ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



621 



open air : their colors and gymnastics in- 

 terested circle upon circle of visitors ; they 

 forgot to chew their perches and each other, 

 and life was made bright for them and their 

 keepers ! 



The evolution of the perfect label has been 

 gradual, but thorough. It was at first only a 

 mere tag giving the name and habitat, awk- 

 ward in size and altogether uninteresting, 

 upon which new ideas have been engrafted, 

 until now no further improvement seems pos- 

 sible. On each label is a well-executed paint- 

 ing, in oils, of the bird ; its names, common and 

 scientific : its range, and one or two carefully 

 worded sentences giving two or three facts 

 of greatest interest in life history or value to 

 mankind. 



A tedious labor, but one which has well re- 

 paid the time and thought spent upon it, has 

 been the forming and keeping up to date of a 

 day-book, a sheet catalogue and a card index 

 of the history of every specimen ever included 

 in the collection. In the card index all the 

 label data has been added for reference. 



These are a few of the fascinating pursuits 

 demanding attention in our dailv work. 



THE PROMOTIOX OF ZOOLOGY. 



The primary object of such a collection as 

 that of the Zoological Park is, of covirse. the 

 entertainment and instruction of the people ; 

 but the promotion of Zoology is one of the 

 chief secondary objects. Birds have been 

 studied far more thoroughly as skins and 

 mounted specimens than as living organisms, 

 and this field of research for the ornithologist 

 is almost illimitable. As contributions to this 

 branch of ornithological work, the following 

 has been accomplished : 



During the ten years of development of the 

 Department of Birds, the Curator has made 

 eight expeditions, at his own expense, cover- 

 ing about twenty-three thousand miles, and 

 making studies of the bird life of the following 

 regions: Xova Scotia, Gardiner's Island, the 

 coast and interior of \'irginia, Florida, the 

 Keys, Trinidad, ^'enezuela, and British Gui- 

 ana. 



These trips have been valuable in many 

 ways, as the discovery of the food and other 

 requirements of little-known birds. One di- 

 rect result which comes to mind, was the 

 adoption of a new diet for trogons, birds 

 usually so delicate that they survive only a 

 few months, but which now thrive for many 

 years in perfect health. The expeditions have 

 also contributed dircctlv to the collection. 



about seventy-two species and 390 specimens 

 of living birds having been collected and 

 brought to the Park. 



Five volumes have been written and six 

 scientific contributions have been published by 

 the Zoological Society forming the first six 

 numbers of Zoologica. The most important of 

 these relate to the effects of humidity on the 

 colors of birds, and the solution of the prob- 

 lem of racket formation in the tail feathers of 

 the Motmot. 



THE COLLECTION' ITSELF. 



At first every bird offered was accepted, but 

 as cages were filled and space became more 

 valuable, careful selection became necessary. 

 The deciding factors at present are length of 

 life, beauty, and scientific interest. To us it 

 seems hardly worth while to attempt to ex- 

 hibit birds such as humming-birds, whose lease 

 of life in captivity is at most only a few weeks. 



It is now our endeavor to acquire birds of 

 special interest. .-Kn entire cage of the common 

 birds of one locality, such as Cuba or Trinidad, 

 or one containing the dull-hued forms of our 

 western deserts — flycatchers, thrashers, road- 

 runners and quail — we regard as of special in- 

 terest. 



The policy of the Zoological Society has 

 been to advance with caution, and the success 

 of the installations show the wisdom of this 

 method. Thanks to the thorough study made 

 by Director Hornaday of the European zoo- 

 logical gardens, we have been able to avoid 

 many errors. 



The Pheasant Aviary, with its fifty-four en- 

 closures and runways, is well adapted for the 

 exhibition of this "difiicult" group. Among 

 the especial features of excellence is the com- 

 prehensive use of cement and wire, thus bid- 

 ding defiance to that ever-present plague of 

 all zoological parks — rats. An upper tier of 

 cotes provides accommodation for a collection 

 of pigeons and doves. The pheasants, being 

 terrestial, form a lower stratum of life, seldom 

 leaving the ground, while the pigeons spend 

 their time among the branches of the shrubs 

 and on the perches, and thus the entire runway 

 is put to account. This idea of making a cage 

 or aviary do double duty has worked out ad- 

 mirably with many other species. 



Our Pheasant Aviary has contained nearly 

 all the species of pheasants ever imported to 

 this country, or which have been on exhibition, 

 besides other interesting game-birds such as 

 the Capercailzie and Black Grouse. A small 

 flight of pigeons, having their cote in the upper 



