G. Steinbacher—Humming Birds in the Zoological Garden of Berlin 49


up to a temperature of 20 to 22 degress of Celsius (60 to 72 degrees of

Fahrenheit). The cages are lit by lamps mounted at each side in order

to show off the varying colours of the birds. They are always decorated

with pots of flowers in blossom, which contrast splendidly with the

brightly-coloured birds. In winter the cages are lit until 8 o’clock at

night, so that the Humming Birds can feed till that hour. Then they

are not switched off all at once but gradually. Thus the birds have

time to look for a place where to sleep. Otherwise they would fly

about in the dark until they were totally exhausted, and then would

have great difficulty in recovering.


Twice a day they are fed. In the morning they get a mixture con¬

sisting of three parts honey, one part Mellin’s food mixed with water,

two parts cane-sugar, one part sweetened condensed milk, and a little

bit of Liebig’s meat extract. This mixture is diluted by a double quantity

of water. In the afternoon they get another feed consisting only of

three parts honey and two parts cane-sugar, and also diluted by a double

quantity of water. This food is put into special bottles preventing the

birds from soiling and glueing up their feathers. Besides, the Humming

Birds daily get also a large quantity of small flies ( Drosophila ), which

they eagerly catch and eat and which seem to be absolutely necessary

to keep them alive for any length of time. These flies are easily bred

in large quantities. The humming birds either catch the buzzing flies

in the air with their bills, or take them off the walls with the help

of their tongues.


Daily the Humming Birds are sprayed with a flower-syringe filled

with luke-warm water. They like to bathe in the water, which after

the spraying remains on the leaves of the plants in their cages. Also

the sand covering the floors of the cages is always kept wet. By these

measures the birds’ feathers are always kept in a good state.


When kept in this way Humming Birds do not seem to be more

delicate than many other tropical species such as nectariniae and other

honey-eating birds.


We hope that we in future will succeed in importing new and

interesting species of Humming Birds and shall thus be able to show

them to scientists and amateurs.



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