60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 32 



case was a small-diameter copper weld, which is also partly in the 

 nature of an experiment. 



The wild-horse group has been accommodated by the construction 

 of a series of paddocks and shelter houses on filled-in land off the 

 main road, which now house the zebras, the kiang, and Mongolian 

 wild horses. 



The eagle cage, which had been in course of construction for some 

 time, was completed early in the spring of 1932, and birds were 

 immediately placed in it. Artificial rockwork forms an attractive 

 background, and the cage as a whole is very satisfactory. 



A series of outdoor cages for ostriches, rheas, emus, and casso- 

 waries were begun and nearly completed at the end of the fiscal 

 year. These are on the new fill back of the bird house, and will 

 permit a much better exhibition of these large and interesting birds 

 than has heretofore been possible. The new cages are located with 

 due respect to the anticipated addition on the south of the bird 

 house, so that the entire assembly will have a pleasing appearance 

 when completed. 



The Bureau of Standards, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering, 

 and Bureau of Public Roads are assisting in determining the best 

 material for floors for cages, and corrosion-resistant metals for cages 

 and paddocks. 



Heretofore the American waterfowl pond has been provided with 

 water taken directly from the creek, which made the pool muddy 

 and insanitary. In addition, the dam which raised the water in 

 the creek sufficiently to take it into the pond resulted in a large 

 accumulation of silt, filling the bed of the stream up to the upper 

 ford in the Zoo, so that the ford could be used only part of the time 

 by motorists. This combination of circumstances made it advisable 

 to pipe city water into the duck pond, and the dam has been torn 

 out of the creek. The water is turned on only during the night. 

 This has resulted in a clean pool and in improvement of the condi- 

 tions of the creek bed and the ford. 



The Beatrice Henderson cage for birds was rewired and is now 

 accommodating a colorful exhibit of macaws and cockatoos. 



R. Bruce Horsfall, staff artist of Nature Magazine, has con- 

 tributed to the Zoo two beautiful panoramas which he painted in the 

 reptile house. One of these shows a Galapagos Island scene with 

 Indefatigable Island in the distance, and makes a splendid back- 

 ground for the collection of tortoises. The other is a Komodo Island 

 landscape on the wall of the cage now occupied by an assortment of 

 large lizards. These paintings add greatly to the building's attrac- 

 tiveness. 



