ZOOLOGICAL SOCLETY BULLETIN. 



r23 



Xot only are Professor Osborn's own extensive 

 discoveries and researches here treated in extenso 

 — and for the first time in a single volume — but 

 a host of related facts and discoveries of recent 

 date that have been drifting through space are 

 here brought together in one well-rounded treat- 

 ise. In clear language, and with a wealth of 

 admirable illustrations, maps, charts and dia- 

 grams, the story of the later evolution of the 

 world and its mammalian inhabitants is unrolled 

 before the reader like a vast panorama. The 

 mammals of long ago are linked up with those 

 of the present, until truly "the past rises before 

 us like a dream." 



Of living animals, we are accustomed to deal 

 with the migrations of species, from range to 

 range and from state to state; but here the 

 author deals with the migrations of faunas, and 

 not only from continent to continent, but from 

 hemisphere to hemisphere. Perhaps the most 

 interesting item under this head is that treating 

 of the migration of the fauna of Africa into 

 Asia, Europe and America, which Professor Os- 

 born predicted several years before the discovery 

 of its evidences actually occurred. 



In any other than a lengthy notice, it is impos- 

 sible to offer even an outline sketch of this zoo- 

 logical masterpiece. All those who are inter- 

 ested in the general dissemination of zoological 

 facts will find satisfaction in the knowledge that 

 the author's treatment of his subject is so clear 

 and direct that the language of science, as he em- 

 ploys it, is quite within the comprehension of 

 even the laymen who feel a real interest in the 

 mammalian life of the world. To those who 

 herein take up for the first time the mammals of 

 the past, a glossary would have been a welcome 

 addition to rl e volume; but that can easily be 

 added hereaf tt r. 



It is no exaggeration to say that this work is 

 in a class by itself, and beyond compare; and all 

 zoologists, and promoters of zoological knowl- 

 edge, are to be congratulated upon its appear- 

 ance at this time. 



THE AGE OF MAMMALS in Europe. Asia and 

 Xorth America. By Henry Fairfield Osborn, LL.D. 

 Hon.D.Sc, President of the Xew York Zoological So- 

 ciety. New York. The Macmillan Company. 8 vo. 

 pp. 635; with ;?J0 illustrations and maps. .^.50 net. 



W. T. H. 



beautiful flank plumes about one-quarter grown, 

 one male in nearly adult plumage, but minus the 

 plumes, and a young bird which may prove to 

 be a female. The two older birds are most pug- 

 nacious, so that it was found necessary to place 

 the trio in three separate but adjoining cages, 

 on the north side of the main hall in the Large 

 Bird-House. Although very nervous at first, the 

 birds have now grown accustomed to their new 

 quarters, and no longer object to the scrutiny 

 of the crowds which come to gaze at them. 



These are the first Birds of Paradise we have 

 obtained alive. They were purchased for -$500 

 from :Mr. A. E. Pratt, of London, who brought 

 them from their home in the Aru Islands, about 

 90 miles off the Xew Guinea coast. 



This is the species most frequently seen on the 

 hats of women, and the traftic in dry skins 

 formed the chief occupation of the Aru natives 

 for years. As the f uU-plumaged males only were 

 killed, the species held its o^vn fairly well. Of 

 late years, however, the demand having increased 

 inordinately, less discrimination has been shown 

 in killing the birds, so that their numbers have 

 become greatly diminished. Unless absolute 

 protection is soon afforded to all of the Birds of 

 Paradise and their congeners, this wonderful 

 group must soon become reduced to extinction. 



The method followed by the native hunters is 

 quite interesting. The birds have a habit of re- 

 sorting to a "dancing tree," where the males 

 pose in various grotesque positions, calculated to 

 display to the best advantage the remarkable 

 beauties of their plumage, apparently for the 

 admiration of the females. The hunter builds 

 a shelter of leaves in the tree, and there con- 

 ceals himself at dawn. As the birds come to 

 the tree, they are shot with blunt-headed arrows 

 and fall to the ground in a stunned condition, 

 where they are dispatched by a second native. 

 This method has the two-fold advantage of se- 

 curing the birds with plumage uninjured and 

 without alarming the other members of the flock. 



Each native tribe has its own trees, which it 

 defends fiercely against poaching neighbors. It 

 is a curious fact that dancing-trees that have 

 yielded many skins for several successive years, 

 are sometimes deserted suddenly, and for no ap- 

 parent reason, although the birds may return 

 later on. L. S. C. 



THE BIRDS OF PARADISE. 

 On October 1'2. 1910. three Greater Birds of 

 Paradise. {Paradisea apoda). reached Xew York 

 by the S. S. Minnetonka, consigned to the Zoo- 

 logical Park. All of the birds are in good con- 

 dition, and consist of one adult male, with the 



AXXUAL MEETIXG. 



The .Seventeenth Annual fleeting of the So- 

 ciety will be held in tlie Grand Ball Room of the 

 Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, on Tuesday evening, 

 January 10, 1911. at 8.30 P. M. An interest- 

 ing entertainment has been provided. 



