THE ZOO.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1926, 8 December 1913, Page 9

THE ZOO.

A BUDGET OF NOTESi BEAUTIFUL BIRDS. [By John Crowes, President of the AVcllington Zoological Society.]

The most showy bird in tho peasantry of our Zoo at present is the male of tlio pair of "lady amhersts," beautiful pheasants; or, putting tho mattermore precisely, 1 should say tho pair of hybrids between lady am/icrsts and golden pheasants. The golden pheasant is a beautiful bird. 'Tho aniherit is, perhaps, equally beautiful. Tiio ii.vbrid from tho two is more beautiful than either. But tho male in the Zoo is very shy. Ho prefers to stay in tho shed during the daytime, ami to walk out in tho evening, when but very few persons aro looking. His capo is pretty and his tail is worth f.oinic a long way to sec. Arrangements havo been, tried to considerably increase tho number of birds of this species in our collection. May some, if not all, of them prove successful. This is not my first attempt to extol tho glories of this glorious hybrid. Now, lest any person should tliiuk that I exaggerate, 1 will quote a few words of wiiat tho late Dr. Frank Buckland once wrote: "This bird" (tho Lady Amherst's) "crosses freely with tho gold iheasant, producing a bird of amazing beauty; and, unlike hybrids ori mules, tho offspring aro as' fertile as their parents. By this beautiful cross, therefore, a now raco of. tho most beautiful pheasants in tho world lia3 been produced." Young Now Zcalanders will notice then, that although wo cannot provide for their education a largo Zoo, wo are helping to_ provide a Zoo of interesting and beautiful animals from which they may learn much, and to which tliey inay bo pleased and proud to j tako visitors from any part of tho world. I havo a fair idea of tho contents of the great Zoos of tho world, and I never feel ashamed to tako travellers to sec tho Wellington Zoo. The Museums and tho Zoo. ,There aro in Wellington two museums and a Zoo. Now, no sane person having judgment worthy of respect would suggest that animals in a museum are as beautiful or as .interesting, or as educative, a3 animals of the same kinds in a zoo. But a museum is an important supplement, or a valuable introduction to a zoo, and in Now Zealand, where wo cannot havo a largo zoo, special attention should ho given to tho Natural History department of our museums. And to make tho best that is possiblo of tho museums and thej Zolo, ,they should bo built and maintained on a principlo of mutual agreement. To prevent overlapping and costly waste, tho .Government of tho Dominion should lend certain classcs of its Natural History exhibits 'to tho Wellington City Council, and tho Wellington City Council should lend all its Museum exhibits, except the Natural History classes, to tho Dominion Government. Then the Dominion Government and the Wellington City Council should purchase, or obtain in exchange, or in any other legitimate manner, exhibits of spccial interest or of educational value, getting directly for the museums rare things that could not first be passed through tho Zoo. Tho City Council has recently appointed a gentleman to havo chargo of the City Museum. An important change at tho Dominion Museum has been caused by tho lamented death • oftjie lato Mr. Hamilton. Tho' 'Government is, I believe, arranging to provide new buildings for the' Dominion Museum. A good, practical Curator has chargo of •tho Wellington Zoo. Now, common senso may count for much in making arrangements for tho working of tlio threo public institutions; or potty jealousies may erect monuments to tho memory of personal protensions, cliquish hostilities, and political and provincial or parochial jealousies and short-sightedness. To givo greatness to our young and growing State, we must unite our sympathies and interests. Of course, from what I say about interesting and educative things I exempt skeletons.

The Homage of tho Creat! "Ho knows you, Mr. Crowes!" exclaimed a lady when I walked up to the lions' cago a few days ago. "Of courso ho knows me," I said, "don't you Dick?" Ever sinco I was first- appointed president of tho Wellington. Zoological Society, "King Dick" has dono obeisanco to mo whenever wo liavri met, except in circumstances well known to beth. And thero is this that is romarkablo about' Dick's obeisanco. It is of tho samo kind as that which kingly men of ono tribo of Africans paid to Dr. Livingstone when they met him. Boys! How did it como that African, men: and African lions pay tho samo kind of liomago to tho men they admiro and love? They go down to the earth, they roll on their backs, thoy pat their sides, and they seem as though they would like 1o tio themselves up in a knot of joy at seeing their heroes. Thero is a great deal that is true, and noble, and good implied in Dick's obeisanco. It has changed my views of lions, and of many other things. I see that hoinago is natural to great natures. I sco mora but must not just now stay to moralise. Appreciated Improvoments. Of all the animals that havo been born in the Zoo, the two young lions, "Georgo and Maud," havo been honoured with pride of appreciation. And they deserve it. Councillor Georgo Frost has tho honour of having his namo borne by a young lion that would not blush to hold pp his head among all the lions oyer ,brod in captivity. And if Councillor Georgo will continuo his interest in tho Zoo, as lie has ever maintained it, and will continually try to please tho Zoo's patrons as his worthy namesako has tried to, over since ho was born, then'the worthy councillor will merit, and I liopo will oyer receive, a good degree of gratoful public attention. Well, lately, tho young lions havo been placed in a now residence; and I havo much pleasure in recording my admiration of it. The new building is strong, commodious, fireproof, and neat. Now, having taken out clay from a bank, and utilised it to floor tho lions' yards, tho council is talcing advantago of the oxeavation to provide proper accommodation for tho two bears that hitherto havo had only temporary quarters. Other additions are materialising tip near tho lions' cages. Tho City Council ovidontly does not intend to charge for admission before it provides something to admit to.

Ths Flying Squirrels. If (lying squirrel;;, or Australian firing opossums, would fly, I would walk some distance to son them; hut wlien I saw our littlo fliers they were cosily curled up in liny, in tho bottom of a small box, in our Zoo. Thoy ovidently lib tlioir box, and in it; tho'v stay anil hide. But the curator of the Zoo lias, in liis brain, an idea of a now box. and' wlion tliat materialises, well, wc, if we live, and continne in health. will pee the squirrels, if wo do not see them fly. They are, pretty little tilings. Nature's Palacc of Art. A Zoo in which animals arc kept in good condition, as almost all tlio animals kept in Newtown Park generally are, is, if not a divine palaeo of art, a pulaco of divino art. Some persons ask mo to tell them how a man who professes to lw a Christian call go up to Newtown Park and, on a Sunday

afternoon stand there and collect money to purchase animals with. Well, 1 wiil give my reply by following; the example of Christ Himself in putting another (liiestion: Have my inquisitive, friends ever watcher! Nature clothing, in full dress, sheeny, royal, uniform, peacocks, mandarin drakes, and pheasants, or studied the formation and fortification of a tortoise? Who ever watched Nature forming and colouring and illuminating and lubricating, in the early spring sunshine, the plumage of a mandarin drake, or a male golden pheasant? Or who over saw Nature colouring a peacock's tail in a gale of wind, and did not feel to say "only God could do it" ? My society is not a religions society; but there is room lor religious people in it, and I would as soon on a .Sunday take up a collection towards furnishing a Zoo as ] would take up a eollcction towards buying seats for a, church—[. reverently say God colouring a peacock's tail is, to mo, infinitely lr.oro eloquent than any human preacher I have even seen or lieiml, J.atest Appearand. There is another young kangaroo in tho pouch of tho mother that weaned one tine young ono only a few nionUia ago. Somo persons would treat this matter delicately, as though dealing with an unborn embryo. But, although tho birth and early youth of tho kangaroo aro generally enveloped in almost uniquo privacy, it is evident, I think, that tho young animal Ts horn, and put into the pouclt long before it is large enough to give any external indication of its presence there. The rearing of a younjj kangaroo is perhaps tho strangest rearing that can bo seen in a Zoo. Young rabbits also have been born, aiid tho crossing of varieties among some of them has afforded opportunities for somo interesting studios. But among tho birds tho most numerous additions have been noticeable, although thus far 'tho season has not been favourable to bird breeding. Tile budgerigars, that bred in the winter, seemed to have more suitable weather for tho rearing of young birds than the spring weather this year has been. The winter weather was colder, perhaps, but for somo time.it was not very wet. and tho changes of temperature, though equally sudden, were not of equal extent.* Tho most deadly weather for young birds, as far as I can see, is weather than suddenly changes from the heat of some days wc have had, when the breath of tile Equator seemed to bo reaching us, t-o the cold of days in which the breath of tho southern ico seemed to bo blown np to us. Tho sudden and extreme changes, especially on wet days, have I think, affected the sitting of birds in the and have sterilised many of tho eggs, in tho aviaries. In tho Zoo a great many ducks' eggs, several pheasants' eggs, and somo swans' eggs havo proved worthless. But tho budgerigars ■ havo roared somo fino young birds; somo ' healtln and vigorous young canarics havo feathered out well; young finchcs 1 of several kinds aro blithe'enough; and ' young doves of several spccics seem in ; good condition. Ono of tho Paradise ; ttacks laid and sat, but hatched notliin<r The Mandarin, ducks mated' and sremod inclined to nest, but I have not seen ' anv eggs from them. One parakeet Ins ■ laid, and is sitting. Some pheasants ■ have laid, and I hope to ceo young i pheasants later <m. , A Good Start. j lho movement to purchaso heavers ■ for the Zoo has startec! well. Since Sat- ' urday morning tho society has received l subscriptions and donations amounting 1 to £4, and the collection at Newtown ; r>s i y cs t° r< ? a .V afternoon amounted to 1 in , ■' ,nnkin 8 a total of £10 13s. 1 10(1. I'our of the contributors have been ' mado members of tho society. 1