Jail. 17



„ 18

» *9



,, 22



,, 26



I Woodcock— Scolopax rusticula. Brit. Isles. W. Aviary.


1 Short-eared Owl— Asia accipitrinus


Captured in Indian Ocean. N. Aviary.


2 White-headed Sea Eagles— Halicetus leucocephalus


N. America. Eagle Aviary.



1 Laughing Kingfisher— Dacelo gigantea


Australia. W. Aviary.


2 Triangular-spotted Pigeons— Columba guinea ,,


I Black-headed Bunting— Emberiza melanocephala


S. W. Africa.


Bred in Menagerie. ,,


I Woodcock— Scolopax rusticula Brit. Isles. ,,


1 Bare-eyed Cockatoo —Cacatua gymnopis


S. Australia. Parrot House.


2 Undulated Grass Parrakeets— Melopsittacus undulatus, var.


Parrot House.



Winter is not a good time at the Zoo : the arrivals are,

compared with the Summer months, few in number, and a great

majority made up of our larger English Wildfowl.


This month, although Wildfowl (with the exception of

the Whoopers and Woodcock) are not represented, the additions

are composed of what may be called from an aviculturist’s point

of view, ‘ the poor and middle-class ’ style of bird, and include

no striking or rare species. I wonder if many members have

kept the Burrowing Owl : if not, I can thorough^ recommend

it as a most interesting aviary bird. They are a small bird

about nine inches in length, and their chief peculiarity is the

length of the tarsus, which is considerably longer in proportion

to the size of the bird than in other species of Owl. It is an

inhabitant of America, where it is found from the prairies of the

North throughout the whole of Central and South America. As

its name indicates, it lives in burrows, which it rarely hollows

out for itself but takes one already made by marmots or the

ground squirrels ( Spermophihis ) and alters it to suit its own

purpose. It is large^ diurnal in its habits, which renders it

especially suitable to an aviary existence. In their aviary a

burrow should be made for them, and a small mound erected

just outside the entrance, on which they will be very fond of

sitting, darting into their burrow when alarmed, only to poke

their heads out the next minute and gaze at the intruder.

Except for shelter and when nesting, they do not spend much

time in the burrow, but sleep on a perch like other Owls. The

late Mr. Meinertzhagen bred them successfully in his aviary,

where they made a long burrow reaching into the adjoining



