ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1527 



ing rare and, Mr. Joseph says, ours is the only 

 specimen he has seen in fourteen years of active 

 collecting. He found the bird in a bushrang- 

 er's hut in the forests of the southwest. It 

 quickly changed hands for the modest sum of 

 five shillings, with "three bob for the cage." 

 The histories of our birds, before they reach 

 us, if they could be wholly known, would re- 

 veal much of interest. 



Among so many celebrities, the birds of para- 

 dise are still conspicuous. The arrival of our 

 first specimens, not many years ago, created a 

 sensation ; but now we are seldom without at 

 least one species. Still, adult males in full 

 plumage remain the most wonderful of our 

 birds, and consequently the fine pair of Count 

 Raggi's bird of paradise, (Paradisea ragc/i- 

 ana), are decidedly welcome. The male ap- 

 pears to have acquired the ornamental flank 

 plumes this year for the first time, so we may 

 look for a further increase of glory. It is sel- 

 dom that two birds of paradise will share a 

 cage, but these are as affectionate as love-birds. 



Ordinarilj^, one thinks of pigeons as quiet 

 birds, occasionally possessing ornamental mark- 

 ings or appendages, but usually dull in general 

 color. This is quite true of most of the mem- 

 bers of the family Columbidae, which furnishes 

 the majority of the species commonly seen in 

 captivity. But there is another great group, 

 the Treronidae, or fruit pigeons, which rivals 

 the parrots in the brilliancy of its greens, reds 

 and purples. The fruit pigeons, as a whole, 

 are not easily kept in captivity and, moreover, 

 are exceedingly rare, a combination which am- 

 ply explains the infrenquency with which ihty 

 are exhibited. Mr. Joseph has brought us two 

 beautiful species, the painted fruit pigeon, (Ptil- 

 opodiscus coromdatus) , and the purple-crowned, 

 (Lamprotreron superha), the former from the 

 Aru Islands and New Guinea, the latter from 

 Australia. So far, they have belied their repu- 

 tation for delicacy, and now are in the best of 

 health. 



THE AUSTRALIAN MAMMAL 



COLLECTION. 



By Raymond L. Ditmars. 



FOR the second time since the annihilation 

 of the European animal market by the war, 

 we have received a large and varied con- 

 signment of mammals, birds and reptiles from 

 Australia, as well as a number of particularly 

 interesting South African species. This is the 

 second demonstration of the skill and perse- 

 verance of Mr. Ellis S. Joseph, of Sydney, Aus- 



tralia, in successfully gathering and transport- 

 ing large collections of animals, and journeying 

 with them practically half way around the 

 world, during times when extraordinary ship- 

 ping difficulties are to be encountered. 



Mr. Joseph's two trips have resulted in mak- 

 ing our collection of kangaroos and other Old 

 World marsupials probably the most extensive 

 ever exhibited in the United States. In fact 

 we are now exhibiting as many species of kan- 

 garoos as are listed in the Royal Zoological 

 Society's Gardens, at Victoria, Australia, where 

 all sources of supply are immediately available 

 for the gathering of kangaroos, and which main- 

 tains the best collection in the world. 



In the imposing series of marsupials that 

 we are exhibiting, are forms that parallel in 

 development, size and appearance the repre- 

 sentatives of various widely different orders of 

 mammals. The strictly carnivorous and wolf- 

 like thylacine is a striking example. It is the 

 largest of the carnivorous marsupials. Another 

 is the wombat, in form like a huge woodchuck, 

 but precisely like a rodent in habits. The phal- 

 angers are remarkably like lemurs in form, ac- 

 tions and habits, while the flying phalangers 

 in becoming adapted to long, scaling leaps, have 

 undergone development like the flying squirrels 

 and so closely resemble those types that an ex- 

 pert might be deceived upon a superficial exam- 

 ination of them. 



A series of photographs is herewith presented 

 to show the striking forms of our new acces- 

 sions. This number of the Bulletin also con- 

 tains a descriptive article of the collection of 

 birds that were part of Mr. Joseph's consign- 

 ment. 



A number of the species in the latest aggre- 

 gation of Australian arrivals are new to our 

 collections. There are scA'eral species that have 

 never before been exhibited alive in the United 

 States. Among the kangaroos, the most remark- 

 able type is the West Australian rat kangaroo, 

 (Boettongia campestris). When sitting upright 

 this animal is only fourteen inches high. It is 

 particularly interesting and remarkable because 

 of the strange development of the tail. It is 

 one of the smaller types, in which the tail is 

 of no use as a support, as with the larger and 

 typical kangaroos. The appendage is of marked 

 importance, however, from two points of view. 

 The tail appears almost naked, much swollen, 

 corrugated, and apparently segmented into rings. 

 It is actually a reservoir for the storage of faity 

 nourishment and enables the animal to pass 

 periods of several weeks within the burrow 

 without eating. After a period of such fasting, 



