30 Report of the President 



of 1916, making a general reconnaissance. The bird col- 

 lections are the first ever made in these zoological regions 

 in which complete data concerning the environment and life 

 habits have been secured, and the scientific results of the work 

 accomplished in Colombia are being collected in the first vol- 

 ume of Dr. Chapman's reports, entitled "Distribution of 

 Bird Life in Colombia," constituting Volume XXXVI of the 

 Museum Bulletin, 191 7. Not the least important feature of 

 these expeditions from the Pan-American standpoint is the 

 very friendly relations which our representatives, especially 

 Dr. Chapman, have established with the officers and scientific 

 men of the various South American governments. 



Third, Messrs. Clarence R. Halter and L. A. Mannhardt 

 have been engaged in a biological survey of Nicaragua, espe- 

 cially for the purpose of making collections of reptiles and 

 fishes. 



In the meantime the Brewster-Sanford Expedition, under 

 the direction of Mr. Rollo H. Beck, which had for its object 

 the collection of all the oceanic birds of South America, has 

 completed a tour of the coasts and of the outlying islands, as a 

 result of four years' continuous and indefatigable exploration 

 on the part of Mr. Beck. The collection is being made for 

 complete scientific description and record. Mr. Beck is now 

 working in San Domingo of the Antilles. 



African exploration has been suspended, and the first steps 

 toward the collection of material for the Hall of Asiatic Life 



are being taken in the expedition to the mountains 

 Exploration f eas tern and southwestern China, headed by Mr. 



Roy C. Andrews, accompanied by Mrs. Andrews 

 and Mr. Edmund Heller, who was formerly attached to the 

 Roosevelt African expedition. In spite of the revolution in 

 China, the party has met with phenomenal success, having se- 

 cured nearly 2,000 birds and mammals, including materials for 

 groups of the rare Asiatic members of the chamois family, 

 known as the goral and serow. Among the contributors to this 

 important expedition are Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Bernheimer, 

 Mr. and Mrs. Sidney M. Colgate, Mr. James B. Ford, Mrs. 

 Adrian Hoffman Joline, Mr. Henry C. Frick, Mr. Childs 



