84 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Piciformes, Woodpeckers 8 16 



Passeriformes, Thrushes, Sparrows and 



all other Perching 

 Birds 390 1320 



811 2753 

 Summary: Orders, 27; Species, 811; Specimens, 2,753. 



DEPARTMENT OF REPTILES. 

 Raymond L. Ditmars, Curator; Charles E. Snyder, Head Keeper. 



With the widely extending influence of the war in Europe 

 the foreign animal market has been almost destroyed. Our 

 collection of reptiles has been greatly affected by these condi- 

 tions. Many reptiles must be rated as very transient exhibits, 

 particularly the extremely delicate poisonous snakes and the 

 tropical lizards. There is now no way of replacing gaps in the 

 collection caused by the deaths of Old World specimens. It 

 will be necessary in the months to come to draw upon South 

 America for reptiles, but the reptilian fauna of tropical Amer- 

 ica is not nearly so interesting as the Indian, Malayan, Aus- 

 tralian and African forms. For the immediate future we can 

 look only to England for our supplies. 



Happily we have on exhibition in the Reptile House a good 

 series of hardy Old World species. Among these are cobras, 

 pythons, several species of turtles and tortoises, and a very fine 

 series of crocodilians. The Curator of Reptiles is already in 

 correspondence with collectors in Mexico, Central and South 

 America, and it is possible that the failure of the Old World 

 animal market may result in the exhibition at the Park of rep- 

 resentatives of many species that never before have been shown 

 alive. 



Strange to say, no deaths of important reptiles occurred 

 during the past year. There were many valuable and interest- 

 ing accessions. The Curator of Reptiles made two collecting 

 trips to the mountains of northern New York during the past 

 year, and in the latter trip was accompanied by Keeper George 

 Palmer as assistant. During these trips a fine series of reptiles 

 and amphibians was obtained, and the year closes with the col- 

 lection of local species very complete. As during the previous 

 year, an automobile was constantly used in the collecting work, 



