JAM 21 i::3 



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ZOOLOGICAL 



SOCIETY BULLETIN 



No. 28 



Published by the New York Zoological Society 



January, 1908 



NEW RARE BIRDS IN THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



Br C. William Beere. 



THE shipment of birds which was received 

 from the London Zoological Gardens 

 early in August, 1907, in exchange for 

 a representative lot of living American birds, 

 contained many species of unusual interest, a 

 number of which were new to the collection 

 of the Society and which in some cases had 

 never been brought alive to this country be- 

 fore. 



One of the rarest and at the same time most 

 sinister looking is the lammergeier or bearded 

 vulture of the mountain fastnesses of Europe, 

 Asia and Africa. Our specimen is not quite 

 full grown, but in another year, when adult. 



it will measure nearly four feet in length and 

 its wings spread to a width of full eight or 

 nine feet. This will make it a much larger 

 bird than any of our eagles. The name lam- 

 mergeier means lamb vulture and is well be- 

 stowed, for among the mountains it is a deadly 

 foe of shepherds and takes heavy toll from 

 their flocks of sheep. Besides lambs and goats, 

 this fierce bird also feeds on the chamois and 

 when pressed by hunger will not disdain car- 

 rion. It thus shares the habits of both the 

 vultures and eagles, although it is more closely 

 related to the latter group of birds. 



The lammergeier is the bird which is fa- 



THE ULTRAMARINE OR HYACINTHINE MACAW 



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