680 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



than that of the Canada goose. It was im- 

 mediately covered with soft down. Four other 

 eggs were deposited beside the first, and incu- 

 bation was commenced on the first day of April. 



About this time the male developed the sav- 

 ageness which has since marked his conduct. 

 He attacked the cranes that inhabited the pad- 

 dock with such fury that these great birds had 

 to be removed to save them from the vengeful 

 beak ! During the period of incubation every 

 intruder was savagely attacked by the bird, who 

 made amazing leaps in the air in the endeavor 

 to reach his supposed adversaries. 



On ]\Iay 1, a tiny head was seen protruding 

 from under the mother's wing, but it was not 

 until the 3d that she left the nest, accompanied 

 b\' five beautiful goslings, remarkably weak in 

 comparison to young geese of other species. 

 During the two days s])ent in the nest by the 

 young birds, the female occasionally left to 

 feed, covering the young witli down as care- 

 fully as she would have covered her eggs. As 

 the cereopsis gosling appears never to have 

 been fully or correctly described, such data 

 may be in order here. 



The goslings are slightly smaller than those 

 of the Canada goose. Above, they are yellow- 

 ish-white, a brownish-black streak extending 

 from the base of the bill to the tail, and a sec- 

 ond on the flank. The scapulars, wings, the 

 posterior aspect of the thighs, and also the face. 



lores and ear coverts, are brownish-black. The 

 under surface is uniform smoky-white, with the 

 throat pure white. The eyes are dark brown 

 and the legs and feet black. The bill also is 

 black, presenting a transverse groove at about 

 one-quarter inch behind its tip; this marks the 

 anterior border of the bill caruncle in tlie adult. 

 At the age of one week, this groove liad become 

 slightly green, and the egg-tooth had not been 

 shed. 



Fully two weeks elapsed before tlie young 

 were really strong. After this period had 

 elajised, they were removed to the large grassy 

 paddock at the north end of the Duck Aviary, 

 where they have since remained. At first their 

 sole food consisted of the tender leaves of clover 

 and grass, all else — even the succulent worm — 

 was refused. Later, however, in spite of the 

 assertions of various writers, the young birds 

 learned to take a little of the grain provided for 

 the occasional use of the parent birds. 



It is a significant fact that while the adults 

 abhor water and never enter it unless compelled 

 by necessity, the goslings take to their pond as 

 freely as young ducks, although they have, ap- 

 parently, no idea of feeding in it. 



It is earnestly hoped that some, at least, of 

 these interesting little creatures, will reach ma- 

 turity, and in the process of growth yield many 

 valuable facts concerning their habits and color 

 changes. 



HOW OUR WHITE MOUNTAIN GOATS WERE CAUGHT. 



By Charles A. Ch.\pman. 



It has often been remarked that if visitors to the Zoological Park could know the circumstances 

 under which our animals have been caught in the wilds, public interest in the animals theraselvee 

 would be greatly increased. Through the courtesy of Rod and Gun in Canada, we are enabled to 

 publish the very interesting .story of how the five mountain goats constituting our herd were cap- 

 tared in southwestern Montana, in the spring of lf)05. The article appears in the magazine named 

 above for .Tune, IfH'.O, on page lipi, under the caption "Catching the Kids of the Mountain 

 Goats," and its author is Mr. Charles A. Chapman. 



We are able to report that four of the original five animals are now living in the Zoological 

 Park, in fine health. The fifth, a female, gave her life in rearing the kid that was born two years 

 ago, and which in another year will reach adult size. W. T. H. 



FROM Fort Steele, East Kootenay. to Canal 

 Flats and running parallel with the Kootenay 

 River, the main range of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains rises sharply like a huge rock-wall to the 

 east, pierced here and there by the outfalls of 

 different streams such as Wild Horse Creek, 

 Bull River, Tracey Creek, Sheep Creek and so 

 on. Around the heads of these creeks, where 

 they back into the deep recesses of those great 

 mountain masses, is a wonderful game country 

 in part covered by the new game preserve fig- 

 ured in your March issue. Grizzly bear, black 



bear, moose, elk, sheep, goats and deer in plenty 

 range there with as much security as do any 

 wild animals on earth owing to the extreme 

 ruggedness of the country. It is no holiday 

 jaunt for weaklings to climb those mountains 

 and suffer tlie hardships and rough life that is 

 the sauce of existence for tliose who love the 

 high tops and the secret something that makes 

 a pleasure of the hardest toil. 



Some months ago the front cover of "Rod 

 and Gun" showed a picture of the mountain 

 goats now in the Zoo at the Bronx, New York. 



