PREFACE. 
This collection at the present date — January 
i, 1894 — consists of 573 species, 5002 sets and 
20,388 eggs. It was the desire of its owners to 
procure full and complete series rather than to ob- 
tain new species, hence the large number of sets 
in proportion to the number of species. 
It is especially strong in series of Warblers, 
Hawks, and Owls, to which particular attention 
is invited . No effort has been made to obtain the 
eggs of the Water Birds as it is practically im- 
possible to secure a good representation of them. 
Ridgway's Nomenclature has been retained as 
far as possible, as the collection was already 
numbered and arranged in accordance with it 
long before the A. O. U. Nomenclature was 
published. 
