Report of the President 



BIRDS * 



Frank M. Chapman, Curator 



The year 1920 has been marked by great progress and even 

 greater promise in the work of the Department of Birds. Both 

 in the field and in the study, the members of our staff have 

 labored with enthusiasm and efficiency, and, thanks to the coop- 

 eration of patrons of the Museum, we have been able to inau- 

 gurate plans for exploration and research of far-reaching 

 importance. 



On September 13, Mr. Rollo H. Beck, accompanied by Mr. 

 E. H. Quayle, as assistant, sailed from San Francisco for 

 Tahiti to begin a five years' exploration of the 

 Whitney islands of Polynesia. 



Expedition This is the most important expedition which 



the Department has ever sent into the field. Up 

 to the present time no intensive collecting of birds has been 

 done in the smaller islands of the Pacific, and Mr. Beck's well- 

 known qualifications as a collector of insular and marine forms 

 especially fit him for this difficult task. Thanks to the cordial 

 cooperation of the French Government, Mr. Beck has been 

 accorded the privilege of pursuing his investigations, and per- 

 mission to collect specimens; and we anticipate the receipt of 

 early shipments from him. 



This expedition was made possible through the generosity of 

 Mr. Harry Payne Whitney. 



The Museum's biological survey of the Andes has been con- 

 tinued by Mr. Harold E. Anthony, representing the Depart- 

 ment of Mammals, and Mr. George K. Cherrie, 

 Expedition to representing the Department of Birds. 



Messrs. Anthony and Cherrie left New York 

 City the latter part of June for southern Ecuador. They have 

 made their base at Portovelo, in the Province of Loja, at the 



•Under the Department of Ornithology (see also pages 221 to 223). 



