NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 117 



structed in the north end of Bird Valley. To secure as much 

 space as possible, the entire width of the open valley has 

 been taken into the enclosure. 



The Duck Aviary consists of a pond containing three 

 islands, two of which arc subdivided by low fences of wire 

 netting into twelve separate enclosures. In the central por- 

 tion of the South Island stands a series of shelter houses, 

 which furnish shelter for the occupants of the yards. The 

 North Island is devoted to a mixed collection of large water 

 fowl — swans, geese, ducks, and other species. 



The aviary has been so planned and constructed that each 

 enclosure is provided with a section of the pond (three feet 

 in depth), grass banks, gravel banks, sanded runways, 

 shrubbery, earth, and a dry, roofed-over shelter house. The 

 boundary fence, fortunately for the visitor, is only 42 in. in 

 height, this being sufficient to confine the short-legged 

 ducks and geese. 



The Mallard Duck, {Anas bosclias), is one of our finest 

 swimming birds, the joy of the sportsman who finds it in 

 its haunts, the delight of the epicure who finds it on the bill 

 of fare. Sluggish indeed must be the blood which does not 

 beat faster at the sight of a flock of wild Mallards, free in 

 Nature, and ready to leap into the air and away at the 

 slightest alarm. Excepting the wood duck, this is the hand- 

 somest duck in North America, and also one of the finest 

 for the table. Its range covers practically the whole of 

 the western continent down to Panama, and even extends 

 to the Azores, north Africa, and northern India. The 

 drakes are readily recognized by the splendid iridescent 

 green of the head. 



The Green-Winged Teal, (Nettion carolinensis), and Blue- 

 Winged Teal, {Querquedida discors), are very delicate birds, 

 and therefore rather difficult to maintain iu captivity. A 

 flock of each will be found in the Flying Cage. 



The Pintail Duck, {DaUla acuta), is specially commended 

 to the notice of visitors because of its great beauty, both 

 in color and form. Its colors form an exquisite harmony of 

 soft brown and gray tones which fairly rival the more 

 gaudy color-pattern of the wood duck. The species is yet 

 found occasionally along the Atlantic Coast, but like all 

 other edible birds, its numbers are rapidly diminishing. 

 This species will be found on Cope Lake and the Wild-Fowl 

 Pond, as well as in the south end of the Duck Aviary. 



The Mandarin Duck, {Aix galericulata) , is the Chinese 

 counterpart of our beautiful Wood or Summer Duck, {Aix 



