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Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum

British Museum Catalogues

Catalogue Of The Birds In The British Museum (1874-1898)

Catalogue Of Birds' Eggs In The British Museum (1901-12)

Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum (Natural History)

Volume V: Carinatae (Passeriformes completed)

W.R. Ogilvie-Grant

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Printed by Taylor & Francis

1912

Preface:

"The present volume, which brings the Catalogue of Birds' Eggs to a conclusion, has been retarded in its preparation by more than one cause. The principal reason for the delay in its appearance has been the large amount of additional work which was thrown on Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, the author, by the death of Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe at the end of 1909. The administration of the Bird Room, the incorporation of large collections and the rearrangement of the material already in hand, the planning of new Expeditions and the conduct of the voluminous correspondence involved by these fresh departures, added to the duty of dealing with the ceaseless stream of enquirers who visit or write to the Bird Room, might in themselves have been sufficient to have filled up all the available time. Mr. Ogilvie-Grant has done his work under considerable difficulties, and the delay has been unavoidable."

Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum (Natural History)

Volume IV: Carinatae (Passeriformes continued)

Eugene W. Oates

Assisted by Capt. Savile G. Reid

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Printed by Taylor & Francis

1905

Preface:

"I regret that, owing to the ill-health of Mr. Oates, it has been found necessary to entrust the completion of the Catalogue of Birds' Eggs to other hands. The manuscript prepared by him was in a forward state, and the Trustees have been fortunate in securing the co-operation of a well-known Ornithologist, Capt. Savile Reid, who has revised the manuscript and the proofs. Capt. Reid has also written the Index to the present volume, and has incorporated in the text references to the specimens recently received by the Museum."

Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum (Natural History)

Volume III: Carinatae (Psittaciformes - Passeriformes)

Eugene W. Oates

Assisted by Capt. Savile G. Reid

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Printed by Taylor & Francis

1903

Preface:

"I regret that, owing to the ill-health of Mr. Oates, it has been found necessary to entrust the completion of the Catalogue of Birds' Eggs to other hands. The manuscript prepared by him was in a forward state, and the Trustees have been fortunate in securing the co-operation of a well-known Ornithologist, Capt. Savile Reid, who has revised the manuscript and the proofs. Capt. Reid has also written the Index to the present volume, and has incorporated in the text references to the specimens recently received by the Museum."

Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum (Natural History)

Volume II: Carinatae (Charadriiformes - Stringiformes)

Eugene W. Oates

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Printed by Taylor & Francis

1902

Preface:

"The number of specimens of eggs enumerated by Mr. Gates in this second volume of his Catalogue is just 15,000. The Crowley Bequest proves from its registration, which has not yet been completed, to have added very largely to the series of eggs in the National Collection, and it has supplied a large number of desiderata. It is especially rich in eggs of Australian birds, of which the Museum had not a good series, and a glance at the following pages will show how important have been the accessions from Mr. Crowley's bequest. As before, the editing of this volume has been undertaken by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, the Assistant Keeper in charge of the Sub-Department of Vertebrata."

Catalogue of the Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum (Natural History)

Volume I: Ratitae. Carinatae (Tinamiformes - Lariformes)

Eugene W. Oates

Printed By Order Of The Trustees

Printed by Taylor & Francis

1901

From the preface:

"The present volume has been written by Mr. Eugene W. Gates, who is well known to Ornithologists as the Editor of the second edition of Mr. Allan Hume's Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds, and as the author of the earlier volumes of the Aves in the Fauna of British India. That he has performed his task conscientiously will be easily perceptible from a perusal of the following pages. The Collection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum now exceeds a total of 50,000 specimens. It was arranged and labelled some few years ago by Miss Emily Mary Sharpe, under the direction of the late Mr. Henry Seebohm and her father, Dr. Bowdler Sharpe. On that occasion Mr. Seebohm presented to the Trustees the whole of his collection of eggs of Palaearctic Birds, and an opportunity was thus offered of re-arranging the entire series in the Museum. At the same time the valuable donations of Mr, A. 0. Hume, Messrs. Salvin and Godman, Mr. Berkeley James, and other friends of the Museum, were incorporated. The original collection of Birds' eggs in the British Museum was rendered of little worth by the exposure of many precious specimens to the light of the public galleries, and by the mounting of the study collection on wooden tablets. Most of these specimens have perished, or have become so bleached as to bo worthless for purposes of study."