

 tion. One hundred and seventy-eight birds from the 

 Pilcomayo expedition, collected by Dr. Graham Kerr, were 

 presented by Captain Juan Page. Nine species new to the 

 Museum were received in exchange from the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild. 



In November, 1895, Mr. Seebohm died, to the irreparable 

 loss of the Museum, to which he becuieathed his collections. 

 These consisted of 16,950 specimens of birds and their 

 skeletons, in addition to the many thousands he had given 

 in his lifetime. The Seebohm bequest was received in 1896, 

 and added a fine series of Palsearctic birds to the Museum, 

 including, as it did, the Swinhoe collection from China, 

 the Pryer collection of Japanese birds, and all the 

 specimens obtained by Seebohm himself in Northern Russia, 

 Siberia, Greece, Asia Minor, and other countries. This 

 collection was supplemented by an addition of 1807 birds 

 from the Palsearctic region, from the collection of the late 

 Edward Hargitt. 



Sir Harry Johnston sent a series of 72 birds from Nyasa 

 Land, and was succeeded as H.B.M. Commissioner in British 

 Central Africa by Sir Alfred Sharpe, who continued his 

 natural history explorations, and sent a further small collec- 

 tion from Nyasa Land in 1896. A series of specimens from 

 the Marianne Islands was presented by the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild, who also gave a beautiful collection of mounted 

 Humming Birds. 



An interesting collection from the Savana of British 

 Guiana was presented by Mr. F. V. McConnell, and Mr. J. J. 

 Quelch. Other collections of importance received in 1896 

 were the Steere collection, consisting of 1650 specimens, from 

 the Philippine Islands, and the first instalment from the 

 expedition of Mr. John Whitehead to the same Archipelago, 

 consisting of 41 specimens from Luzon. Fifty-three birds 

 from Aden and Somali Land were received in exchange from 

 Captain Nurse, and 129 specimens from Somali Land and 

 Persia were presented by Mr. F. Gillett. 



