55G ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Prince of Wales pheasants. European partridges to the number of 

 18,J)31 were brought over to stock American game covers. The im- 

 portation of game birds included many other species, particularly 

 waterfowl, mostly intended for ornamental purposes. Notable among 

 these Avere 4 ocellated turkeys, 174 Formosan teal, 2 Brazilian teal, 

 and 3 Madagascar ducks. 



Continued interest in the Shama thrush of India as a substitute 

 cage bird for the mockingbird is shown by the importation of 231 

 of these attractive singers. Other noteworthy nongame birds im- 

 ported were 19 edelsingers and 400 Lady Gould finches (a large 

 increase of these beautifully colored birds). Two satin bower birds 

 and a number of interesting species collected in Cuba, Mexico, and 

 South America were imported for the New York Zoological Park. 

 A number of the South American species were brought to the United 

 States for the first time. 



In July, 1909, information w\as received that 7,000 eggs had been 

 entered at New York as the eggs of Australian boobies. Investiga- 

 tion disclosed that these eggs, Avhich proved to be tern's eggs from 

 Jamaica, in a semidecomposed condition, were being sold as food in 

 New York restaurants at 30 cents each. Steps were at once taken by 

 the Department of Agriculture and the Treasury Department to pre- 

 vent further traffic of the kind. Early in August, 1909, a boat from 

 Key West, Fla., returned to that port from Dog Rocks, Bahamas, 

 with a cargo of shellfish and about 1,080 young birds, some salted, 

 others alive. No permit having been obtained, a request for investi- 

 gation was immediately preferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, 

 who subsequently reported that the disregard of the law was not 

 intentional, and that care w^ould be exercised to prevent a repetition 

 of the offense. 



An application for a permit to import two mongooses for Norum- 

 bega Park, at Auburndale, Mass., was denied. A mongoose that had 

 been surreptitiously landed at Everett, Wash., August 21, for exhi- 

 bition at Seattle, was killed. 



A determined effort has been made by dealers in cage birds located 

 in Mexico to ship cardinals (redbirds) into this country for sale. 

 Keeping cardinals in captivity is prohibited by the laws of most 

 of the States, and the applicant in each case has been required to 

 secure from the state game warden or commissioner a permit allow- 

 ing possession before entry has been allowed. In one instance a ship- 

 ment which had been surreptitiously sent to Chicago was reshipped 

 to Mexico ; other shipments were abandoned ; and in only one or two 

 cases was the shipper granted the required permit by the state 

 officials. 



Owing to pressure of other matters, completion of the card index 

 of importations proved impracticable. The entries were, however, 

 recorded down to December 31, 1908, and an effort will be made to 

 bring them to date during the coming year. 



Starlings. — Twenty years ago a consignment of starlings was im- 

 ported into New York and liberated in Central Park. These birds 

 soon became established in New York City, and have slowly spread 

 to other points. Reports have been received showing their extension 

 to Springfield, Mass., on the north and central New Jersey on the 

 south, with one or two records still farther south. In order to ascer- 



