MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 31 



REPORT ON THE MAMMALS AND BIRDS. 



By William Brewster. 



The past year has been singularly uneventful as far as the pre- 

 sent department is concerned. Practically no changes have been 

 made in the arrangements of the collections, and the only acquire- 

 ments are the following 



By gift. From William Brewster, a Mole (Parascalops breweri) 

 from Lake Umbagog, Maine ; two skins of Xantus's Jay (Aphelo- 

 coma c. hypoleuca), taken at La Paz, Lower California, by M. A. 

 Frazer, and four skins of the Florida Crow (Corvus a. floridanus), 

 taken at Fort Myers, Florida, by W. E. D. Scott. From Mrs. 

 J. J. Glesner, a double nest of a Vireo (apparently V. olivaceus). 

 Twenty-three skins of Mammals from Borneo and Great Natuna 

 Island, and nineteen skins of birds from Borneo and Celebes, 

 collected by E. and C. Hose, were presented by Dr. W. H. Fur- 

 ness through Professor Jayne. 



During the past winter Mr. G. S. Miller, Jr., has made extensive 

 use of the Museum material in connection with the study and deter- 

 mination of a collection of Mammals and Birds obtained by him in 

 the region north of Lake Superior in the summer of 1896. Lieut. 

 W. Robinson has also consulted the collections on several occasions, 

 and Mr. Freeze of the Washington Grammar School has been sup- 

 plied with bird skins which he has used for purposes of instruction 

 in the school. These specimens have been duly returned. It is to 

 be regretted that assistance of this kind cannot be more freely and 

 generally given, but for the reason explained by Mr. Agassizin his 

 Report for 1890 and 1891 (pp. 8 and 9), it is impracticable to do 

 this to any considerable extent. 



The general condition of the collections is most satisfactory. 

 Insect pests appear to have been wholly exterminated. At 

 least, during the past year no signs of their presence have been 

 detected. 



