Z(X)I,()GI('AL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



863 



c.iii'erness. the unappeasabli- liuiigcr wliicli a 

 vulture seems ever to typify. 



I shall never forget the impression which this 

 scene made upon me ; the hosts of lesser folk, 

 crows and mynas, cawing and screaming; the 

 scores of kites squealing their loudest, and 

 finally the great silent, intent host, line upon 

 line, crowd upon crowd in every direction. 



As the last native walks way, a vulture upon 

 the to))most bough leaps from his perch and 

 with all his might flaps toward the feast; ten, 

 a score, a hundred follow at his very tail and 

 the scavengers are at their work. There is 

 nothing unpleasant or revolting to the ej'e. 

 From the moment the first vulture alights on 

 the carcass until the last bird flaps reluctantly 

 away from the clean-picked bones, nothing is 

 visible but a struggling pile of birds, two, 

 sometimes three deep, with dozens constantly 

 leaving, and their places taken at once. Men 

 who have witnessed such scenes dozens of times, 

 say th.it a horse or bullock will be completely 

 devoured within nine to eleven minutes after the 

 first vulture arrives. When the vultures have 

 done, the crows consume every remaining scrap, 

 and the bones await whatever use the needs of 

 mankind require. Thus swiftly does the beast 

 of burden fulfill its physical reincarnation in 

 these eastern lands, and thus is wrought safety 

 for millions of human beings, where otherwise 

 plague and disease would work their utmost 

 havoc. 



ITEMS OF INTEREST 

 Bird Department 



Mati)ig Geese. — The most uncommon event so 

 far is the mating of a female graylag goose with 

 a male pink-footed. These birds constructed a 

 bulkv nest and four eggs were deposited early in 

 April. This is a really remarkable occurrence, 

 and a detailed account will appear in a future 

 Bulletin. 



Wintering Ostriches. — The ostriches, which 

 have now passed their second winter in the open, 

 have come through in perfect condition. The 

 success of this experiment in acclimatization, 

 which seemed decidedly risky at first, is now 

 established beyond a doubt. 



A Hare Turkey. — Quite without expectation, 

 an apparently perfect female of the beautiful 

 ocellated turkey reached us recently from Yuca- 

 tan. This species is as delicate as it is lovely and 

 has so far defied our most determined efforts to 

 persuade it to live with us. All of our individuals 

 have arrived during the period of cold weather, 

 and invariably have been infected with roup or 

 tuberculosis before arrival. The present bird. 



however, appears to be in better than average 

 health, and we hope to be able to acclimatize her. 

 Friendly Gulls. — The unusual abundance of 

 lierring gulls in the neighborhood of the Zoologi- 

 cal Park this spring induced us to ])lace a daily 

 supply of cut fish at convenient points about our 

 lakes. The birds were not slow in taking ad- 

 vantage of our liospitality, and we have been re- 

 warded by the constant presence for several 

 weeks of these masters of flight. No doubt we 

 shall soon be deprived of the jileasure, for most 

 of the birds depart in April for the northern 

 breeding grounds. They generally return in 

 October, and perhaps we may be so fortunate as 

 to be able to persuade some, at least, to pass the 

 winter with us. 



Soiled Water-Fowl. — A road that sends forth 

 clouds of dust in the wake of every passing auto- 

 mobile is unquestionably an abomination. It was 

 doubtless the ambition of the worthy persons who 

 recently sprayed the surface of Pelham Avenue 

 with crude oil, to remedy a condition which has 

 caused much annoyance. The task was well per- 

 formed — so well, in fact, that enough oil re- 

 mained upon the surface of the road to entirely 

 cover Cope Lake and Lake Agassiz, when washed 

 into the water by a drenching rain. This oil 

 has Iiad a remarkable effect upon the plumage of 

 the water-fowl quartered on the lakes. Mallards 

 and black ducks are now indistinguishable, by 

 color, at least; barnacle, white fronted and 

 Canada geese are a homogeneous and non-com- 

 mittal black, while the once white swans are a 

 truly pitiful sight. As soon as the oil has 

 passed down the Bronx River an attempt will 

 be made to restore the feathers of the swans to 

 their former snowy state, but inky geese of vari- 

 ous sizes will continue to puzzle inquiring visi- 

 tors until after the annual moult. 



Nesting Water-foicl. — Although spring has 

 been delayed, the Bird Department hopes for an 

 unusual number of breeding successes when the 

 vernal season does arrive. In a few cases, nest- 

 ing operations have already begun. Several pairs 

 of Canada geese are incubating, the first egg 

 appearing on April 5. ]Mallard ducks antedated 

 the geese by at least a week, and it is quite safe 

 to say that a fairly careful search of the various 

 nesting localities in the Zoological Park would 

 reveal fully 100 nests of this enterprising bird. 



The Cereopsis geese, which lost their brood 

 of goslings in 1910, as a result of a local epi- 

 demic of parasitic bronchitis, have been busily 

 constructing a nest in the Crane Paddock, and 

 eggs will doubtless follow in due season. Ruddy 

 sheldrakes, wood, mandarin and probably other 

 ducks, are diligently home hunting. L. S. C. 



