78 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
(Hypotaenidia philippinensis), two white ibises (Guara alba), a 
white-eyed duck (Marila nyroca), besides a goodly number otf 
wood, mandarin and mallard ducks and Canada geese, are among 
the most important. Of Gallinaceous birds, we reared the Bob- 
white (Colinus virginianus), the California quail (Lophortyx 
californicus), the Curacao crested quail (Hupsychortyx crista- 
tus), as well as golden, silver and Swinhoe pheasants. A num- 
ber of Passerine birds also reached maturity, as reported in the 
Bulletin. 
For several years the birds in the Flying Cage have made 
more or less sporadic attempts at nesting, but in the spring of 
1915, their efforts crystallized in a colony which closely simu- 
lated a natural rookery. A small elm tree in one corner of the 
cage was chosen as a site, and was literally bowed down by the 
great weight of the nests. At one time, two pairs of snowy 
egrets (Hgretta candidissima), three pairs of roseate spoonbills 
(Ajaja ajaja), two pairs of white ibises (Guara alba), and a 
pair each of scarlet (G. rubra) and black-headed ibises (Ibis 
melanocephala), were building or engaged in incubation. Un- 
fortunately, a very severe wind and rain storm wrecked many 
cf the nests and so disturbed the others that the rookery was 
destroyed. However, two white ibises were fully reared, and 
we have every reason to hope for better success during the com- 
ing season. 
As a complement to the active campaign work in behalf 
of the birds, which is being carried on by the Zoological Society, 
a permanent exhibit of ‘““Appliances for Attracting Birds’ was 
arranged in the Park, during the spring of 1915. A well-for- 
ested spot bordering the eastern side of Baird Court was selected 
as being the most advantageously placed, and a great variety of 
bird houses and boxes were set up there. Nesting logs and boxes 
of many patterns, food counters and shelters of several kinds 
and various other paraphernalia for aiding the increase of our 
native birds, were placed in suitable positions. Visitors to the 
Park have evinced a great deal of interest in the exhibit, and 
many persons have thus been induced to purchase and make use 
of such appliances as appealed to them. 
Perhaps the most important contribution to ornithology 
made by the Department of Birds was the discovery by the 
Curator of an atavistic wing on the hind leg of pigeons and 
other birds. This was elaborated as “A Tetrapteryx Stage in the 
Ancestry of Birds,’ Zoologica, Vol. II, No. 2. 
