5 EFFECT OF THE WAR ON BIRDS 

 IN CAPTIVITY, AND DURING 

 SEVERE WEATHER 



BIRDS in captivity became more and 

 more difficult to keep as the supply 

 of cereals, bananas, eggs, bread, etc., 

 were restricted as the War went on. Never, 

 for example, were so many PARROTS freely 

 offered on loan to the Zoological Society of 

 London, and never were the offers so system- 

 atically refused. Incidentally may I say 

 that it was even more difficult to maintain 

 the animals, and the more common varieties 

 were reluctantly put down. The week before 

 the rationing system came into force in Lon- 

 don, on February 24th, 1918, the Society's 

 bull bison was killed and was apportioned 

 out to the garden's staff. In all the zoo- 

 logical gardens in Germany and Austria the 

 animals were reported to have been killed 

 early in 191 6 to save the cost of their upkeep, 



67 



