ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



673 



goats Jiavf attaint'd maturity, and apparently 

 are tliorouglily acclimated and healthy. An ac- 

 count of the cajjture of the goats is printed on 

 page ()80 of this issue. 



* * * 



A Municipal "Zoo." — The City of Rochester 

 has for several years maintained a municipal 

 "zoo" with such marked success that they have 

 established a new one in the Durand-Eastman 

 Park, — a tract of land embracing 500 acres, do- 

 nated b}' a jMr. Durand and George Eastman of 

 Kodak fame. The site selected is admirably 

 adapted to the maintenance of a varied collec- 

 tion. Two large, swampy areas will be con- 

 verted into artificial lakes for water-fowl and 

 aquatic animals. A den for bears has already 

 been constructed and three American black bears 

 are on exhibition. By far the greater part of 

 the collection is composed of hoofed animals, all 

 of which have been purchased by C. C. Laney, 

 Supt. of Parks, Rochester, from the Zoological 

 Park. 



* * * 



Buffalo Jones' Lioness. — "Buffalo" Jones has 

 deposited with the Society the two-year-old East 

 African lioness which he captured near Kijaba, 

 British East Africa, and the animal was safely 

 quartered at the Lion House in the Park, June 

 15. To effect her capture, the lioness was 

 trailed with dogs and lassoed when she came to 

 bay. Some difficulty was encountered in accom- 

 plishing this feat, as the lioness displayed great 

 bravery in fighting the dogs and men. She took 

 refuge in a fissure in the ground from which 

 place she was finally dislodged by a cannon fire 

 cracker. As she bounded out of the shelter, 

 two ropes were cast over her from opposite sides. 

 A third rope over the bough of a tree raised her 

 from the ground and a pair of tongs, specially 

 constructed for the purpose, was then clamped 

 upon her nose. In this helpless state she was 

 speedily transferred to a sledge and dragged to 

 camp. She has an abundance of her fighting 

 spirit, which a long, tedious voyage seems not to 

 liave dampened. 



.MOULTING OF THE PTARMIGAN. 



FOR many reasons, the ptarmigan is the most 

 interesting of American game birds. It is 

 associated in mind and fact with bleak moun- 

 tains and drifting snow, while its tameness is 

 almost proverbial. In the earlj' days of the 

 gold fever many a famishing prospector blessed 



the trusting ptarmigan which he found such 

 easy prey to a bit of ice or even a stick. Now, 

 however, the birds have learned the error of 

 their ways, and are far less abundant near the 

 habitations of mankind. 



In spite of its confiding manner, this grouse 

 does not take kindly to captivity ; in fact, it is 

 very difficult to keep alive for any length of 

 time, particularly through the summer months. 

 In the fall of 1909, however, there arrived at 

 the Zoological Park, three unusually fine speci- 

 mens of the Willow Ptarmigan, (Lagoptis lago- 

 pus), that are now in faultless condition, as the 

 result of great assiduity on the part of their 

 keepers. These birds were practically pure 

 white at the time of their arrival at the Park. 



It is well known that ptarmigan are extreme- 

 ly aberrant in their moulting processes. There 

 are certainly three plumages : white in winter, 

 chestnut brown more or less barred with black 

 in summer, and black barred with light brown 

 in the fall. Those individuals which range 

 farthest north never come nearer summer plum- 

 age than the growth of a few brown feathers 

 in the upper parts; the most southerly are al- 

 ways pure white on the breast and abdomen, 

 when in summer dress. There are of course all 

 sorts of variations in intermediate birds, de- 

 pending on the temperature of their habitats. 

 The actual process of feather change is very 

 much prolonged; the old feathers dropping 

 singly, long intervals often intervening, so that 

 the entire moult may be prolonged several 

 weeks. 



The finest bird in the present lot, a very vig- 

 orous male, commenced dropping a few feathers 

 from the region of the head and neck about 

 March 1, 1910. These were slowly replaced 

 by others of a rich chestnut hue. This process 

 was steadily continued, but it was nearly May 

 1 when the change of plumage seemed to have 

 progressed as far as it would in this individual. 



Far more interesting, however, is the case of 

 the remaining two birds, a male and a female. 

 In these sijecimens, the first feathers were not 

 dropped until about May 15. But instead of 

 the rich chestnut of summer, these feathers are 

 being gradually replaced by the brown-barred 

 black ones of the fall plumage ! The summer 

 coat has been entirely omitted. This instance 

 is simply another illustration of the disregard 

 of the ptarmigan for the seasons, excepting in 

 the most general way. L. S. C. 



