146 
RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE ZOOLOGICAL 
SOCIETY’S GARDENS 
IN April last the total number of additions to the living 
collection of the Zoological Society of London was 124. 
Of these, twenty-one were born in the Gardens, forty- 
four were acquired by presentation and fifty-two by pur- 
chase, while one was received in exchange, and six merely 
“on deposit.” The “departures” during the same 
period, by death and otherwise, were ninety-one, Among 
the more noticeable additions were :— 
1, A female of one of the smaller forms of Rusine 
deer, purchased by a dealer on the 13th of April, and 
stated to have been received from the Philippines. This 
animal is quite distinct in its small size and dark brown 
fur from any other member of the group now or lately in 
the Society’s collection, If the assigned locality is correct 
NATURE 
ee es re eee 
| Fune 23, 1870 
it may probably belong to the Rusa deer of the Philip- 
pines, which was first named Cervus mariannus by 
Desmarest, as having been found living by the French 
naturalists during the voyage of the Uranze at the 
Marianne Islands. Here, however, it was stated to have 
been introduced from the Philippines. It would be very 
desirable to increase our knowledge of the deer of the 
Philippines. Probably there is more than one species that 
occurs there, 
2. A Sooty Crow-Shrike (Strepera Juliginosa), pur- 
chased on the same day, is one of a peculiar group of 
Australian birds, of which the Society previously possessed 
examples belonging to two other species. These are all 
placed in the cages outside the “Parrot-house,” which 
are devoted to the reception of the hardy species of crows 
(Corvid@) and their allies, and at the present moment 
contain examples of several other species of great interest, 
such as the yellow-billed chough of the Alps (Pyrrhocorax 
THE HUIA BIRD (Heteralocha gouldi) 
alpinus),the chough of our own coasts (Fregilus graculus), 
the Chinese Jay-thrush (Garrulax sinensis), and the 
Australian crow (Corvus australis). 
3. A Vulturine Guinea-Fowl (Mamida vulturina) pre- 
sented by Dr. John Kirk, C.M.Z.S., H.B.M. Acting Consul 
at Zanzibar. 
For many years this remarkable Guinea-Fowl, which 
is peculiar for having the head entirely devoid of feathers, 
and for the long ornamental hackles surroundirg the 
neck, was only known to naturalists from a single speci- 
men, formerly in the United Service Museum. This was 
figured in Mr. Gould’s “ Icones Avium,” but its exact 
locality was unknown. More recently, since the eastern 
coast of Africa has been more thoroughly explored, it has 
been discovered that this bird is by no means uncommon 
on the southern part of the Somali coast, and in the ad- 
jacent parts of continental Africa. Dr. John Kirk, the 
well-known companion of Dr, Livingstone in the Zambesi 
expedition, who has been lately resident at Zanzibar, as 
acting Consul, has communicated several notices upon 
this Guinea-fowl to the Zoological Society, of which he is 
an active correspondent. In one of his letters he says 
that “it seems to be common at Lamoo, a port situated 
on the east coast of Africa, in about 2° S. lat. The 
officers of H.M.S. Syria, when lately there, saw several 
in the market, but used them for the table, not being 
aware of their great rarity.” More recently Dr. Kirk suc- 
ceeded in securing for the aviaries of the Society the 
present female example of the species. This fine bird was 
procured at Brava on the southern part of the Somali 
coast, just to the north of the equator, and was conveyed, 
along with a collection of other animals presented to the 
Zoological Society by Dr. Kirk, in the steamer, Malta, 
through the Suez Canal to Marseilles, under the kind care 
of Captain Mackenzie. 
4. A jackal, stated to have been brought from the 
River Fernand Vas, south of the Gaboon, and to be the 
animal referred to in Du Chaillu’s well-known “ Explo- 
