DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY. do 



inestimable. Mr. F. D. Godman, F.E.S., the co-author with 

 Mr. Salvin, of the great work, the " Biologia Centrali- 

 Americana," has, since the death of the latter gentleman, 

 given much of his time to the registration of the collections 

 of birds presented by him to the Museum, and it may be 

 confidently asserted that in the next Annual Report the 

 completion of this huge task will be announced. 



It must be noted that as these additional donations of 

 specimens are incorporated in the bird-cabinets, the entire 

 collection is revised and set in order, the specimens arranged 

 in glass-topped boxes and labelled, so that the collection 

 should be made of complete use for the purpose of reference. 



During the past year great progress has been made with 

 the re-arrangement of the collections of eggs and skeletons. 

 The former work has been entrusted to Mr, Eugene Gates, 

 an accomplished oologist, who has had an experience of thirty 

 years' field-work in Burma, and is v/ell known as the editor 

 of the second edition of Mr. Allan Hume's " Nests and Eggs 

 of Indian Birds." Mr. Gates is now engaged in re-arranging 

 and cataloguing the collection of Birds' eggs in the Museum, 

 and during the year 1898 no less than 15,000 specimens have 

 been dealt with. 



Similar satisfactory progress has been made with the 

 re-arrangement and determination of the collection of Bird- 

 skeletons. During the past year the whole of the specimens 

 of Penguins, Petrels, Pelecans and Cormorants, as well as 

 the Ducks, have been examined by Mr. W. P. Py craft, care- 

 fully identified by him, and arranged in boxes. A number 

 of doubtfully identified or imperfect skeletons have been 

 eliminated from the collection, while many beautifully 

 prepared specimens have been added to the series. 



The re-arrangement of the specimens in the Public Gallery 

 has made great progress, and nearly one-half of this gallery 

 is now completed. The most competent of taxidermists 

 have been employed, and every eff'ort has been made to 

 render the specimens exhibited in the public gallery as true 

 to nature as can be achieved by the art of the birdstuff'er. 

 The mounting of the specimen's has been mainly executed 

 by Mr. J. Cullingford, of Durham, and Mr. G. Pickhardt, of 

 London. 



Simultaneously with this reorganisation of the exhibition 

 series in the Bird Gallery, all badly mounted and unsuitable 

 specimens have been removed, and have either been trans- 

 ferred to the duplicates, or, when of historical value, carefully 

 unmounted and incorporated in the study series. 



The groups illustrating the nesting habits of British birds 

 are now so nearly complete that additions to this scries can 

 be expected to take place only at rare intervals. During 

 1898 the nests of the Grey-Lag Goose {Anser aiiser) and the 

 common Partridge (Perdix perdix) have been added, as well 

 as a beautiful pair of birds of the Glaucous Gull (Larus 

 glaucun) with their nestlings, procured on Waigats Islancj 



