G. Steinbacher—Breeding of the Hammerhead and Night Heron 101


be Aspergillosis and succumbed in the fashion such birds always do.

The range of Poospiza includes Brazil, Peru, Bolivia to Mendoza,

N. Patagonia and other parts of South America. There are about

fourteen species, and White’s is most like P. csesar, but much smaller.

Another little South American bird appeared on the market this

autumn, Lophospingus pusillus, the Black-crested Finch, two of which

I obtained.



THE SUCCESSFUL BREEDING OF THE

HAMMERHEAD AND THE BOAT-BILLED

NIGHT HERON IN THE BERLIN ZOO


By Dr. Georg Steinbacher, Zoologischer Garten, Berlin.


In the year 1937 two interesting relatives of our Herons and Storks,

the Hammerheads and the Boat-billed Night Herons, hatched in the

Berlin Zoo. Both of them are kept in large flying cages. The Boat¬

billed Night Herons, of which there are four, have been here since

the beginning of the year 1934. In 1936 they had already tried to build

nests. One pair then had two eggs, which, however, were not laid in

a nest but on the floor of the cage, where they rolled about and were

broken.


In 1937 both pairs built nests about two metres high, close below

the wire ceiling of the cage. On the 25th June one pair had two eggs

and began sitting on them. Strange to say, this particular pair was

not in full adult plumage.


On the 20th July we noticed two young ones. The elder of them

seemed to be about four days old. Thus the Hammerheads seem to

sit for a bit longer than three weeks, about as long a time as the Night

Herons. On the very first day we saw the young ones, they begged with

a distinctly audible cry similar to that of a Heron.


On the 6th August both of them already stood on the nest. When

I entered the cage and approached them, they snapped at me and also

uttered a cry of defiance. At first the young ones were continually

watched by a parent, which brooded them. When somebody entered

the cage, the other parent also joined it to defend the nest. The bird,



