HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
23 
trip I religiously wore the flower; it caused many 
remarks whilst travelling, and has borne its 
7,000 miles journey well. 
On the variability in the nature or tem- 
perament of Wild Animals in captivity, 
witk special reference to South African 
Species. 
This very interesting Article was concluded 
in the May number. Dr. A. K. Haagner writes 
under date 13th June : — 
" Kindly put the following note after the 
final paragraph : — This article appeared in the 
S.A. Science Journal for 1916, and was read at 
the Pretoria Science Congress in 1915." 
The thanks of the readers of this Magazine 
are due to the learned Director for such a very 
interesting article. 
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF 
LONDON. 
At the monthly general meeting of the Zoo- 
logical Society of London held on Wednesday at 
the offices, Regent's Park, the Earl of Ports- 
mouth in the chair, the report of the Council for 
June was read. It stated that during that month 
168 adlitions were made to the Menagerie, viz., 
54 presented, 54 deposited, 42 received in ex- 
change, and 18 born in the Gardens. 
Special attention was directed to a Hensel's 
Cat from Bahia (Felis pardinoides), new to the 
collection, presented by Mr. W. A. Smtihers; to 
an Eland (Taurotragus oryx), born in the Men- 
agerie on June 21; to a Collection of Reptiles, in- 
cluding three Anacondas (Eunectes murinus), one 
Thick-necked Boa (Epicrates cenchris), a Cooke's 
Tree Boa (Corallus cookii), from Trinidad; to an 
Antillean Boa (Boa diviniloqua), from Lominica; 
to two Black Cribos (Oxyrhopus clailia), to three 
Rat-tailed Snakes (Lachesis lanceolatus), from 
Trinidad; and a Terrific Rattlesnake (Crotalus ter- 
rificus), from British Guiana. 
The number of visitors to the Society's Gar- 
dens in June was 93,252, a decrease of 6,074 as 
compared with that month last year. The total 
number of visitors from January 1 to June 30 was 
3995,424, a decrease of 44,892 compared with the 
corresponding period in 1916. 
The Silver Medal of the Society was presented 
by the Chairman to Mr. Wilfrid A. Smithers for 
his many valuable donations to the Menagerie. 
The meeting adjourned to August 15. 
PELICANS IN ST. JAMES' PARK. 
The "Daily Graphic," July 20th, states as 
follows : — 
"A WONDERFUL BIRD IS THE 
PELICAN !" 
If all goes well in the domestic households 
of the pelicans which are nesting on the rock 
in St. James's Park lake, London will witness 
— if the eggs are hatched in due course — a spec- 
tacle which is probably unique at any rate in a 
public thoroughfare. 
As far back as 1663 a pelican was shot in 
Norfolk, and the worthy Sir Thomas Browne 
mentions that just about this time one of the 
King's birds at St. James's made good its es- 
cape. The birds which are now nesting there- 
fore have a very Roya ancestry, even if they do 
not belong to the House of Windsor ! 
If the eggs are hatched the public ought to 
see something at any rate of the origin of the 
well-worn fable that the pelican nourishes her 
young with her blood. To assist the parent bird 
to disgourge the contents of its capacious pouch 
the red nail of the upper mandible comes in con- 
tact with the breast, the only foundation for the 
grotesque imagination of those painters who 
have figured the bird with blood spurting from 
its self-inflicted wounds. 
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S 
SILVER MEDAL. 
The "Daily Graphic" gives the following in- 
teresting particulars : — 
ZOO SILVER MEDAL. 
The silver medal of the Zoological Society, 
which has been awarded to Mr. W. A. Smithers 
in recognition of his many valuable donations 
to the colection, is but rarely bestowed, and it 
is probable that throughout the long history of 
this body not more than forty persons have re- 
ceived this honour. 
One of the earliest recipients of the medal 
was Viscount Canning, who was awarded it, 
with others, for his assistance in the formation 
of the first colection of Himalayan pheasants 
in this country. This was in 1859, and a year 
later Sir George Grey received it in recognition 
of his numerous donations of South African 
animals. 
Medals have been granted in recent years 
for the protection of tht great skua and the 
osprey, and for the introduction of the water 
buck; but one that will be best remembered was 
that bestowed upon the then superintendent, 
