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.