1442 



ZOOI OGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



thigh there is a broad orange or vermillion 

 band^ from groin to knee; concealed except 

 when the frog is in motion. 



The tropics of both the Old and the New 

 World have many species of frogs, plainly 

 colored above^ but with bright yellow, red or 

 orange on the parts not seen when the frog is 

 at rest. What the reason may be for this con- 

 spicuous and ordinarily concealed coloration has 

 not been determined, although some writers 

 claim that for some species it serves as a warn- 

 ing to predacious animals. 



During the day the specimens exhibited in 

 our Reptile House conceal themselves under 

 pieces of bark, but after dark they come forth 

 and prowl around their cage in search for food. 

 This is procured for them in the following man- 

 ner: Small pieces of wet bread or raw beef 

 are deposited in corners known to be infested 

 with black ants, and are left there until they 

 are covered with those insects. The ant- 

 covered bread or meat is then placed in the 

 vivarium with the frogs which soon emerge from 

 their hiding places, and slowly crawling, instead 

 of hopping like ordinary frogs, approach the 

 "bait," when the feast of ants begins. An 

 almost incredible number of ants can be as- 

 similated by one of these tiny frogs. Small 

 flies, which I had tried to feed to them in the 

 beginning of their captivity were not eaten, the 

 frogs taking no notice of them, and thus it seems 

 that their diet consists exclusively of ants. 



BREEDING BIRDS. 

 Results During 1916 in the Park. 



Hy Lee S. Crandall, 

 Assistant Curator of Birds. 



CLIMATIC conditions during the spring 

 and summer of 1916 were decidedly ad- 

 verse to the successful rearing of birds in 

 captivity, and throughout the Eastern states, at 

 least, unsatisfactory results have been general. 

 The collections in the Zoological Park were not 

 exempt, and a rather depressing list of disap- 

 pointments is no more than balanced by the few 

 successes. Severe snow storms and continuous 

 low temperatures during February and March, 

 followed by interminable cold rains, were 

 enough to discourage even the most persistent 

 of prospective avian parents. 



The devotedness of the male emu to his off- 

 spring of 1915, caused him to ignore his mate 

 entirely this year, until after the breeding sea- 

 son had passed. As the normal laying time ap- 

 proached, and the birds gave no indications of 



EMV CHICK 



mating, we realized the situation, and separated 

 the too-fond parent from the cumbrous chick. 

 Both birds, however, strenuously objected, and 

 when the male finally became reconciled to the 

 change, there was no hope of breeding. 



The seasonal balance of the cereoT)«is geese, 

 which year after year have bred regularly, was 

 disturbed by the inclement weather, so that al- 

 most as soon as they were placed in their breed- 

 ing quarters, the birds fell into a heavy molt. 

 This, of course, precluded all possibility of 

 nesting. 



Roseate spoonbills, black-headed ibises and 

 snowy egrets, all succeeded in hatching young 

 in the Flying Cage heronry, but in each case the 

 chicks mysteriously disappeared. It is evident 

 that we never shall be able to achieve any satis- 

 factory degree of success with these birds under 

 the present conditions, and we hope that some 

 means may be found for providing a breeding 

 cage in which a few mated pairs may be segre- 

 gated. There is no reason to doubt that we 

 should then be able to breed many of the birds 

 of this interesting group. 



The necessary alterations of the Wild-Fowl 

 Pond, which has now been placed in excellent 

 condition, naturally prevented any breeding 

 among the waterfowl quartered there. We were 

 fortunate, however, in being able to preserve the 

 bulk of this collection in excellent condition 

 through more than a year of vicissitudes. We 

 expect next season to resume our work in the 

 propagation of these birds. 



Because of their value as game birds, the 

 many species of wild pigeons have received more 



