1901. J 
NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 
775 
REPORT OF THE ORNITHOLOGICAL SECTION. 
During the past year a large part of the Conservator’s time has 
been occupied by his duties as assistant to the Curators in other 
departments. It has, however, been possible to make considerable 
progress in the rearrangement of the ornithological collections. 
All of the mounted water birds, with the exception of the Anatidce 
and Laridce , have been carefully examined by the taxidermist, 
relabeled with both common and technical names, and installed on 
the ornithological floor of the new building. They completely fill 
the large case erected last year, and show to much better advan¬ 
tage than they did in the old gallery. During the close of the 
present year three additional cases have been furnished by the 
Curators, which it is estimated will accommodate about one-third 
of the entire mounted collection. Labels for most of the remain¬ 
ing water birds have already been prepared, and it is expected all 
the new cases will be filled and the new floor opened to the public 
in the spring. 
For the study collection eighteen moth-proof cans and three 
large wooden cases have been purchased, permitting the abandon¬ 
ment of almost all of the temporary storage boxes that we were 
forced to make use of some years ago. With a similar provision 
next year the entire collection of bird skins will be accommodated 
in modern cases and rendered absolutely safe from moths and dust. 
Considerable time has been required to effect the systematic arrange¬ 
ment of the skins in the new cases, but as a result they are now 
more accessible than ever before. The Mcllhenny collection of 
Alaskan birds, which was formally acquired early in the year, has 
been incorporated with the general collection, as also a valuable 
local collection of water birds, the gift of Mr. H; W. Fowler. 
The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and the Pennsylvania 
Audubon Society have continued to hold their meetings in the build¬ 
ing and have done a great deal to stimulate the study of birds at 
the Academy. Much aid has been rendered during the year to 
ornithologists in other institutions, both by correspondence and by 
loan of specimens, and many visiting naturalists have made use of 
the collections. 
Among other important additions to the department may be 
mentioned a series of birds from Lake Rudolf, Africa, from Dr. 
