696 
Letters, Extracts, Notices, fyc. 
abstract of Professor Seeley’s paper has appeared, and the 
paper itself will not be published in the Quarterly Journal of 
the Geological Society. 
Yours, &c., 
W r . T. Blanford. 
September 3i-d, 1900. 
Progress of the National Collection of Birds. — From the 
Report on the British Museum for the year ending March 31st, 
1900, which has been recently issued as a Parliamentary 
Paper, we extract the following passages relating specially to 
the Collection of Birds. Amongst the principal presents 
announced is a large collection of recent and fossil mammals, 
birds, and other objects from South America, and among 
these birds is an example of the White-throated Caracara 
(Milvago alhigularis), which has not been met with since the 
days when Darwin discovered it in Patagonia. The opera¬ 
tions of the year in the Bird Department are described as 
follows :— 
“ During the past year the registration and incorporation 
of the Salvin-Godman Collection and recent accessions have 
been completed. The preliminary re-arrangement of the 
exhibition series throughout the whole Gallery has been com¬ 
pleted, and more than half the cases are now tilled by new 
and beautifully mounted specimens. The old specimens, 
when of historic value, have been unmounted, and the 
remainder placed among the duplicates. The mounting of 
the new specimens has mainly been executed by Mr. Culling- 
ford, of Durham. 
“ Three new groups of British birds, with their nests, have 
been added during the year, viz.: the Rock-Dove ( Columba 
livia), presented by Capt. S. G. Reid, Mr. G. A. St. Quintin, 
and Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant ; the Lesser-spotted Wood¬ 
pecker ( Dendrocopus minor), presented by Mr. A. M. Blake; 
and Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel ( Oceanodroma leucorrhoa ), 
presented by Col. Hugh G. Barclay. 
“ Rapid progress continues to be made with the re-arrange¬ 
ment of the collections of eggs and skeletons. 
“Up to December 1899, 28,000 specimens of eggs had 
