The Zoological Gardens



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whereas the young of the Scarlet Backed Wren only show the dirty

orange like the parent after the first moult. Now the young of the

Scarlet Breasted or Red Capped Robins have never even moulted

out a semblance of their natural bright scarlet.'’



THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS


A Young Spectacled Owl


When I had the pleasure of seeing Miss Chauner's collection of

Owls last.summer. I was greatly taken with her Spectacled Owl, a fine

adult specimen, beautifully tame, and of very striking appearance.

The Zoological Society had not possessed one of these Owls for nearly

thirty years, although before 1894 several had been exhibited under

the misleading name of “ Downy ” Owl. It was, therefore, with

much satisfaction that we purchased from Mr. Rogers a beautiful

young bird of this species. It is still in down plumage so far as its

head is concerned, and its appearance is decidedly quaint, the head

being covered with whitish down, the face black relieved by its large

orange-coloured eyes. Like Miss Chauner’s bird, it delights in

being petted and in having its head scratched.


Cream-coloured Coursers


Amongst recent arrivals at the Zoological Gardens are some half-

dozen Cream-coloured Coursers (Cursorius gallicus) from Egypt,

and they appear to be the first examples of this species exhibited

at the Gardens. Its home is in the Canary Islands, North Africa,

Arabia, away to Northern India, but its migrations have taken it into

several European countries, including England. It is an elegant,

plover-like bird of desert-loving habits, its coloration harmonizing

well with the sand, and its food consisting of insects. It was kept in

captivity as long ago as 1851, for Saunders records a bird brought

to Favier of Tangiers in that year which lived until 1859, laying eggs

each year which were used to stock the collections of several European

collectors.


Breeding the Black-winged Grackle

A pair of Black-winged Grackles (Graculipica melanoptera) , kept

amongst a mixed collection of birds in the Western Aviary, took



