ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



57 



considered, better, indeed, than that in Paris or 

 even London ! 



On entering one finds on the right some pheas- 

 ant aviaries which only contain common species 

 — golden, silver, sacred. Revnaud's — and some 

 pigeons; then come, in the enclosures, fallow- 

 deer, hog deer, sika. and red deer. One of 

 the yards bears this label: 



HELDERHIRSCH. 



geb. 23—5—16, 

 St. Gobain (Aisne). 



A stag taken in France during the war ! 



In the series of cages one finds many wolves, 

 foxes, and other indigenous and exotic carniv- 

 ora. The bears are very numerous — at least a 

 dozen brown bears, as many white ones, and 

 several other species. 



The Bird House is very well appointed: one 

 finds cages all around. The centre is occupied 

 by aquaria and vivaria. The collection of par- 

 rakeets there is remarkable. Almost all the 

 species of macaw and cockatoo are represented 

 — amongst others, Lear's macaw and the gang- 

 gang cockatoo (C. galeatus), and a fine pair 

 of Polythorynchus stellatus. The Amazons. Pi- 

 onus, etc., are well represented (./. diademata, 

 bodini, P. mcnstruus, etc.). There are but few 

 parrots, but there is a good pair of Cyanolyseus 

 patagonicus and a charming Brontogenys pyr- 

 rhoptems. Further on I note a little heron with 

 a most curious, enormous beak (Canchrcnna coch- 

 learia) ; a Dacelo gigantea. a toco toucan, sev- 

 eral hornbills, a Nicobar pigeon, a giant whydah, 

 Chinese blue magpies, and a number of small 

 and medium-sized birds. Further on I observe 

 a couple of Goura coronata and a couple of the 

 rare Sclater's goura pigeon, and some white sa- 

 cred ibises. 



In the centre of the house one sees a Python 

 molurus and a reticulated python, a certain num- 

 ber of crocodiles, alligators, and caimans ; liz- 

 ards, tortoises, bullfrogs; butterflies and other 

 insects. In the aquaria one finds various chan- 

 citos, some hemi-chromids. etc., and young 

 sturgeons. 



On the sheets of water the web- footed birds 

 • ire not very numerous, but belong to a variety 

 of species. One finds snow geese, Ross's blue. 

 Canada, and Magellanic geese, etc., and Anser- 

 anus melanoleiica, Bahama ducks, whistling and 

 Chilian ducks, etc. There were at least fifty 

 rosy flamingoes, and three red flamingoes from 

 Mexico which appeared to have been newly 

 imported. 



The collection of Raptores is very fine : al- 



most all the larger species figure in it — eagles, 

 vultures, condors, ospreys. I call attention to 

 a harpy eagle, a Bengal vulture, and a king 

 vulture. There were also a certain number of 

 nocturnal birds. 



The big birds are a rliea. two emus, a Ben- 

 nett cassowary, a Westermann cassowary. Eu- 

 ropean. Numidian, white-necked and blue- 

 crowned cranes; and finally, a couple of the 

 rare monk crane. 



I note also two fine American bison in the 

 midst of a series of buffaloes, yaks, llamas, and 

 camels. There remain, amongst the great Car- 

 nivora, three lions, three tigers, two jaguars, 

 two leopards, a puma, and a black panther. The 

 Monkey House is well enough filled, without 

 containing anything of particular interest. Some 

 lemurs, skunks, raccoons, otters, and other small 

 mammals occupy numerous cages, both in and 

 out of doors. Finally, the Zoo of Cologne still 

 possesses some big animals — a young giraffe, a 

 hippopotamus, an Asiatic elephant, an Indian 

 tapir, and a grand two-horned rhinoceros. In 

 the same apartment one finds zebras, some an- 

 telopes, and a gnu (Catablepas gorgon). 



Let me add that all the animals are in excel- 

 lent condition, and appear very well fed. The 

 establishment is well managed. To sum up, 

 the Zoological Garden of Cologne has scareelj' 

 suffered at all from the war. and it is likely 

 that it is the same with other German Gardens. 



It is not without bitterness that I have com- 

 pared it with the mournful ruins, the heaps of 

 rubbish, the smashed trees, the twisted iron- 

 work and broken glass which represent today 

 my poor garden at Villers-Bretonneux. which 

 was still flourishing less than a year ago. I 

 conclude that our public and private collections 

 which have been destroyed by the Germans 

 ought to be reconstructed at their expense. 



BOLSHEVIKS DESTROY A GREAT 

 GAME PRESERVE. 



IN Russia, private game preserves have been 

 exceedingly few, and far between. One of 

 the finest, and the most celebrated, was that 

 of Count Potocki. at Pilawin in southeastern 

 Russia, made famous by the visits and writings 

 of the English naturalist. Richard Lydekker, 

 and Walter Winans. The former wrote a book 

 descriptive of the sanctuary and his visit. 



A letter written in Paris on March 17 by 

 Mr. Pierre Amedee-Piehot. a prominent mem- 

 ber of the French National Society of Acclima- 



