TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 77 



purple-crowned {Lamprctreron tiuperba), Australia; the painted 

 (Ptilopodi.^cHs c<))-o)nilafifs) , Aru Islands and New Guinea, and 

 the wedge-tailed. 



P'rom the same dealer we acquired, in November, a mag- 

 nificent male lesser bird of paradise, {Pamdisea minor), and an 

 Indian pied hornbill, {Anthnicoceros albirostris) . These birds 

 were shipped from India by way of South Africa, and in spite 

 of their long journey, arrived in excellent condition. 



In the same month, through the kindness of Mr. T. A. Have- 

 meyer, we received a pair each of the semi-palmated goose, {An~ 

 seranus semipalmata) and the European little white-fronted 

 goose, (Aiiser erythropus) . Both species are rare and interest- 

 ing, and the gift forms an accession of importance. 



Again the season was unfavorable for breeding, although 

 its results were fairly satisfactory. Our emus brought up three 

 fine young birds, the family arousing much interest among vis- 

 itors. For the first time in our history, we succeeded in rearing 

 a mute swan. Three w^re hatched on Lake Agassiz and trans- 

 ferred, not without difficulty, to the Beaver Pond. Unfortu- 

 nately, the pond was inhabited by several huge snapping turtles, 

 which destroyed two of the young birds before the presence of 

 the reptiles was discovered. The bird is now well grown, but 

 still in the sooty plumage of youth. 



Our mourning doves did well, and again we liberated a 

 number of young birds. We now have several flying at liberty, 

 which return to the Pheasant Aviary to feed and roost with 

 the Barbary turtle doves. 



Some wood ducks were brought to maturity, as well as a 

 pair of hybrid ducks, apparently the offspring of a male white- 

 eye and a female wood duck. Two Upland geese, (Chloephaga 

 magellanica) were hatched, and one was well grown, when it 

 was taken by some nocturnal prowler. There is no record of this 

 species having been successfully bred in this country. 



The concrete bottom placed in the Wild Fowd Pond in 1916 

 has shown itself well worth the trouble incurred in laying it. 

 No outbreak of the once annual coccidiosis took place. Late in 

 the autumn, the water was drawn off and a great quantity of 

 mud and debris, which ordinarily would have become incorpo- 

 rated in the pond bottom, was removed. 



