THE LARGE BIRD-HOUSE, No. 7.
On the northwest quarter of Baird Court stands the largest and the most generously equipped home for perching birds now in existence. This is not an unnecessary boast, but merely a brief statement of a fact which the visitor has a right to know. It was designed on our long-established principle that every captive wild creature is entitled to life, exercise and happiness. Our principle of very large cages, with many birds in each cage, is just the reverse of the views that have prevailed in the older zoological gardens, even down to the present day. To an important extent, the cage equipment of this building represents a new departure. There are many zoologists with experience longer than ours who believe that small birds thrive better and live longer when installed in small cages, with only one or two birds in each.
WILD TURKEY.
The Large Bird-House, specially designed for Passerine birds, was developed on the strength of experiments previously made in the Aquatic-Bird House, and in community cages outside. After three years’ experience with the new building, and a careful tabulation of diseases and death rates within it, we are able to state that this installation is a complete and gratifying success.
The Large Bird-House is an L-shaped building, with an all-glass house in its angle. The main hall extends east and west, and it is 60 feet long by 50 feet wide. This great room contains the foreign song-birds, many tropical doves and pigeons, and such tropical varieties and oddities as the great crowned pigeons, tinamous, toucans, giant king-fishers and hornbills. In the great central flying cage there is perhaps the most remarkable omnium-gatherum of small tropical birds—swimmers, waders, upland game birds and perchers—ever brought together in one cage. The bottom of the L is the Parrots’ Hall, 65×30 feet. It contains the parrots, macaws, cockatoos, and a few other species.
SERIEMA.
SECRETARY BIRD.
In the angle of the main building stands a structure almost wholly composed of metal and glass, which is known as the Glass Court. It was designed especially for North American song-birds. The visitor should not overlook the fact that there are cages filled with birds all along both the eastern and western sides of the Large Bird House.
Nearly all the cages of both the exterior and interior of the Main and Parrots’ Halls, are accessible from the back by passage-ways; a convenience that greatly facilitates the work of the keepers in caring for their various charges.
The capacity of this installation as a whole may be judged from the following memorandum of cages:
| APPROXIMATE SIZES OF CAGES OF THE LARGE BIRD-HOUSE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| INDOORS. | |||
| Main Hall | Central Flying Cage | 15×36×20 feet high | 1 |
| Side Cages | 5×5×9 | 35 | |
| End Cages | 5×12×9 | 2 | |
| Parrot Hall | Side Cages | 6×8×9 | 21 |
| Glass Court | West Cages | 8×9×9 | 6 |
| East & North Cages | 5×6×8 | 16 | |
| OUTDOORS. | |||
| Northeast Cages | 7×12×10 | 2 | |
| East Cages | 6×8×10 | 10 | |
| Southeast Circular Flight Cage | 20×20×2 | 1 | |
| South Cages | 6×8×10 | 3 | |
| Large Western Cages | 15×15×15 | 3 | |
| Smaller Western Cages | 6×9×10 | 14 | |
| Total number of cages | 114 | ||
Regarding the state of health and spirits of the birds in this building, the visitor must be left to judge for himself. It is only fair to state, however, that the death rate here and indeed amongst the birds of the Park generally, is very low.
In view of the great number of avian species inhabiting the Large Bird-House, it is a practical impossibility to give more than a general outline of the groups and leading features of the collection.
As the visitor enters at the south door, nearest the Lion House, he is greeted by a discordant chorus of ear-piercing shrieks and squawks, joyous but very raucous, and at times too persistent. Loudest are the voices of the gorgeously-plumaged Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, (Ara ararauna); the Red-and-Blue Macaw, (Ara macao), and the Great Green Macaw. Around their cages there is no such thing as stagnation or somnolence. The soft-hued Rosella Parakeets, the flock of mostly-green Cuban Parrots, the Leadbeater Cockatoos and the White Cockatoos all join in their voices, to the limit of their respective abilities, but against macaws which can be heard a mile, their best efforts seem tame. The members of the Order Psittaciformes (as above) have been beautifully colored by Nature, and their harsh voices seem strangely out of harmony with their plumage.
The indoor cages along the western side of the Large Bird-House (both halls included), contain an extensive series of tropical Pigeons and Doves, which are well worth some attention.
The most startling exhibit in this group is the Bleeding Heart Pigeon (Phlogoenas luzonica), from the Philippines, whose creamy-white breast seems to have been recently stabbed with a stiletto. It is no wonder that now and then a sympathetic visitor seeks the curator, or a keeper, and reports that a bird has been injured, and is bleeding from a wound in its breast.
GREAT CROWNED PIGEON.
The Flying Cage in the center of the Main Hall contains a pool of running water, some small trees, an imitation rock, and the floor is covered with a comfortable layer of sand. Hopping or flying about, and perching on the trees, is a really remarkable medley of birds. There are the Wood Duck and Mandarin Duck, Black Skimmers, Common and Sooty Terns, several species of Teal, Curlews, Gallinules, Coots, Lapwings, Snipe, Ruffs, Quail, Francolins, Senegal, Turtle, Wonga-wonga and other Pigeons and Doves, Skylarks, Robins, Orioles, Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Java, Fox, Tree, and other Sparrows and Weavers.
The south side of the Main Hall is devoted to miscellaneous rare birds from the tropics, regardless of the Orders to which they belong. The largest are the Great Crowned Pigeons,—Victoria and Common,—the oddest are the Concave-Casqued Hornbills and the Toucans (eight species). The Rufous Tinamou, of South America, is a species which, through lack of use for its wings, is rapidly losing the power of flight. The Giant Kingfisher is the “Laughing Jackass” of Australia, and its cry is strangely like the mirthless horse-laugh of a man who has few smiles and seldom uses one. The Himalayan Jay-Thrush is so confirmed a murderer of birds smaller than himself, it is necessary to quarter that species with other birds abundantly able to defend themselves against its attacks.
SULPHUR CRESTED COCKATOO.
TOCO TOUCAN.
On the northern side of the Main Hall there will be found a very interesting group of Cuban birds, another of birds of the Bahamas, a fair-sized collection of Finches, Weavers, Canaries, Trogons, and other small species of foreign lands. Here also is the rare and beautifully-plumed Greater Bird of Paradise, (Paradisea apoda).
The visitor is reminded that for all cages that contain more than one species, the picture labels quickly furnish a key for identification of each.
In the Glass Court and around it, the Curator of Birds, Mr. C. William Beebe, has scored a gratifying success in the installation of the Order Passeres. The birds are arranged by Families, and all of the twenty-one families of eastern North American perching birds are represented. These Families are as follows: Flycatchers, Swallows, Wrens, Mockingbirds and Catbirds, Thrushes, Kinglets, Vireos, Waxwings, Shrikes, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Warblers, Pipits, Horned Larks, Sparrows, Honey Creepers, Tanagers, Blackbirds and Orioles, English Starling, Crows and Jays. It is only those who have attempted to form and install such a collection who can appreciate the effort which that collection has cost, or the difficulties involved in the maintenance of so large a number of insect-eating birds. The birds in this section of the Bird-House are especially interesting to the teachers of pupils of the public schools of this city.
The large circular flying cage, at the outer corner of the Glass Court, is filled with Robins, Bluebirds, Thrushes and Woodpeckers which winter there very comfortably, because they are fed and watered, and sheltered from the worst storms.
Along the western wall of the Large Bird-House, outside, fourteen large cages are filled with members of the Crow and Blackbird Families (Corvidae and Icteridae), such as the Ravens, Crows, Jays, Magpies, Blackbirds, Meadowlarks, Cowbirds and Grackles, beside which appear our old friends the Yellow-Shafted Flicker and Red-Headed Woodpecker.
The following is a systematic enumeration of the Orders of birds represented in the Zoological Park on April 1, 1913:
| LIST OF BIRDS, APRIL 1, 1913. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ORDERS. | Species. | Specimens. | |
| Rheiformes | Rheas | 2 | 2 |
| Struthioniformes | Ostriches | 2 | 2 |
| Casuariiformes | Emeus and Cassowaries | 2 | 3 |
| Tinamiformes | Tinamou | 5 | 5 |
| Galliformes | Quail and Pheasants | 88 | 204 |
| Turniciformes | Hemipodes | 1 | 2 |
| Ptericlidiformes | Sand Grouse | 1 | 1 |
| Columbiformes | Pigeons and Doves | 57 | 183 |
| Ralliformes | Coots and Gallinules | 15 | 35 |
| Lariformes | Gulls and Terns | 17 | 54 |
| Charadriiformes | Plovers and Sandpipers | 18 | 48 |
| Gruiformes | Cranes, Seriema | 13 | 30 |
| Ardeiformes | Ibises, Storks and Herons | 35 | 85 |
| Palamedeiformes | Screamers | 3 | 4 |
| Phoenicopteriformes | Flamingoes | 2 | 5 |
| Anseriformes | Swans, Geese and Ducks | 72 | 712 |
| Pelecaniformes | New World Vultures | 9 | 30 |
| Cathartidiformes | Cormorants and Pelicans | 8 | 27 |
| Serpentariiformes | Secretary Birds | 1 | 2 |
| Accipitriformes | Hawks and Eagles; Old World Vultures | 28 | 48 |
| Strigiformes | Owls | 20 | 47 |
| Psittaciformes | Parrots, Macaws and Cockatoos | 86 | 194 |
| Coraciiformes | Kingfishers and Hornbills | 12 | 15 |
| Trogoniformes | Trogons | 1 | 1 |
| Cuculiformes | Touracos and Cuckoos | 10 | 18 |
| Scansoriforme | Toucans and Barbets | 8 | 13 |
| Piciformes | Woodpecker | 9 | 26 |
| Passeriformes | Thrushes, Sparrows and all perching birds | 378 | 1242 |
| Totals | 903 | 3038 | |
WILD-FOWL POND,
Heretofore Called the Aquatic Mammals’ Pond.
As the birds on this pond have been transferred from the Duck Aviary, the interest of this exhibit is of special character, and greatly enjoyed by hosts of visitors. This is the nursery of the ducks and geese, where, in the tangle of long grass, briars and underbrush along the east side of the pond, the nests are built in early spring, the eggs are laid and patiently incubated. Finally the broods of ducklings are led to the water, to feed to repletion, throughout the summer, on the worms, bugs and insects so dear to the appetite of these amusing little fellows.
Cope Lake is the especial province of the nesting pairs of Canada geese, and sometimes as many as eight golden-colored goslings are hatched in one nest on the small island.
The Mallard Duck, (Anas boschas), is one of our finest swimming birds, the joy of the sportsman who finds it in its haunts, the delight of the epicure who finds it on the bill of fare. Sluggish indeed must be the blood which does not beat faster at the sight of a flock of wild Mallards, free in Nature, and ready to leap into the air and away at the slightest alarm. After the pintail and the wood duck, this is one of the handsomest ducks of North America, and also one of the finest for the table. Its range covers practically the whole of the western continent down to Panama, and even extends to the Azores, north Africa, and northern India. The drakes are readily recognized by the splendid irridescent green of the head.
The Green-Winged Teal, (Nettion carolinensis), and Blue-Winged Teal, (Querquedula discors), are very delicate birds, and therefore rather difficult to maintain in captivity. A flock of each will be found in the Flying Cage.
The Pintail Duck, (Dafila acuta), is specially commended to the notice of visitors because of its great beauty, both in color and form. Its colors form an exquisite harmony of soft brown and gray tones which fairly rival the more gaudy color-pattern of the wood duck. The species is yet found occasionally along the Atlantic Coast, but like all other edible birds, its numbers are rapidly diminishing. A large flock of these birds will be found on the Wild-Fowl Pond.
DUCKS FEEDING: WILD FOWL POND.
The Gadwall, (Chaulelasmas strepera), is a handsome gray bird, well known to gunners along the Mississippi Valley, but rarely seen along the Atlantic coast. Its chief breeding grounds are in the great marshes of central Canada.
The Baldpate, (Mareca americana), one of the finest of water-fowl, is now so scarce that it is difficult to obtain specimens for exhibition. These birds are poor divers, but gain a good livelihood by feeding on floating sea lettuce, disturbed from the bottom by the better equipped canvas-backs and redheads.
The bill of the Shoveller, (Spatula clypeata), has become so specialized for mud-sifting that it has actually assumed the shape of a shovel, and is out of all proportion to the size of the bird’s body. The sides of the bill are equipped with bony plates, through which the mud is strained, the particles of food being caught and swallowed.
The Canvas-Back (Aythya vallisneria), and the Red-Head, (A. americana), two prime favorites with the sportsman and epicure, are exhibited on the Wild Fowl Pond. Of the latter, a good-sized flock is shown. Canvas-Backs, however, are difficult to capture unhurt, and still more difficult to keep alive in captivity, and for these reasons the number exhibited always is very small.
The Lesser Scaup, (Marila affinis), is one of the sea ducks, and, like its congeners, a very expert diver. It feeds chiefly on mollusks, which it finds in the mud, often at considerable depths under water.
The Paradise Sheldrake, (Casarca variegata), of Australia, is a striking bird, occupying a position mid-way between the ducks and geese. It is interesting to note that the female is much more attractive than the male, the head and neck being pure white, in contrast with the more sombre body. This species is very quarrelsome in captivity.
The Ruddy Sheldrake, (Casarca casarca), is a bird of wide distribution, being found from the Mediterranean countries to Japan, and also in northeast Africa. Both sexes are of a uniform light chestnut, the male being distinguished by a black ring around the neck. The nest is always well sheltered, often being placed in a hollow log.
The Common or Tadorna Sheldrake, (Tadorna tadorna), is a remarkably colored bird, but unfortunately difficult to keep alive in this climate. It nests in holes in the ground, preferably in disused rabbit burrows.
The Mandarin Duck, (Aix galericulata), is the Chinese counterpart of our beautiful Wood or Summer Duck, (Aix sponsa). Of all living ducks, the males of these two species are the most gorgeously colored and plumed, and they are also of elegant form. Although both species are much sought after, the number of available specimens continues to be limited to a comparatively small number.
THE PHEASANT AND PIGEON AVIARY, No. 40.
Entire Collection is the Gift of Mr. Jacob H. Schiff.
The Pheasant Aviary is a building like a corridor 240 feet long with a cross pavilion at each end. The main structure is divided into 22 shelters connecting with a like number of wire enclosed outside runways, each of which is 8 feet wide, 24 feet long and 8 feet high. The two end pavilions furnish 32 smaller shelters and runways, making a total of 48 compartments. The shelters are divided into two stories, the upper series being designed for pigeons, doves and perching birds of various kinds. Each bird in this aviary can at every moment of his life choose according to his needs from the following series of accommodations that are available to him: An open, sunlit yard, a storm shelter with an open front, or a closed room with one small door and a large window.
PHEASANT AVIARY AND WILD FOWL POND.
This beautiful and generous installation, 240 feet long, with 48 runways, accommodates the true Pheasants of the world, the largest group of birds of the Pheasant Family (Phasianidae), which in turn is one of the grand divisions of the sportsman’s own Order Gallinae, or upland gamebirds. Of the whole Order Gallinae,—which includes the Grouse, Ptarmigan, Partridges, Pheasants, Turkeys, Guinea-Fowls, Jungle Fowl, Quails, Brush-Turkeys, Curassows and Guans—the group of the Pheasants can justly claim the distinction of possessing the most beautiful birds. Indeed, I think there is not to be found in the whole avian world a group of game birds all the members of which, taken species by species, are so gorgeously apparelled as these.
In this brief notice of what is really one of the finest pheasant collections in the world, it is not possible to do more than direct the visitors’ attention to its chief items of interest. It must be stated well in advance, however, that these are birds of very shy and retiring habit, which owe their existence as species to the success with which they retreat from danger, and conceal themselves from man and beast. These birds must not be forced to spend all the daylight hours in their runways; for some of them could not long survive such exposure and excitement. To preserve their lives, and keep them in health, they must have the privilege of retiring into their shelters whenever they desire. But they roam in and out, and by the exercise of a little effort in returning to them, the interested visitor will find no great difficulty in seeing all the species.
There are few species of pheasants whose members are sufficiently peace-loving that many individuals can be kept together without deadly combats. Of most species save the golden, silver and ring-neck, the cocks are so quarrelsome that even two can not be kept together; and this fact constitutes a handicap upon those whose duty it is to maintain the full strength of the exhibition. If a rare and quarrelsome male pheasant dies unexpectedly, it is not always possible to fill the vacancy on short notice.
Out of the half-dozen species which claim first place in an enumeration based on beauty and luxuriance of plumage—the Amherst, Reeve, golden, silver, impeyan, Argus or Soemmerring—it is difficult to choose. Each has its share of strong points, and it seems as if there is no “finest of all.” Let us take them as they come to mind, for by reason of the changes so often necessary in the runways, it is inexpedient to attempt an end-to-end enumeration.
MANCHURIAN EARED PHEASANT.
The Golden Pheasant, (Chrysolophus pictus), is a universal favorite; and it well deserves its wide popularity. Although small, it is as beautiful as the most entrancing sunset ever seen. It is very alert and chic, it is so good tempered that we can have the rare pleasure of seeing a whole flock in one runway, and it is a good breeder. To crown all these fine qualities, it is so hardy, and so competent a “rustler” in seeking food that under fair conditions it is easily transplanted from its native home in western and southern China. It has been introduced and acclimatized with gratifying success in Oregon, Washington, southern British Columbia near the Pacific coast, and elsewhere. In the shooting season, the shops of the taxidermists of Vancouver and Portland are filled with these gorgeous creatures, which appreciative sportsmen have found “too beautiful to eat.” One might as well try to describe a sunset as to pen a mental picture of the wonderful combination of golden yellow, orange, lapis-lazuli blue and deep crimson that appear in the plumage of this gorgeous bird.
The Amherst Pheasant, (Chrysolophus amherstiae), is the nearest relative to the golden species, and also a strong candidate for first honors on the score of beauty. As far as you can see the cock bird, you can recognize it by its marvellous cape of pure white feathers marked with semicircles of black and steel-blue, which reaches from its eyes far back upon the shoulders. It is also easily recognized by its enormously long tail, the middle feathers of which are conspicuously marked by a regular series of diagonal bars of black laid on a light ground color. This bird is of small size, and fortunately for the public, it breeds in confinement with sufficient readiness that a good supply for exhibition purposes is thereby maintained.
INDIAN PEACOCK.
The Silver Pheasant, (Gennaeas nycthemerus), of China, is Nature’s “running mate” for the golden pheasant, not only in the rocky hill forests of southern China, but in acclimatization, in captivity, and everywhere else. Wherever you see a golden pheasant, look for the Silver also, with its showy, snow-white tail, and white mantle of feathers which covers the whole upper two-thirds of the bird from its ears to its tail. Its dark-colored under surface serves well to accentuate the whiteness of its other parts. It is a larger bird than the golden and Amherst pheasants, but it is so good tempered that every summer two or three cock birds are kept in the great Flying Cage along with many small and defenseless birds which might easily be molested. In parks which are not visited by great numbers of people, both this species and the golden are easily domesticated, and permitted to roam at will.
The Reeves Pheasant, (Syrmaticus reevesi), of northern China, is a most beautiful species, closely related to the Japanese, Elliott, Hume and Soemmerring pheasants,—all of them fine, showy birds. Like the Amherst, the Reeves Pheasant has a very long tail, which in fully adult or old male birds often attains a length of five feet. When you see in captivity a pheasant with an enormously long tail, it is safe to assume that it is either an Amherst or a Reeves.
The Soemmerring Pheasant, (Phasianus soemmerringii), sometimes very aptly called the Copper Pheasant, is a native of Japan, and a bird of which any country might well be proud. In size, form and length of tail it matches the common ring-necked pheasant. Its head and neck plumage is of a warm copper-bronze tint, but its most beautiful colors are found in the elaborate cross-bar markings of its tail. The pattern of the latter reveals first a strong cross-bar of chocolate brown, above that a broad band of fawn-color, and this blends into a mottling of black on cream-color, edged across with black.
The True Ring-Necked Pheasant, (P. torquatus), of China, brings to view a question that frequently is asked regarding the English Pheasant, (P. colchicus), which is the common species of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, and of Great Britain and other continental areas by introduction. We are asked, “Has the English Pheasant a white ring around its neck, or not?”
The answer is, the true, pure-blooded English, or Common Pheasant, (P. colchicus), has no ring around its neck; but so many persons have crossed the true Ring-Necked Pheasant, of China, with that species that in many flocks of the former species the majority of the individuals are of mixed breed, with necks perceptibly ringed, yet passing as English Pheasants. As a matter of fact, in the world to-day, pure-blooded English Pheasants are rare. Both the English and Ring-Necked species have been successfully introduced into several portions of the United States.
While on this subject, we will here record the fact that the name Mongolian Pheasant, as often applied to the Ring-Neck, is a misleading error. The real Mongolian Pheasant, of Turkestan, (P. mongolicus), is a species of such extreme rarity that it is almost unknown, alive, in the United States. A fine pair of these birds is now on exhibition at the Pheasant Aviary.
The Argus Pheasant, (Argusianus argus), is a bird with a great reputation for beauty, but as seen alive in zoological collections it does not always come up to expectations. Both its secondary feathers—which when fully developed are of enormous length—and its primaries, are extremely beautiful; but unfortunately those beauties are not visible until the bird is dead, and its plumage displayed in a manner very rarely adopted by the living, captive bird. But the eyes on the huge secondary feathers are wonderful, and each primary is a dream in ecru and brown tints, laid on in a most elaborate pattern. The Argus Pheasants are most shy and wide-awake birds, inhabiting the dense, hot and moist jungles of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, and are almost impossible to shoot. They are snared by the Dyaks and Malays, and after the skin has been removed and carefully preserved for museum purposes, the flesh is as fine eating as the breast of a quail and quite as palatable. A few successful attempts have been made to breed this species in captivity.
The Impeyan Pheasant, (Lophophorus impeyanus), is the neighbor of the Himalayan tahr, the burrhel, the ibex and the markhor, and the delight of every sportsman who dares the rocks of “the Roof of the World” in quest of Himalayan big game. Its beauty is due chiefly to its metallic colors, and the splendid iridescence of its plumage. Its home is in the world’s most gigantic mountains, and it is not uncommon for a bird that has flown out from a mountain-side and been shot on the wing to fall 2,000 feet, and beyond human reach. No wonder this bird is popular with Anglo-Indian sportsmen.
The Pheasant Aviary is a double installation, and as an aviary for Pigeons and Doves it is quite as perfect as it is for Pheasants.
During the year 1910 and part of 1911, the pheasants of the Old World were studied in their haunts by Mr. C. William Beebe, Curator of Birds. By reason of a cash gift to the Zoological Society made by Col. Anthony R. Kuser, he was enabled to make the expedition. The results will be embodied in an elaborate monograph, which probably will be published in the near future.
THE OSTRICH HOUSE, No. 43.
This entire collection presented by the late Charles T. Barney.
Originally it was our intention to devote this fine building solely to the great “running birds,”—Ostriches, Rheas, Emeus and Cassowaries; but the pressure for space has been so great that this intention never has been carried into effect, and we fear it never will be. There are so many cranes, seriemas, tropical vultures and other large birds which appeal for space in these very pleasant and healthful quarters, we have felt compelled to set our original plan half at naught. It seems probable that some of the feathered interlopers now in the Ostrich House will remain there, indefinitely—or at least until we erect a Crane Aviary.
Architecturally, the Ostrich House is the counterpart of the Small-Mammal House, the two being identical in size and form, and connected by a handsome pavilion. Each building is 170 feet long, and 54 feet wide. The Ostrich House contains 13 cages, each 10×12 feet, by 8 feet in height. A flood of warm light pours through a glass roof into these cages, and makes them as light as the yards without. It is no wonder that birds thrive in this building. Movable partitions were provided, so that a few of the cages might be subdivided whenever necessary. This provision has proven of much practical value.
Each interior cage connects with a spacious outside yard, in which the big birds spend the warm months. The yards are enclosed by wire fences, and to the eye of the visitor they are open from three directions.
The members of the Subclass Ratitae,—once called the Cursores, or the “running birds,”—are the present-day giants of the avian world. We have reason to be glad that all these splendid birds did not disappear from the earth before ornithology took form as a science. Undoubtedly, they mark the end of the line of birds of their kind, for the far-reaching destructiveness of civilized man has already put a period to the natural evolution of animal life. To-day, the preservers of wild life are engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with the annihilators, over the preservation of a remnant for those who come after us.
The African Ostriches are now very prominently in the public eye, not because of their relationship to the Dinornis and Aepyornis of the past, but by reason of the value of their plumes in enhancing the attractiveness of woman. And surely, no plume-bearing bird ever enlisted in a better cause, or on a more satisfactory basis; for to-day the plume crop is being grown and plucked and marketed with almost as much certainty as the annual crop of wool. In the United States, the most important plume-producing ostrich farms are situated in southern California and Arizona, where the industry is quite successful. So valuable are the adult birds that it is possible to purchase specimens imported from Africa for less money than would be necessary to procure them in the United States.
NORTH AFRICAN OSTRICH: MALE.
A full-grown male African Ostrich stands 8 feet in height, and weighs about 300 pounds. Its value on arrival in New York, before acclimatization and moulting into perfect plumage, is from $200 to $250. The female lays about 90 eggs in a year, each of which is equal to about 20 hen’s eggs. The time of incubation is about 40 days. In captivity only about 60 per cent of the eggs hatch, and of those not more than one-half live to attain full maturity. The plumage of immature birds and adult females is gray, but that of the adult male is black on the body, and white on the wings and tail.
The South African Ostrich, (Struthio australis), differs from the species found in the north. The color of the naked skin of its neck and thighs, and the front scales on its metatarsus, is distinctly bluish, and dark. This is the species of the southern half of Africa, now so successfully farmed in Cape Colony for its feathers that the annual crop is said to yield about $5,000,000. And it is this species which is kept on the ostrich farms of California and Arizona.
RHEA.
CASSOWARY.
The North African, or Sudan Ostrich, (S. camelus), is the species first and longest known. Its neck, thighs and front metatarsal scales are of a decided pink color. Originally the range of this species extended from north Africa well into southwestern Asia, embracing Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia.
Generally speaking, the African Ostriches originally covered all the open, sandy plains of Africa; but they never inhabited the regions of dense forests. To-day their total inhabited range is small, and rapidly becoming more so. It is highly probable that within the life period of many persons now living, wild Ostriches will totally disappear from the earth.
The Common Rhea, or South American Ostrich, (Rhea americana), represents a group of ostriches much smaller than those of Africa, and found only on the open plans of Argentina and Patagonia, below the great equatorial forest belt. There are three species in the group. In general terms it may be stated that an adult Rhea is about two-thirds the size of an adult African ostrich. It is with great difficulty that these birds are reared to maturity in the United States.
EMEUS.
The Common Emeu, (Dromacus novae-hollandiae), of Australia, is the neighbor of the kangaroo and wallaby, and in form is as odd as are the majority of the birds and mammals of that continent of strange creatures. Its body suggests a pile of gray-brown hay elevated on stilts, to one end of which a hay-covered neck and head have been attached. The bird-lover should make much of this creature, for in its home country it has been almost exterminated. Fortunately, in climates reasonably well suited to it—but not in or near New York—it is possible to breed this bird in captivity. In size the Emeu is next to the African ostrich.
The Ceram Cassowary, (Casuarius casuarius), of the Island of Ceram, Malay Archipelago, represents a group which contains a number of well-defined species which are scattered through the northern cape of Australia, New Guinea, the Aru Islands, Ceram, and other islands of Malayana east of Celebes. They are all distinguished by their glossy purple or black body plumage—which looks far more like coarse hair than like feathers—their huge legs, and their helmeted heads. The differences between species are based chiefly upon the bright orange red and purple colors of their upper necks and wattles.
In size the Cassowaries are all of them smaller than the emeus. In captivity they are the best of all the large cursorial birds, and live longer than either ostriches, rheas or emeus. They are essentially birds of the thick forests rather than open plains, and can not bear the glaring light and heat of midsummer that is the delight of an ostrich. In captivity they are very apt to be quarrelsome toward each other.
Miscellaneous Birds in the Ostrich House.—At present these are so numerous and so important it is necessary to mention a few of them, even though the labels may be supposed to speak for them. They fall into several groups, chiefly birds of prey and cranes.
One of the most remarkable creatures in the entire collection is the Secretary Bird, (Serpentarius serpentarius). It is well known as a snake killer, its attacks being made with the feet alone, and never with the beak. Its long legs are remarkably powerful, and capable of dealing a crushing blow, always aimed at the head of the victim. Although it does not resemble the hawks and eagles in general appearance, it is in reality one of this group, and might well be described as a “hawk on stilts.” The snakes, frogs, small animals and birds which form its diet are generally swallowed entire. The long cockades of black feathers falling backwards at each side of the head are said to have suggested the name Secretary Bird, from a fancied resemblance to a quill stuck behind the ear of a clerk.
The Brush Turkey, or Telegalla, (Catheturus lathami), is a bird of the dark tropical forests of New Guinea and Australia. For many years it has been regarded as a zoological wonder, because of the remarkable manner in which it nests and produces its young. Instead of building a small, hollow nest, and hatching its eggs by the heat of its own body, it pursues the plan of the crocodile! Choosing an open spot in the forest it builds a huge mound, and as the structure rises, it lays its eggs in the heart of it. Turning its tail to the mound-site, this absurd little bird—no larger than a barnyard hen—scratches about right and left, gathers a big footful of small dead sticks, grass and dirt, and fiercely flings it backward upon the pile. A Brush Turkey in good working order can fling a bunch of jungle debris fully ten feet. Usually the finished mound is about three feet high by ten feet in diameter on the ground, and contains two or three cart-loads of sticks, leaves and grass. The eggs are deposited in a circle, well separated from each other, and each newly hatched bird must scratch out or die. Of course, the eggs are incubated by the heat of the sun and the fermentation of the mass. When hatched, the young chicks are able to fly.
LITTLE BROWN CRANE.
DEMOISELLE CRANE.