ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



871 



small. They are exceedingly plaj'ful, and de- 

 spite their size, stand upon their hind feet and 

 box at each other in true bear fashion. 



The arrival of these young bears was at- 

 tended by unusual condition, as Czarina, the 

 mother of the bears, has for years avoided tin- 

 sleeping compartments. It was during very cold 

 weather, in January, that we discovered the 

 little bears, which Czarina had huddled in an 

 unprotected corner of the den. Young bears are 

 the most helpless creatures imaginable, and it 

 seemed that we must surely lose them from ex- 

 posure to the cold. As Czarina would not go 

 into her sleeping house with her helpless cubs, 

 it was a case of building a house over the mother 

 and her litter. 



Boards were fastened against the bars 

 at the southwest corner of the cage and 

 a quantity of bedding was shoved into this 

 corner. We then proceeded to house Czarina 

 in by building a roof over her and boarding up 

 the front of the triangle, as there were other 

 bears in the den that might interfere with the 

 youngsters. We made this house strong enough 

 to prevent them from tearing it apart and 

 covered it with planks studded with wire nails. 

 A tar paper, water-proof covering was after- 

 wards added. A small door was cut, through 

 which to feed Czarina, and she appeared well 

 satisfied in these close quarters, where she re- 

 mained thus confined until early in April, when 

 the young bears were strong enough to with- 

 stand exposure to the weather. The front of 

 the house was then removed and late in April 

 the entire structure was taken down. Then it 

 was. during a cold rain, that Czarina decided to 

 shelter her young in the sleeping den, which she 

 entered for the first time in four years. 



Tropical Bears in Winter. — The South Ameri- 

 can spectacle bear has successfully passed the 

 winter out of doors. Frederico was inclined to 

 shiver and look uncomfortable at the approach 

 of the really cold weather, so we built a glass ex- 

 tension in front of his cage, of hot-bed frames, 

 and heated the interior of the enclosure with a 

 small oil stove. Under these conditions he ex- 

 perienced no further discomfort. This rare ani- 

 mal will soon be transferred to his permanent 

 cage, which will be the northerly one in the 

 new series of Bear Dens. The other South 

 American bears will be quartered near by. The 

 sleeping dens of these animals will be warmed 

 during the winter months by small electric 

 heaters. R. I- D. 



Bulletin Xo. 6: — Wanted, two copies. 



BIRDS OF PREY AND THEIR AVIARY 



By C. William Bkebe and L. S. Crandall 



Part I. 



THE Eagles, the Hawks and the Vultures 

 have at last come into their own ! Tin- 

 splendid collection of these birds in the 

 Zoological Park, from the great condor of tin- 

 Andes with his ten foot span of wings, to tin- 

 tiny Cuban sparrow hawk, are waiting only the 

 coming of May to be installed in their spacious 

 new quarters. Xo more shall the King of Birds 

 be confined in such cages as happen to be vacant 

 in the Ostrich or the Aquatic Bird Houses ; but 

 from now on, all the great feathered, aerial 

 carnivores will have a permanent home of their 

 own in the heart of Bird Valley. 



Every one of these birds is of interest; both 

 from the standpoint of the position it has won 

 for itself in life, and from the importance of 

 its relation to mankind. The unconquerable 

 spirit of the peregrine falcon and the golden 

 eagle looks out through their fierce, splendid 

 eyes, revealing that fearlessness in attack upon 

 domestic creatures which turns every man's hand 

 against them ; the less fierce but keen, searching 

 watchfulness of the great Asiatic vultures re- 

 minds us of the thousands of human lives they 

 save each year in their work as scavengers. 



The aviary we shall discuss in Part II; and 

 in future publications the interesting lives of 

 individual species will be taken up in detail, 

 their haunts, their homes, their ways of life and 

 their relation to mankind. 



The vultures of Xorth and South America arc 

 included in the Order Caihartidvform.es, while 

 those of the Old World are united with the 

 hawks and eagles of both hemispheres, as Ac- 

 cipitriforw.es. Of the latter group, the vultures 

 form the family Vulturidae. Most of these birds 

 feed entirely upon carrion, seldom having the 

 temerity to attack living creatres. 



The Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) of Europe 

 and northern Africa is. without doubt, the best 

 known, and has been divided into a number of 

 local races or subspecies, each differing slightly 

 from the others, although the name griffon is 

 applied indiscriminately to several of them. 



This bird lives in companies in open country. 

 generally roosting on nearby cliffs. While hunt- 

 ing, they soar over the surrounding country at 

 great heights. At the first sight of food, tin- 

 bird spying it swoops downward, this movement 

 being noted by its neighbors which immediately 

 follow. Thus there is no dearth of guests at the 

 gruesome feast. 



