NEWS BULLETIN OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



SIDE CAGES IN THE BIRD HOUSE. 



THE MOULTING OF THE BIRDS. 



All persons who are interested in seeing how some of our 

 most beautiful water birds change both the quality and the 

 color of their plumage in passing from the " immature " 

 period to the " adult " stage of life, will do well to visit the 

 New York Zoological Park, immediately. 



The plumages, notes and nesting habits of our native small 

 birds, can be studied in the field with a fair degree of ac- 

 curacy, but in the case of larger and more wary species, it is 

 much more difficult. It is in completing the life-histories of 

 this latter class of birds, that a commodious aviary renders 

 the greatest assistance to the naturalist. In the Aquatic 

 Birds' House, which contains a Flying Cage of no mean pro- 

 portions, its well adapted conditions for keeping birds in con- 

 finement are shown in the prompt adaptation of these creat- 

 ures to their new environment. This is manifested in their 

 regular and complete moults, their bright colors, their im- 

 mediate acceptance of nesting facilities, and also by their 

 activity. Many species spend the day in feeding, preening 

 their feathers or playing, instead of unnatural moping or 

 unnecessary sleep, as is the case with so many captive birds. 

 If we may judge from the testimony of the birds, this build- 

 ing is a pronounced success. 



The nesting attempts of our Egrets, Snake-birds, Ducks 

 and Burrowing Owls, and the highly differentiated and often 

 intricate notes of many birds, are all very interesting, but to- 

 day the moults and plumage development of some of the birds 

 in the Aquatic Birds' House are even more so. 



A pair of those martyrs of millinery — Snowy Egrets — 

 are fast approaching the prime of their breeding plumage, 

 their immaculate white feathers, and long, graceful plumes, 

 contrast sharply with their black legs and yellow feet. They 

 are living refutations of the absurdly false statement that 

 their plumes drop off naturally, while in their perfect con- 

 dition. As a matter of fact, murder, cruel and bloody, must 

 be committed before these " aigrettes " deface a hat ! Their 

 larger cousins, the American White Egrets, are not so far 

 advanced, but in a month they will vie with their smaller re- 

 lations in beauty and length of plumes. 



During the winter, the color of the Little Blue Herons has 

 caused many people to mistrust the scientific knowledge used 



in labelling the birds, but the pure white immature plumage 

 of these herons is now quite rapidly being replaced by the 

 slate-blue coloration so characteristic of the adult bird, sev- 

 eral stages in the transition being visible at present. The 

 European Flamingoes and Tadorna Sheldrakes show marked 

 gradations in the intensity of coloration in bill and feath- 

 ers, and the curious, unexplained caruncles on the bills of the 

 latter birds have attained their maximum size. 



The radical change from the immature to the adult plum- 

 age of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, has just begun, and 

 the occipital plumes are as yet barely noticeable. A pair of 

 Scarlet Ibises are exhibiting two very different phases of 

 plumage. One has nearly completed the spring moult, and is 

 a glowing mass of scarlet, especially on the wings. The 

 other is in a half-way condition, presenting a curious pied ap- 

 pearance, alternating scarlet and light rose. 



The sober gray plumage of the immature Brown Pelican 

 contrasts strongly with the rich yellow, chocolate, silvery 

 gray, and black, of a full-plumaged adult bird. 



As to the smaller birds, a system of outdoor feeding, to- 

 gether with the sense of perfect security, is making the Park 

 at large a favorite resort for our native birds. As early as 

 February 14, a pair of English Starlings began to nest in a 

 hollow branch within a few feet of the Bird House, and 

 judging from the abundance and tameness of our winter 

 species, bird-lovers should be able to make numberless inti- 

 mate acquaintances with heretofore little known feathered 

 friends. C. William Beebe. 



SIDE CAGES OF THE BIRD HOUSE. 



Dead walls behind live animals are an abomination unto Nature. 



At first the painting of landscapes in oil colors on the walls 

 behind these cages seemed like a hazardous experiment; but Mr. 

 Robert Blum made the idea a complete and gratifying success. 

 On the western wall is depicted, in soft and pleasing tones, an 

 actual scene on the edge of the Florida Everglades — a favorite 

 haunt for water-birds. On the eastern wall is a marsh landscape, 

 with distant hills; and so perfect is the atmospheric effect that 

 half a dozen times the Demoiselle Cranes have attempted to walk 

 through the wall! These side cages are intended solely for water- 

 birds, but at present they are obliged to accommodate birds of 

 several other orders. 



