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ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BT^LLETIN. 



AMERICAN UATbK huUI- IN THE ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



AN AMERICAN COLLECTION OF GEESE. 

 By Lee S. Crandall. 



THE confinement of wild birds has been 

 practiced throughout the ages by people of 

 many classes, in the pursuit of both pleasure 

 or material gain. While the gallinaceous birds 

 have doubtless been accorded premier honors, 

 the water fowl have always been deservedly 

 popular, as witnessed by their universal culture. 

 In this country one of the most enthusiastic 

 collectors is Mr. T. A. Havemeyer, who has 

 gathered together on his estate at Mahwah, New 

 Jersey, an imposing collection of about 300 

 specimens, including seven species of swans, 

 twenty-eight of geese and eight species of 

 ducks. 



The grounds include about 3,'200 acres of 

 broad, rolling lowlands, beautifully situated be- 

 tween heavily wooded mountains, and their at- 

 tractiveness is greatly enhanced by the herds of 

 European red deer and the numerous English 

 ring-neck pheasants that liave been .acclimatized. 

 The water fowl are divided among three en- 

 closures, all of which include miniature lakes 

 and an ample expanse of grazing ground. 



The first paddock encountered includes half 

 an acre of pasture and a pond of double this 

 area. In it are kept a pair of Hawaiian Geese, 

 {Nesochen sandvicensis) , three Little White- 

 Fronted Geese, (Anser erythropus) , two pairs of 

 Magellan upland geese, one pair of cereopsis, 

 four spur-wing, two semi-palmated, three A'oung 

 European white-fronted geese and four black- 

 necked swans. 



Two of these species are of sufficient interest 

 to deserve detailed comment. 



Tlie Hawaiian geese are the rarest and most 

 beautiful of the birds in this enclosure, and per- 

 haps they are the first of their kind to be seen 

 in this country. Tlieir general color is brown, 

 each feather bordered with white; the head and 

 face and a band around the neck are black, with 

 the throat creamy-brown. Tlie bird weighs about 

 three pounds. Like other Hawaiian birds, this 

 goose maj' soon become extinct as the result of 

 indiscriminate slaughter by Japanese immi- 

 grants. It is found almost solely in Kona, a 

 district of Hawaii, where it breeds on the old 

 lava fields, feeding on grass and berries, notably 

 those of a very abundant Vaccinium, and rarely 

 going near water. For some reason, this goose 

 never breeds on any of the adjacent islands, sev- 

 eral of which are in sight. 



A very interesting fact, confirmed in living 

 birds in the Gardens of the Zoological Society 

 in London, is tlie giving off of a muskj' odor 

 from the neck of this goose. In Europe, the 

 Hawaiian goose has proved quite hardy, and 

 has even been induced to breed. It is very do- 

 cile by nature and affectionate toward man. 



The little white-fronted geese are handsome 

 birds, and far from common in captivity. They 

 are easily distinguished from the young speci- 

 mens of tlie European wliite-fronted goose in 

 tlie same paddock, by their smaller size, larger 

 frontal patch and pink beaks. These two spe- 

 cies of geese were confused for many years, and 



