ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



623 



year, while the other has not }et shed all of its 

 natal down. 



As a place for rearing birds the Flying Cage 

 IS not successful, chiefly on account of the mis- 

 chievous magpies and crows who delight in 

 pulling apart the nests of herons and ibises : 

 but the magpies add so much to the beauty of 

 the cage that they are permitted to remam. 



Toucans have been tried in this cage, but in 

 spite of their brilliant colors, they are all but 

 mvisible amid the sunlit green leaves. The 

 egrets have attracted a great deal of attention, 

 and the sight of their graceful plumes has 

 doubtless added not a little to the etTorts of 

 bird lovers to stop their slaughter for milli- 

 nery purposes. 



C)wing to the lack of a Crane Aviary and an 

 Eagle and \'ulture Aviary, the Ostrich House 

 has been put to divers uses. The great birds 

 of the African deserts dominate it, however, 

 and no fewer than twelve species of ostriches 

 and their allies, including rheas, emus and 

 cassowaries have been on exhibition. The 

 experiment is now being tried of keeping- 

 ostriches outdoors in winter, with a ver}- 

 slightly heated shelter. 



In summer, the large runways of the Os- 

 trich House have been utilized to hold a varied 

 assemblage of birds. Rheas, cranes, brush- 

 turkeys, Java peacocks, screamers and serie- 

 mas have been found to live amicably together, 

 and the sight of birds so unlike one another, 

 associating peaceably, seems to arouse great 

 interest in the mind of the average visitor. 



The first installation to be thrown open to 

 the public was the Aquatic Bird House, and 

 considering what it has been called upon to ac- 

 commodate, it has rendered valuable service. 

 Its metal cage frames and wooden floors have 

 been literally worn out with usage, and the 

 latter have been replaced with concrete. 



In the central flying cage the tropical water- 

 fowl and waders are housed during the winter. 

 A large diving-tank is occupied from time to 

 time by penguins, snake-birds and cormorants. 

 Thirty-five species of ibises, storks and herons 

 have been exhibited, from the rare Great 

 White Heron of the Florida Keys to the Lit- 

 tle Green Heron of our mill-ponds. Most in- 

 teresting of all the ibises is the Sacred Ibis of 

 Egypt, the species so often figured in the 

 ancient hieroglyphs that decorated the monu- 

 ments of that country. Rarest of the whole 

 group, however, is the Jabiru, of which hardly 

 a half dozen skins exist in our museums ! An 

 unusually large specimen is now living in the 

 Park, an individual so pugnacious that he 

 must be caged alone. Indeed, he is as little 



afraid of his keeper as of his fellow storks. 

 Fortunately, such an idiosyncrasy is rare 

 among birds. At present there are in the col- 

 lection three other featured individuals of the 

 same temperament — a golden eagle, a cuban 

 robin and a red-crested cardinal. These will 

 kill, or try to kill, any bird with which they 

 are caged, and will hurl themselves with frenzy 

 at one's hand if it approaches their cage. 



Still another example of individuality is seen 

 in three .\merican bitterns now in the Park, 

 which are tame and in perfect health, while the 

 half-dozen others which we have had from 

 time to time were all vicious and murderous. 



It is of interest to note that at present the 

 collection of American storks is comi^lete, in- 

 cluding the Maguari Stork, \\'ood "Hms" and 

 Jabiru. 



Like the Ostrich House, the Crane Paddock 

 is a conveniently elastic installation which, 

 beside cranes, occasionally includes casso- 

 waries, herons, marabous and other birds. In 

 winter, however, all migrate to their winter 

 quarters save the two .American cranes, the 



