36 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



bott, and those obtained by the naturalists who accompanied the United 

 States Eclipse Expedition to South Africa, are of special interest. 



Three new groups of mounted animals have been placed on exhibi- 

 tion during the year, and thirty-three single specimens have been 

 mounted and placed on exhibition. 



Five hundred and sixty-one specimens have been added to the collec- 

 tion during the year, in addition to a large amount of material de- 

 posited by the Department of Agriculture. 



Department of Birds. — The exhibition series in this Department has 

 been very greatly improved during the year. The extensive collections 

 made by the U. S. Fish Commission on the Galapagos Islands, and in 

 other parts of tropical America, have been worked up by the curator, 

 and the results have been published in Vol. xn of the Proceedings of 

 the National Museum. A collection of birds from Costa Eica has been 

 described in Vol. xr of the Proceedings of the National Museum. A 

 careful revision has been made of the genera Xiphocolaptes and Scleru- 

 rus, and published in Vol. xn of the Proceedings of the National 

 Museum. Dr. Leonhard Stejueger has continued his studies on the 

 birds of Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, and has prepared a paper on 

 the extinct Pallas' Cormorant of Bering Island. 



The number of specimens in the reserve, duplicate, and exhibition 

 series is now estimated by Mr. Eidgway to be 60,219, giving an increase 

 of 2,1545 specimens during the year. The number of catalogue entries 

 made during the year is 1,739. 



Department of Birds' Eggs. — The collection of birds' eggs remains in 

 the custody of Capt. Charles E. Bendire, U. S. Army. 



Among the accessions received during the year, fifteen are mentioned 

 by Captain Bendire in his annual report as being of special importance. 

 Among the most valuable is a collection of nests and eggs made near 

 Fort St. James and presented by Mr. Eobert MacFarlane, of the Hud- 

 son's Bay Company, also a collection of nests and eggs from Colorado, 

 presented by Mr. Denis -Gale. Several species, new to the collections, 

 have been received during the year, including some nests of rare birds. 

 The number of eggs of North American birds is now 44,32G, and of for- 

 eign birds 4,424. The number of nests in the reserve and exhibition 

 series is 2,491, making a grand total of 51,241 specimens of eggs and 

 nests in the collection. This gives an increase of 1,068 over the total of 

 last year. 



Department of Reptiles and Batrachians. — Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, 

 recently appointed curator of this Department, has commenced a 

 rearrangement of the collections. The collection of North American 

 lizards has been reclassified and catalogued. The most important 

 accession of the year is a large series of reptiles and batrachians col- 

 lected by Dr. C. Hart Merriam in the San Francisco mountain plateau 

 in Arizona. Collections made by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer 

 Albatross, and by Prof. David S, Jordan, president of the Indiana State 



