160 
MEMOIR OP THE LATE JOHN HENRY GURNEY. 
Museum with William Kirby, Bishop Stanley, Professor Sedgwick, 
Richard Lubbock, Dawson Turner, and others, and in 1849 was 
first elected President in succession to Dean Pellew ; in 1869, 
however, he was elected permanent President, an office which he 
held till his death. In November, 1861, Mr. Gurney’s portrait, 
by Sir Francis Grant, P.R.A., obtained by subscription among his 
friends, was placed in the British Bird Room of the Museum in 
recognition of his great services to that Institution. This interest 
in the Norwich Museum continued unabated to the last, and much 
of his leisure time was spent there in the study of the extensive 
collections with which he had enriched it, by means of collectors 
abroad and his personal influence with other ornithologists, both 
in Europe and America ; and the Annual Reports of the Museum 
show that, although of late years such additions, owing to the 
completeness of the collections, were more and more difficult to 
obtain, scarce a year passed without his energy being rewarded by 
the acquisition of some new species. I think it may be said, 
owing to Mr. Gurney’s efforts, that at a time not long since the 
collection of Raptorial Birds in the Norwich Museum was un- 
equalled, not even excepting that of the British Museum ; and 
that even now there are many type specimens, and some rarities, 
which are not to be found in the national collection, as well as 
finer series of some individual species from various localities.'"' 
The collection of Diurnal Birds of Prey contains 395 species or 
sub-species, represented by 3474 specimens; and the collection of 
Owls consists of 184 species or sub-species, out of about 210 known 
to science, represented by 1203 specimens; and of the series of 
single species may be mentioned 75 specimens, and two skeletons 
of Falco peregrinus and its southern form of F. melanogenys, and 
49 specimens of Strix Jiamrnea and poensis ; these almost cosmo- 
politan species being represented by individuals from the most 
varied localities; the former from Port Kennedy in 72° north 
* Mr. J. H. Gurney tells me that his father’s taste for the Rap tores 
received a great impetus by the acquisition in 1865 of the new and very 
singular Hawk, which he named after its discoverer, Macheeramph us 
anderssoni, and he well remembers the extreme pleasure with which he 
placed this unique specimen in the Norwich Museum, and had it drawn 
by Mr. Wolf. It was an entire novelty in 1865 and is still of the utmost 
rarity. Ho subsequently obtained its rare ally, M. alcinus, and the two may 
be seen in separate cases in the Museum. 
