1871.] 237 r H r att - 



Institute, for the generous appropriation made by him to sus- 

 tain the several courses of lectures given under the auspices 

 of the Society, during the past winter. 



May 17, 1871. 

 The President in the chair. Thirty-five persons present. 



Dr. Thomas Dwight, Jr., presented by title, "A Descrip- 

 tion of the Whale, Balcenoptera musculus" now in the 

 possession of the Society, with remarks on the classification 

 of the Cetacea. 



The Secretary read the following paper : — 



Catalogue of the Ornithological Collection of the 

 Boston Society of Natural History. By Prof. Alpheus 

 Hyatt. 



A catalogue of the birds in the possession of this Society is here 

 begun, and the observations recorded are only of such a cursory char- 

 acter as have been made in the course of this work. The subject of 

 the present article, the Spheniscidaa, having been analyzed as a group 

 only by Schlegel, more time and space have been given to them in 

 proportion to the number of species than will be found necessary for 

 other groups. Similar series of observations, however, upon the 

 genera and species will be published, so far as they may be deemed 

 appropriate or useful. The synonymy of each species has been 

 followed out only so far as is necessary in order to settle the appro- 

 priate name for each species, and give references to some one or two 

 of the best figures extant. 



It is incumbent upon me to express the most grateful acknowledg- 

 ments to the Smithsonian Institution and Peabody Academy, for the 

 loan of books and specimens ; to Prof. S. F. Baird and especially to 

 Dr. Elliott Coues, for revision of my manuscript and proof sheets and 

 many other acts of courtesy and kindness. The. note at the end of 

 the enumeration of the species is also by Dr. Coues, and gives an 

 important summary of the principal osteological characteristics of 

 the familv. 



