ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
127 
of London presented us with a bird from its 
collection, but unfortunately it died at sea. In 
May, 1922, a pair was offered to us by a London 
dealer and on June 4th, arrived here in perfect 
condition, under the solicitous care of a horse- 
foreman. We were told that while the birds 
must be fed by hand, they did so readily and 
that we need have no fears. We soon learned, 
however, that as with most newly imported 
penguins, “feeding by hand” meant grasping 
the bird’s neck firmly with the left and urging 
a large herring down its gullet with the right. 
This is no pleasant task, for no bird’s bill can 
inflict a more painful wound than the razor- 
edged mandibles of a penguin. After two or 
three days of this heroic treatment, we found 
the birds showing more interest in their food, 
and soon they were seizing herring from their 
keeper’s hand and bolting it in regulation 
fashion. 
Birds of Paradise. —On November 13, 1910, 
three male greater birds of paradise arrived at 
the Zoological Park, and one of our fondest 
dreams was realized. We had always hoped 
that at some time, far distant in the future, we 
might have a bird of paradise, for the pleasure 
and edification of our visitors. To have three 
of these magnificent creatures at one time was 
an unexpected boon and our joy in them was 
great. Since that day, now nearly twelve years 
ago, birds of paradise have become a regular 
and accepted part of our collection. Head 
Keeper Stacey and his assistants have mastered 
the details of their requirements and we now 
find them hardly more difficult subjects than 
the nearly-related crows and jays. That these 
splendid birds, shy inhabitants of wild and little 
known East Indian islands, can be exhibited in 
open cages and caused to live out their natural 
span of life, happy and contented, before the 
eyes of many thousands of visitors, is one of the 
marvels of modern aviculture. During the past 
ten years, we have had ten species of birds of 
paradise and six are living in the collection at 
present. These are Prince Rudolph’s blue bird 
of paradise, the lesser, the six-plumed. Count 
Raggi’s, the magnificent rille-bird and the green 
manucode. Our beautiful male Count Raggi’s 
bird of paradise will have passed the five-year 
mark with us in July and though he must be of 
advanced age, he gives no evidence of approach¬ 
ing senility. Our blue bird of paradise, prob¬ 
ably the first adult male of his species to be 
exhibited alive, displayed constantly during the 
past winter, continuing into May. He is now 
engaged in a thorough and bedraggling molt and 
is being carefully nursed through this dangerous 
period in the life of every male bird of paradise. 
BLACK-NECKED SWAN (Cygnus melanocoryphus) 
This is the only true swan found in South America. Its sharply contrasted coloration and graceful bear¬ 
ing place it among the most beautiful of this group. The black-necked swan is a delicate bird in cap¬ 
tivity, though it breeds freely in some European collections. 
Photograph by Ehvin R. Sanborn. 
