1961-1962 - American Museum of Natural History

several ornithologists from abroad to work at the Museum. The
fund, which is intended to support and foster research in ornithology
on a world-wide basis, dispensed about $35,000 during
the past fiscal period. The fund awarded its first fellowship
to Dr. William George, formerly of the University of Arizona,
who during his stay at the Museum completed an important
paper on the anatomy of birds. The fund also financed the at.
tendance of several foreign ornithologists at the Thirteenth International
Ornithological Congress in Ithaca, New York.
The twenty-third meeting of the International Council for
Bird Preservation was held at the Museum in the middle of
June, 1962. It was the first time the Council had met in the
Western Hemisphere. The representatives of 31 countries who
attended the meetings discussed the lethal effects of pesticides
on birds, oil pollution of the sea, threats of extinction to certain
birds, and the problem of birds as a factor in airplane accidents.
Nearly every member of the Department of Ornithology
took an active part, either in arrangements or in attendance
at the meetings, or both.
Work on the Sanford Hall of the Biology of Birds was completed
during the year. The Hall of North American Birds is
very nearly completed and will be opened to the public in 1963.
Research programs made good progress. Dr. Amadon, in
addition to his description of the new genus Micromacronus,
mentioned above, completed a monograph on the birds of prey
of the world, in co-authorship with Mr. L. H. Brown of Kenya.
Dr. E. Thomas Gilliard continued his studies of the avifauna of
the New Guinea area and of behavior patterns of certain birds.
Dr. Charles Vaurie spent six months of study in museums abroad
for the preparation of volume 2 of his "Birds of the Palearctic
Fauna." This period included brief visits to Moscow and Leningrad
where he was able to examine a number of rare birds from
Central Asia which are poorly, if at all, represented in other
museums. Dr. Wesley E. Lanyon performed field work in Mexico
and Arizona, continuing his long-range studies of the meadow-
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