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.
