348 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



BIRDS 10 



OSTRICHES ( STRirrHIONirORMES, STRUTHIONIDAE ) 



RIIEA8 (RHEIFORMES, RHEIDAE) 



CASSOWARIES AND EMUS ( CASUARITFORMES ; CASUAKUDAE, DROMIOEIIDAE ) 



Birds that are members of the four groups listed above can be kept under 

 essentially uniform treatment. They eat vegetables, sweet potatoes, carrots, 

 white potatoes, apples, and some form of green food such as Isale, cabbage, or 

 alfalfa hay, ground or cut into pieces about the size of a man's thumb. To 

 such mixture may be added "bear bread" cut in 1-inch cubes ; also small stones 

 and oyster shell as grit. Supply water for drinking. Emus enjoy bathing and 

 should have a pool of sufficient size. Ostriches are fond of dust baths. 



KIWIS (APTERTGIFORMES, APTERYGIDAE) 



Nocturnal birds. Feed in the evening by burying mealworms or small strips 

 of meat (the size of an earthworm) in the soil on the floor of the cage. The 

 bird probes for its food. This method is used in the Zoo in Wellington, New 

 Zealand. 



TINAMOUS (TINAMirORMES, TINAMIDAE) 



Feed grain, ground bread, green food, mealworms, and a pinch of ground 

 meat. 



PENGUINS (SPHENISCITORMES, SPHENISCIDAE ) 



Specialized feeders; some eat small Crustacea (Euthosia), which form a red 

 thin scum on the Antarctic Sea (Ross Sea) known as krill to the whalers; this 

 feed is impossible to supply or imitate in captivity. The large and medium- 

 sized penguins do fairly well when fed fish cut into strips about 3 inches long 

 and 1/4-inch wide, with the vertebrae removed. It is desirable to soak the fish 

 occasionally in cod liver oil. The jackass penguin will eat some oyster shell. 

 The Antarctic penguins are accustomed to very low temperature and all of 

 them appear to be particularly susceptible to respiratory infections. It is 

 therefore desirable to provide them with artificially cooled rooms (pi. 2, fig. 2), 

 the air of which is frequently changed by the introduction of air that has been 

 filtered to free it of dust and micro-organisms, and from which most of the 

 moisture has been removed. This type of care should be provided continuously 

 from the time the birds are brought to temperate regions. The throat infection 

 to which penguins are subject is caused by mold of a type that grows freely 

 on hay and straw. Such bedding should be kept away from them until they 

 are in their permanent quarters and even then should be introduced only 

 when needed as nesting material and only after it has been subjected to treat- 

 ment that will kill the spores of the plant. The black-footed or jackass pen- 

 guins do fairly well in captivity in the Temperate Zone without elaborate 

 facilities for their care. They appear to thrive best in temperatures ranging 

 from about 55° to 60°. The Galapagos penguins do not require artificial cool- 

 ing, as they are accustomed to live on desert islands at the Equator. 



" Cod liver oil should be supplied to practically all birds that are kept Indoors. 



