oS lilliDS OF THE WORLD 



fact mo of a skin cloak is illustrated by one of the figures in the group to 

 tlic left of the entrance; hark cloths from Uganda are shown in the 

 northeastern section of the Hall; while looms and the completed garments 

 are shouTi in the large central rectangle dcNoted to Congo ethnology. 

 The most beautiful of the last-mentioned pro(hicts are the "pile cloths" 

 of the Hakuba. woven by the men and supplied with decorative |)atterns 

 by the women. \'erv fine wooden goblets and other carvings bear 

 witness to the high artistic sense of the African natives, who also excel 

 other ])rimitive races in their love of music, which is shown by the 

 variety of their musical instruments. 



A uni(jue art is illustrated in the Benin case in the northern section 

 of the Hall, where the visitor will see bronze and brass castings nuide by a 

 ))rocess similar to that used in Europe in the Renaissance period. It is 

 <loubtful to what extent the art may be considered native. 



The religious beliefs of the natives are illustrated by iuuiktous 

 fetiches and charms, believed to give security in battle or to avert evils. 

 Ceremonial masks are shown, which were worn by the native 

 medicine-men. 



[Return to Central Pavilion]. 



SOUTH CENTRAL WING 

 Birds of the World 



doing north we enter the hall containing the general collection of 



birds. In the first four main cases on the right the 13,000 

 Birds of , . 1 1 • 1 1 /• 1 



the World known species are represented by typical exam])les oi the 



])rincipal groups arranged according to what is believed to 

 be their natural relationships. The series begins with the Ostriches, the 

 "lowest" birds (that is, those which seem to have changed least from 

 their reptilian ancestors), and goes up to those which show the highest 

 type of devel()])inent, the Singing Perching Birds such as our Thrushes 

 and Finches. The remaining cases on th(^ right wall and all of those 

 on the left show the ge()gra])hical distribution of the bird fauna of the 

 world. The s])ecimens are grouped according to their great faimal 

 regions, the South American Tem])erate. American Troi^cal. North 

 American T(nni)erate, Arctic Kurasian, Indo-Malay, African and Austra- 

 lian realms. These cases in coimection with the accompanying maps give 

 o])portimity for a com])arative study of the birds of tlu^ different parts 

 of the world. In (>ach region, as in the Syno])tic Collection, the birds 

 are arranged in their natural groups to tlu^ best of our present knowledge. 



