In Memoriam—Carl Eduard Hellmayr

s, and notations of new species from world-wide sources but it did not break the flow of publications on his own investigations. Seven numbers of Wytsman's 'Genera Avium,' a report on a collection of birds from southeastern Peril, the 'Critical Notes on the types of little-known species of Neotropical birds,' a study of the birds of the region about the mouth of the Amazon, the 'Nomenclator des V6gels Bayerns' (with Alfred Laubmann), an account of the birds of the Cumbre de Valencia region of Venezuela (with Seilern), and numerous shorter papers mark this productive period. As early as 1904, Hellmayr visited Paris for a short sojourn at the Museum d'Histoire Naturelie, returning for a longer period in the winter of 1905-1906 and on numerous occasions thereafter. One of the great results of his work in Paris was his review of the types of birds collected in South America by Alcide d'Orbigny, of which six parts appeared at intervals from 1921 to 1925. Other papers, however, are enriched by the valuable data he secured on his Parisian visits. In 1922, Hellmayr left Europe for a long residence in America. C. B. Cory of Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, had died, leaving his 'Catalogue of the Birds of the Americas' only begun with the issuance of one volume in two parts. In the search for an ornithologist to continue this great work, the offer was extended to Hellmayr, and results have proved that no wiser selection could have been made. By this time he had studied in all the most important museums of Europe and was familiar with their collections of birds, including all the available type specimens of Neotropical forms. Since 1900 he had had in prospect a comprehensive work on the birds of Brazil which he had never brought to completion, and he had accumulated a vast quantity of notes on synonymy and classification. In America he was to find the important collections that he had not already seen. Certainly no one else was as well prepared for the task in hand. He reached Chicago on October 1, 1922, was given the title of Associate Curator of Birds, and immediately began on the 'Catalogue.' As volume after volume was finished and published, the importance of this monumental work became increasingly established. The bibliographic citations were at once expanded to embrace nearly all the pertinent references to each species and subspecles, omitting only such as might have been previously quoted by Ridgway in the 'Birds of North and Middle America.' The synonymies thus are so nearly complete that any prior reference that is omitted is likely to prove of only casual interest. All these citations were, or had been, checked VOl. 61 ] ZIMMER, In Memoriam--Garl Eduard Hellmayr 619 :•944 J in person-an enormous task in itself and one of inestimable value to the research worker of today. But it is not alone for the synonymies that the 'Catalogue' is of extreme importance. The author's familiarity with the types of almost all of the described species and subspecies of American birds enabled him to express tudied opinions on the validity of proposed forms, the identity of inadequately described species, and the relationships of members of heterogeneous groups, and the footnotes of his volumes are filled with critical notes on these and other taxonomic problems. His views on classification were advanced and he was in the forefront of his colleagues in the matter of postulating conspecific relationships for geographic representatives of obviously common origins. The book is thus more than a mere catalogue and forms a practical handbook for the advanced student of American birds--a vade mecum of the highest service. Most of the work is published and it is gratifying to learn that the remaining parts were completed in manuscript form before Hellmayr's untimely death so that eventual publication is assured. With all the labor involved in the 'Catalogue,' Hellmayr still found time for such collateral investigations as those embodied in his 'Birds of Chile,' 'Contributions to the Ornithology of Northeastern Brazil,' 'Heterogynism in Neotropical Birds,' and the 'Birds of the James Simpson-Roosevelts A iatic Expedition.' In July, 1931, he returned to Europe. He had spoken earlier of difficulties with regard to confiscatory taxes on European properties and had been obliged to forego American citizenship because of this economic penalty. He moved back to Vienna and obtained facilities for work at the Museum of Natural History. He was there when the Nazis invaded Austria in 1938. A few days after the local revolution had overturned the government, he was escorted to police headquarters, ostensibly for questioning, but was immediately imprisoned without explanation. The following day he fell ill and was removed to a hospital where he was incarcerated for seven weeks in a distinguished company of university professors, government officials, and others. When finally released, he was obliged to undergo further treatment at one of the university clinics. Afterward, after two months of effort and delay, and at the sacrifice ofall his holdings in Austria (his property in Munich had already been confiscated), he succeeded in leaving Austria for Switzerland where he made his home until