ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
85 
than one-half of the effort and expenditure that 
has been devoted to the experiments of which 
it is the living fruit. 
W. T. H. 
ITEMS OF INTEREST 
Birds 
By Lee S. Crandall 
Rheas Now Rare. —Since 1917, there have 
been no rheas in the Zoological Park. Always 
obtainable in the open market in pre-war days, 
rheas have become conspicuously missing from 
dealers’ lists. All of the large, ostrich-like birds 
are important items in collections and the ab¬ 
sence of any of the groups leaves an annoying 
gap. In spite of the difficulties of war times, 
certain large estates in Europe managed to re¬ 
tain their flocks of rheas, which often live in 
large enclosures in nearly perfect freedom. Re¬ 
cently, we -were fortunate enough to secure a 
pair of these birds, not quite fully grown. Their 
perfect condition and obvious juvenility, lead 
us to believe that they first saw the light of day 
in some secluded park, far from the broad pam¬ 
pas of South America. Fortunately, they rep¬ 
resent the species known as the common rhea 
{Rhea rothscliildi) , which we have found much 
hardier in captivity than the really more abun¬ 
dant great-billed species {R. americana). 
Hawaiian Geese. —Like so many other fine 
species of birds, the Hawaiian goose is a rap¬ 
idly disappearing form. Until 1921, it had 
never been represented in our collection and so 
rare is it that we had little hope of ever secur¬ 
ing specimens. In the spring of that year, a 
female that had come by chance into the collec¬ 
tion of a California friend, was offered to us 
in exchange. The transaction was gladly con¬ 
summated and the bird arrived safely. By a 
strange coincidence, not more than two months 
later, Mr. F. E. Blaauw, the well-known Dutch 
naturalist, wished to know if we might possibly 
desire an extra, male Hawaiian goose. We said 
“yes” as quickly as the cable would carry the 
message, with the result that we now possess a 
true pair of these rare and beautiful birds. 
Nutmeg Pigeons. —Ordinarily, one does not 
think of wild pigeons as being particularly 
beautiful birds. The reason is, perhaps, that in 
America we have none of the wonderful group 
known as fruit pigeons. Here colors run riot 
and while every law of chromatic combination 
is grossly outraged in one species or another, 
the general effect is often very beautiful. Fruit 
pigeons, because of their delicacy in captivity, 
have long been bugbears to the aviculturist. 
In recent years, largely through the importa¬ 
tions of Mr. Ellis Joseph, we have come into 
possession of a considerable number of these 
lovely birds, of several species, and have be¬ 
come quite successful in persuading them to live. 
At the present time, we have no less than seven 
species in our collection, some individuals be¬ 
ing of several years’ standing. The nutmeg 
pigeon is one of the largest forms and while 
it presents no startling pigmentation, it is very 
pleasing with its quiet combination of black and 
white. These birds eat only soft fruits and 
berries, avoiding the hard seeds and grains 
which form the diet of ordinary pigeons. 
Colonized Birds. —Birds at liberty are al¬ 
ways a great attraction in any garden, and we 
have tried, not always with success, to have 
them in our Zoological Park. Peafowl and 
turtle doves have met every requirement, and 
the guinea-fowl were equally satisfactory, until 
the fondness for the flower-beds resulted in 
their final banishment. Several attempts with 
other sorts of birds have been less successful. 
A tame brush turkey roamed the Park for a 
time and built a huge mound near the Beaver 
Pond, but too great trust in the friendliness of 
mankind brought him to an untimely end. We 
have tried pheasants with indifferent success, 
most birds finally wandering off into the wilder 
park lands above us. A pair of silver pheasants 
finally became established and reared a brood 
of young but the splendid male was eventually 
killed in broad daylight by a weasel, which was 
seen to leap upon the bird as it walked along 
a tiny brook. The female is still with us and 
vies with the squirrels for the food tossed by 
friendly visitors. 
Mound-building Birds. —The brush turkey of 
Australia is cvell known as the bird that lays 
its eggs in a mound of earth and rubbish, and 
leaves them to be hatched by the natural gen¬ 
eration of heat of the decaying vegetable mat¬ 
ter. A fine pair of these birds in the Pheasants’ 
Aviary has a great mound of sand and the 
male often may be observed digging small holes 
near the top, presumably for the reception of 
expected eggs, though apparently none has been 
laid. Less familiar, but equally interesting, is 
the ocellated megapode or Mallee fowl. This 
bird also hails from Australia and is a rela¬ 
tive of the brush turkey, though there is little 
family resemblance. The Mallee fowl builds 
its mound and leaves its eggs just as the brush 
turkey does, though its habits are less well 
