The collection consists of catalogs, information about special collections within our holdings, lists of birds offered for sale, donated, exchanged or discarded, various working notes of the curators, personnel of the department, and general notes. The persons most concerned in this material are John Cassin, Elliott Coues, William A. Kite, Spencer Trotter, Mr. Hill and Wharton Huber, with Witmer Stone adding the later personal touches to the material describing our bird collection. Not only are the bird skins mentioned but collections of nests, eggs, skeletons and crania as well.