38 New Bird House at the New York Zoological Park.


As already intimated, the bird-protection movement is

deserving of every encouragement so long as it is conducted with

common-sense and by those who are not swayed by mere blind

sentiment. D. S.-S.



NEW BIRD HOUSE AT THE NEW YORK

ZOOLOGICAL PARK.


Mr. C. William Beebe, the Curator of Birds at the New

York Zoological Park, has kindly sent us a copy of the Zoologi¬

cal Society’s Bulletin, which contains an interesting account and

some beautiful photographs of the fine new Bird House which

has just been erected there, and was opened on July 1st.


The plan of the building represents the letter L> and the

house consists of two large exhibition halls, one of which, that

intended for Parrots, measures sixty-five feet long by fifty feet

wide, its height to the ridge of the roof being about thirty-six

feet. The roof is principally of ribbed glass, which diffuses the

direct rays of the sun. It is intended to further diffuse the light

by growing plants and vines. Fresh air is admitted by means of

thirty-four large windows in the walls, besides which no less

than one hundred and sixty-four panes of roof - glass, each

measuring five feet in length, are made to open.


The two large halls are lined with wall cages or compart¬

ments, each being nine to twelve feet in height, and from four

to eight feet square. “Almost without exception,” writes Mr.

Beebe, “ the rule in the various large aviaries of Zoological

gardens generally, has been to provide large numbers of small

cages, each intended to hold some one species. In the present

building this has been reversed, the cages being adapted for

large groups, either representing a single species or several.”


Targe as the side cages are, they are nothing in comparison

with the central flight cage, which measures fifteen by thirty-six

feet, and is about twenty feet high. It is provided with a large

bathing pool fed by a fountain. There are also nineteen outdoor

cages for the hardier birds.


Another excellent arrangement is that all the doors of the

cages are at the back, opening into a keeper’s passage which



