Popular Official Guide to the New York Zoological Park 28
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.
[Illustration: LITTLE BROWN CRANE.]
[Illustration: DEMOISELLE CRANE.]
THE CRANES.
At present the Cranes of the Zoological Park are divided between the
Ostrich House and the Aquatic Bird House, and their environs. In summer
there are exhibits of these birds in the outdoor yards adjacent to each
of those buildings. Recently, a number of species have been acclimatized
in the Crane Paddock, and are to be seen there winter and summer.
The Whooping Crane, (_Grus americana_), is the largest, the handsomest
and the rarest crane species in America. Its great size and its
pure-white plumage—except its primaries—render it conspicuous from afar,
and its voice will carry half a mile. The arched secondary wing feathers
of the adult give the bird a very jaunty appearance. This species is so
rare that thus far we have been able in eight years to secure only three
specimens. The Whooping Crane nests in summer in the Arctic regions, but
in winter it ranges as far south as Mexico. Our specimens of this bird
will in summer be found in the large paddock immediately north of the
Aquatic Bird House, with the next species.
The Sandhill Crane, (_Grus mexicana_), is smaller than the preceding
species, more common, and is frequently seen in captivity. Its color is
slaty-blue. It is found in the southeastern United States, but once was
fairly common throughout the Mississippi valley. In captivity this bird
often indulges in some very droll antics—at times actually dancing. The
adult males are often quite pugnacious, and inclined to attack those who
go near them, and all visitors are warned not to go within striking
distance of them. Children especially should not be permitted to climb
over the guard wires, and approach close up to the cranes’ fences.
[Illustration: ASIATIC WHITE CRANE.]
[Illustration: PARADISE CRANE.]
The Sarus Crane, of the plains and sand-bars of northern India,
(_Antigone antigone_), greatly resembles our sandhill crane, but is a
much larger bird. This also is a quarrelsome species, and in captivity
individuals are inclined to be cruel toward each other.
The Asiatic White Crane, (_Sarcogeranus leucogeranus_), is like a modest
understudy to our whooping crane, in all respects save the elevated
tail-crest. It is a bird of wide distribution.
The Paradise Crane, (_Tetrapteryx paradisea_), of the open plains of
Africa outside the deserts, is a slaty-blue bird with a head so puffed
out with side feathers that it looks almost reptilian. Its tail-feathers
taper out to infinity, and gracefully droop quite to the ground. The
little African Demoiselle Crane, (_Anthropoides virgo_), is so
diminutive, so dainty in appearance and so gentle-spirited that its
young-ladylikeness has been proclaimed in its name. Of all foreign
species of cranes, it is the one easiest to procure, and the most
satisfactory to keep in collections. It never quarrels, it is very
sociable in its habits, and thrives in captivity.
[Illustration: WHOOPING CRANE.]
[Illustration: CROWNED CRANE.]
The Crowned Crane, (_Balearica pavonina_), also of Africa, is, perhaps,
the most beautiful of all living cranes. It is of medium size, royally
colored, and strikingly set off with a conspicuous crown of stiff,
quill-like feathers that stand as erect and regular as the aigret of an
Indian prince.
[Illustration: ADJUTANT.]
[Illustration: JABIRU.]
[Illustration: MASTIGURE.]
[Illustration: HORNED RATTLESNAKE.]
[Illustration: HOG-NOSED SNAKE.]
[Illustration: GECKO.]
[Illustration: TREE FROG.]
SECTION III.—THE REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS.
THE REPTILE HOUSE, No. 34.
The Reptile House was the first large building erected in the Zoological
Park. It represents an earnest effort to present carefully selected
examples of the reptilian Orders, in a manner which may afford the
visitor and the student a general view of the important groups of living
reptiles.
The length of the Reptile House, over all, is 146 feet, and its greatest
width is 100 feet. It is constructed of buff mottled brick, combined
with granite and Indiana limestone. In the ornamental cornice of terra
cotta, reptilian forms modelled by Mr. A. Phimister Proctor, the
well-known animal sculptor, constitute an important feature. The
building is roofed with slate, heated by hot water, and cost, with its
cages, about $50,000. It is beautifully situated on the edge of a forest
of primeval oaks, very near the geographical center of the Park.
The great center hall is unbroken by a single column, and at one end it
opens across the Crocodile Pool and its sandbanks, through three huge
arches, into the green, jungly mass of the conservatory. Of the tropical
vegetation massed behind the pool—palmettoes, bayonet cacti, yuccas, and
the like, and the tillandsias, Spanish moss, resurrection ferns, and
butterfly orchids,—nearly the whole came from Florida, along with five
alligators which were the first occupants of the pool.
In effect, the central hall appears to be 115 feet in length, by 40 feet
wide, exclusive of the cages. But, large as this building is, it would
be an easy matter to fill all its available space with the reptiles of
North America alone, choosing only the handsome and showy forms. As we
contemplate the great number of species in our own reptilian fauna, the
thought occurs, what can we do with the reptiles of the Old World?
Manifestly, the only proper course is to choose from the reptiles of the
world the forms which will make for our visitors and students the most
instructive and attractive series of important types.
SYNOPSIS OF THE CLASS REPTILIA.
On April 1, 1913, all these examples are on exhibition in the Reptile
House:
ORDERS. CONSPICUOUS EXAMPLES. LOCALITY.
LIVING REPTILES.
Turtles, or _Chelonia_.
Aligator Turtle Louisiana.
Snapping Turtle Zoological Park.
Box Turtle Zoological Park.
Giant Tortoise Galapagos Island.
Gopher Tortoise Florida.
Painted Turtle New York.
Green Turtle (marine) New York.
Soft-shelled Turtle Indiana.
Saurians, or _Crocodilia_.
Alligator Florida.
Florida Crocodile Southern Florida.
Broad-nosed Crocodile Africa.
Lizards, or _Lacertilia_.
Iguana (_I. tuberculata_) West Indies.
Horned “Toad” Arizona.
Green Lizard (_L. viridis_) Europe.
Monitor Ceylon.
“Glass Snake” Florida.
Gila Monster Arizona.
Chameleon Africa.
Serpents, or _Ophidia_.
Harmless.
Regal Python Malay Peninsula.
Anaconda British Guiana.
Black Snake (_B. constrictor_) Zoological Garden.
Garter Snake Zoological Park.
Hog-Nosed Snake Zoological Park.
Venomous.
Coral Snake Florida.
Cobra de Capello India.
Diamond-Backed Rattlesnake Florida.
Water Moccasin Florida.
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