NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 



147 



WILD TURKEY. 



but merely a brief statement of a fact which the visitor has 

 a right to know. It was designed on our long-established 

 principle that every captive wild creature is entitled to 

 life, exercise and happiness. Our principle of very large 

 cages, with many birds in each cage, is just the reverse of 

 the views that have prevailed in the older zoological gardens, 

 even down to the present day. To an important extent, the 

 cage equipment of this building represents a new departure. 

 There are many zoologists with experience longer than ours 

 who believe that small birds thrive better and live longer 

 when installed in small cages, with only one or two birds in 

 each. 



The Large Bird-House, specially designed for Passerine 

 birds, was developed on the strength of experiments pre- 

 viously made in the Aquatic-Bird House, and in community 

 cages outside. After three years' experience with the 

 new building, and a careful tabulation of diseases and death 

 rates within it, we are able to state that this installation 

 is a complete and gratifying success. 



The Large Bird-House is an L-shaped building, with an 

 all-glass house in its angle. The main hall extends east and 

 west, and it is 60 feet long by 50 feet wide. This great 

 room contains the foreign song-birds, many tropical doves 

 and pigeons, and such tropical varieties and oddities as the 



