NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 125 



in wearing them. It is strange that civilized woman — the 

 tender-hearted, the philanthropic, and the ever-compassion- 

 ate — should prove to he the evil genius of the world's most 

 beautiful birds. 



In the United States the Snowy Egret now exists only by 

 accident, and the "plume hunters" are pursuing this and 

 the following species in Central and South America, to their 

 most remote haunts, sometimes even at the risk of their 

 lives. Fashion has decreed that the egrets must go. 



The American Egret, {Herodias egretta), is, when adult, 

 one of our largest birds with pure white plumage. Much 

 to the misfortune of this species, it possesses about fifty 

 "aigrette" plumes which droop in graceful curves from the 

 middle of its back far beyond the tail and wing tips. For 

 these beautiful feathers this bird has been pursued by 

 plume hunters almost to the point of total extermination. 

 The Society exhibits a good-sized flock of these birds. 



The White Pelican, {Pelecamis erythrorhynclws), is one of 

 the largest birds of North America and by reason of his 

 size, his pure white plumage, his enormously long amber- 

 colored bill and gular pouch, he is one of the most showy 

 birds in the aviary. As consumers of fish they stand pre- 

 eminent among birds, and their only rivals here are the 

 sea-lions. The specimens exhibited were collected for the 

 Society in southern Texas. 



The Brown Pelican, {Pelecamis occidentalis), when adult, 

 is a handsome and showy bird, and one which not only is 

 easily reconciled to life in a comfortable aviary, but posi- 

 tively enjoys it. The specimens in the collection frequently 

 build their bulky nests of sticks, and occasionally lay eggs. 

 They were collected for the Society on Pelican Island, Flor- 

 ida, and their interesting home life at that place may be 

 studied from the series of photographs on exhibition in the 

 Aquatic Bird House. When their daily allowance of fish 

 appears they crowd around their keeper, and with wide 

 open pouches earnestly solicit contributions. 



THE AQUATIC BIRD HOUSE, No. 5. 



This building is the result of an attempt to solve an old 

 problem in a new way — the care of large migratory water 

 birds in the most uneven winter climate on earth. In com- 

 parison with the care in winter of flamingoes, large herons, 



