ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



583 



of which were not fertile. The eggs laid when 

 paired with the second male proved good, and 

 they were within one day of hatching when ac- 

 cidentally destroyed bj- freezing." 



"The last mate she chose was the Alaskan 

 bird above described. Two eggs were laid, and 

 on the third day incubation began. They 

 hatched just thirty-one days later on April 18th, 

 1909- The young eagles left the nest when 

 sixty-five days old and were then in general ap- 

 pearance larger than tiie father." 



Carolina Parrakcets. — The Carolina Parrakcet 

 was bred in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden 

 on September 9th, 1885, when one bird was 

 hatched from an egg which had been placed 

 under a Turtle Dove. The period of incuba- 

 tion was fourteen days. 



Curacao Mockingbir(ts. — The Curacao Mock- 

 ingbirds rear one or two broods year after year 

 in a cage only four by five, by eight feet high 

 in the New York Zoological Park. Thousands 

 of people pass daily within six feet of the nest 

 without disturbing the sitting bird, or causing 

 the male to interrupt his singing, which he con- 

 tinues long after his mate has begun incubation. 



Aviculiural Magazine. — The best advice to 

 anyone who is contemplating keeping an aviary 

 of living birds is to subscribe to The Avictl- 

 TUR.^L ^L\GAziNE. Tliis very interesting month- 

 ly is published in England at -f^.oO a year, and 

 the officer who receives subscriptions is Mr. T. 

 H. Newman, Harrowdene Road. Wembly. Mid- 

 dlesex. 



In the far west of our own country, bird 

 lovers may join the Avicultural Society of Cali- 

 fornia, the official organ of which is Bird News, 

 a modest but promising bi-monthly with a sub- 

 scription price of T.'ic. a year. 



Interest in living birds is rapidly increasing 

 in our country and, as has been well proven in 

 England, there is no better way of arousing a 

 wholesome, humane love of wild birds among the 

 people than by encouraging the keeping of live 

 birds. With roomy cages and suitable food they 

 become tame, sing, play, nest freely and are as 

 happy when well cared for as their brethren in 

 the woods and fields. 



EXPERIMENTAL ACCLIMATIZATION. 



I. — American Robins in England. 



AN experiment which has apparently proved 

 successful is the introduction of the Amer- 

 ican Robin (Planesticiis migratorius) into 

 England. Late in December of last year Lord 

 Northcliffe took back eighteen American Robins 

 which we secured for him. and all but one of 

 their number reached their English home in 



safety. Late in !March these birds began to 

 build nests and lay eggs, but all were confined 

 in the same enclosure, and the constant rivalry 

 and fighting resulted in many casualties. So 

 the eggs were removed as soon as laid and 

 placed in the nests of Thrushes and European 

 Blackbirds who did well as foster parents, and 

 successfully reared twenty-four young "Yankee" 

 Robins. 



About the middle of June all the robins, old 

 and young, were liberated on Lord Northcliffe's 

 estate and at last report they were doing well ; 

 a number of nests had been made and young 

 birds reared in the open, and but little ])roj3en- 

 sity to stray was evinced. 



The crucial jioint of the experiment will come 

 at the time of migration. Considering how 

 many of our Robins winter with us in sheltered 

 places it is not impossible that those in England 

 may be contented to remain more or less seden- 

 tary throughout the winter, especially as the 

 English winter is so much milder than ours. 

 If the birds should migrate and any can be 

 located in their winter quarters, valuable data 

 may result, in showing wliether present geo- 

 graphical conditions, or the mere accompanying 

 of other migrant birds, will influence their choice 

 of direction. Such an experiment in the south- 

 ern hemisphere would be even more valuable in 

 this respect. 



II. — Birds of Paradise in Trinidad. 

 Sir William Ingram sent an expedition last 

 spring to the Aru Islands near New Guinea in 

 search of live birds. Among other interesting 

 species, fifty Greater Birds of Paradise (Para- 

 disca apoda) were obtained which are now being 

 prepared for shipment to our hemisphere. 

 They will be liberated on the estates of Sir 

 William Ingram in the Island of Trinidad, off 

 the northeast coast of .South America. The out- 

 come of this attem)3t at the acclimatization of 

 such rarely beautiful birds in a region so remote 

 from their native haunts will be of the greatest 

 interest. 



III. — Mockini;birds and Cardinals Xear Xew 

 York. 

 An extensive attempt will soon be made b_v 

 the writer to introduce ^lockingbirds and Car- 

 dinals — or rather to reintroduce tliem — in tile 

 Xew York Zoological Park and at Bernardsville, 

 .Vew Jerse}'. The birds will be confined in 

 large flight cages and liberated in the spring 

 after they have become accustomed to their new 

 surroundings and have shown signs of pairing 

 off. Several ^lockingbirds which have been set 

 at liberty in the Zoological Park have made 

 themselves completely at home for several 



