MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 29 



REPORT ON THE MAMMALS AND BIRDS. 



By William Brewster. 



Mammals. — Three large mounted mammals have been pur- 

 chased for the exhibition collections, — an Eland (Oreas canna) 

 from West Africa, a Yak (Bos grunniens) from Northern Ladak, 

 — both supplied by Rowland Ward of London, — and a European 

 Brown Bear (Ursus arctos). The unidentified skin of a Cat, lack- 

 ing data, has been received from the Peabody Museum. 



Birds. — From the Bigelow family of Boston, through Mr. Henry 

 Bryant Bigelow, the Museum received last autumn, nominally on 

 deposit, but with the assurance that they are not likely to be re- 

 moved from their present quarters, upwards of eight thousand 

 skins of North American and West Indian birds. Of these about 

 six hundred — the original nucleus of the collection — are of es- 

 pecial interest and value from the fact that they were collected 

 and prepared by the late Dr. Henry Bryant, the others having 

 been obtained later by Dr. William S. Bryant and his nephew, Mr. 

 Bigelow. Most of the specimens are in excellent condition, and 

 all come to us safely and permanently stored in insect-proof cans, 

 while Mr. Bigelow has kindly undertaken to have the skins ar- 

 ranged, catalogued, and relabelled at his own expense. We are 

 further indebted to him for the gift of several hundred eggs, chiefly 

 of North American birds, and possessing peculiar interest and 

 value from the fact that they were collected by his grandfather, 

 Dr. Henry Bryant. 



The Museum has also acquired by gift, from Mr. J. F. McClure, 

 one hundred and twenty-seven skins collected in Arizona by the 

 donor ; from the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology 

 eleven skins taken by Gorgonio Lopy in 1891 or 1892 near Copan, 

 Honduras ; from Mr. F. B. Bell, a mounted Burgomaster Gull 

 (Larus glaucus), taken at Northumberland Island, North Green- 

 land, in August, 1898, and a Marsh Hawk (Circus hudsonius) , 



