[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 8, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E295-E296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           BIRDS OF A FEATHER

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                         HON. THOMAS J. MANTON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, February 8, 1995
  Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues a tragic story of loss that struck New York and, indeed, the 
Nation during this part weekend's snowstorm. On Saturday, February 4, 
1995, the outdoor aviary at the Bronx Zoo collapsed under the weight of 
a foot of snow allowing dozens of exotic birds to escape. The Harry de 
Jur Aviary was built in 1899 and was one of the first animal shelters 
built at the Bronx Zoo.
  Saturday's snowstorm was wet and heavy and the foot of snow on the 
aviary's arch 
[[Page E296]] probably weighed several tons. A strong gust of wind 
caught the structure like a sail which caused the collapse. Although 
many of the birds were caught under the wire mesh, at least 33 rare 
birds were carried away on high winds. The zoo has asked local birders 
to be on the lookout for these rare arian species.
  The aviary was the home to the largest breeding colony in North 
America of the inca terns, a South American sea bird. Also lost were 
grey gulls, andean gulls, and a bandtail gull. These birds have a slim 
chance of survival in the urban wild due to their sheltered upbringing. 
Zookeepers hope that some of these birds will return to the familiar 
site of the aviary due to their hunger, but fear that the winds may 
have carried them too far away.
  Mr. Speaker, the Bronx Zoo aviary was an historic landmark which 
generations of New Yorkers and visitors enjoyed. I commend to my 
colleagues' attention the New York Times article of this tragedy. The 
zoo will celebrate its centennial next year and zoo officials hope to 
rebuild the aviary, despite the cost of such a project at a time of 
tight budgets.
                [From the New York Times, Feb. 6, 1995]

                Birds Flee Wreckage of Bronx Zoo Aviary

                        (By Robert D. McFadden)

       The gracefully arched, 19th-century aviary at the Bronx 
     Zoo--home to a colony of 100 South American sea birds and a 
     landmark to generations of New Yorkers and visitors--
     collapsed in a gust of wind under the weight of a foot of 
     snow during Saturday's storm, and dozens of rare, exotic 
     gulls and terns flew away, zoo officials said yesterday.
       No people were in the aviary at the north end of the zoo 
     near Fordham Road when the huge cage of torn, twisted wire 
     mesh crashed down on a coastal habitat of rock outcroppings, 
     murky pools, pebble beaches and island nesting nooks at 10:45 
     A.M. No birds were killed and only one was known to have been 
     injured.
       And many birds were trapped under the tangle of wire and 
     saved, officials said. Ten flightless Magellanic penguins 
     waddled into their rookeries, guanay cormorants and other 
     survivors, including an oystercatcher, took cover in nesting 
     cavities. Zoo keepers quickly rushed in with nets, trying to 
     minimize the loss.
       But at least 33 birds--8 Grey gulls, 12 Andean gulls, one 
     Band-Tail gull and 12 Inca terns--escaped and were carried 
     away on high winds from the small artificial realm where they 
     had been hatched, fed and protected into a harsh world where 
     they may have to compete with city sea gulls, crows and other 
     toughs of the air.
       ``It's a very sad day,'' Dr. Donald Bruning, the zoo's 
     curator of birds, said in an interview yesterday. ``The 
     aviary was beautiful and has been around for almost a 
     century. And the birds would be very difficult to replace. 
     The Inca terns were by far the largest breeding colony in 
     North America, and we've lost almost half of them.''
       Zoo officials asked bird-watchers and the public to be on 
     the lookout for the escaped birds, whose native habitats are 
     the coasts of Peru and Chile, and issued descriptions and 
     other advice about how to spot, capture and report them. To 
     avoid being swamped by calls from everyone who sees a 
     nonexotic gull or a tern, the zoo issued a list of ``bird 
     rehabilitators,'' licensed experts in aiding wildlife, to 
     serve as intermediaries.
       But Dr. Bruning said the chances of recovering the birds 
     seemed slim. He noted that high winds, which gusted up to 50 
     miles an hour, could have carried them by late yesterday 
     across most of the New York metropolitan area and New Jersey, 
     and that the likelihood of finding and recapturing them 
     appeared to be as dubious as their chances of survival in the 
     urban wild.
       ``Most of them were hatched and raised in the aviary and 
     have no experience outside,'' he said. ``The cold will not 
     bother them, but it will not be easy for them to find food. 
     They will have to compete with local gulls and other birds, 
     and this is not the best time of the year for trying to find 
     food.''
       Since the flyaways were accustomed to shelter and regular 
     feedings of fish, Dr. Bruning said the best hope for their 
     recovery was that some had resisted the high winds and taken 
     shelter nearby and would return to the aviary ruins in search 
     of a meal.
       ``They know food is available and would come back to 
     that,'' Dr. Bruning said, ``We're hoping that when they get 
     hungry and can't find a supply of fish, they may start 
     looking to come back to the cage--that is, if the wind hasn't 
     blown them too far away. If they find themselves in a 
     completely strange area, they won't know how to find their 
     way back.''
       Pans of smeltlike capelin and other small fish were put out 
     at the aviary wreckage yesterday to lure any nearby fugitives 
     back, but the only taker seen at dusk was a strutting crow.
       The structure that collapsed, known as the Harry du Jur 
     Aviary, was built in 1899, three years after the founding of 
     the New York Zoological Society. It was one of the first 
     animal shelters built at the Bronx Zoo, then still in the 
     midst of farms and now a 265-acre tract of hilly parkland 
     bounded by Fordham Road, Southern Boulevard, East 180th 
     Street and the Bronx River Parkway.
       The aviary was unique at the time--a huge cage topped with 
     an arch of wire mesh 80 feet high, 150 feet long and 90 feet 
     wide--where birds could live and fly about in a habitat that 
     simulated nature's, and where the people could enter through 
     double wire doors and walk unobtrusively among them.
       In the early 1980's, Dr. Bruning said, the aviary was 
     remodeled and a new wire mesh arch was installed, along with 
     a redesigned interior habitat. But the pipelike supports for 
     the arch were not replaced, and after the collapse many of 
     these pipes--96 years old--were found to be rusted where they 
     joined the wire mesh of the arch, about 15 feet above the 
     foundation, Dr. Bruning said.
       ``You could see the rust once it broke off,'' he said. 
     ``All of the pipes broke at the same joint all the way around 
     the cage.''
       Saturday's snow was wet and heavy, Dr. Bruning noted, and 
     when it ended at midmorning the foot of snow that spread over 
     the arch must have weighed many tons. It became even heavier 
     as sleet and rain began falling and were absorbed into the 
     snow. But it was not mere weight that brought the aviary 
     down, he said.
       ``Apparently there was a strong gust of wind that caught 
     the whole structure like a sail,'' he said. ``The entire cage 
     collapsed on the interior. All the arch members broke apart 
     and separated. There were cables that went across for support 
     and they came down too. It was a mass of twisted and torn 
     mesh, and there were gaps in it--very large holes where some 
     of the birds escaped.''
       The only immediate casualty of the collapse was a cormorant 
     that sustained a slight cut. Many of the birds were trapped 
     under the mesh. Some took refuge in their nesting areas, 
     others were saved by keepers, who were next door in the 
     Aquatic Bird House and rushed out with nets after hearing the 
     roar. Survivors were taken to other bird shelters at the zoo.
       Zoo officials asked bird-watchers and the public for help 
     in finding the escapees, and they provided brief 
     descriptions:
       Inca tern adult has a dark blue-gray body, white mustache, 
     red bill and feet and is 14 to 17 inches long, while the 
     juvenile has a black bill and feet and no mustache.
       Andean gull has a white head with crescent black earmarks, 
     light gray upper body with white underparts and a 22-inch 
     length.
       Grey gull is uniformly slate gray with black bill, faint 
     eye rings and is 19 to 20 inches long.
       Band-Tail gull is white with yellow bill and feet, a white 
     body and black wings.
       All but the Band-Tail and some of the Andean gulls have leg 
     bands. Zoo officials asked anyone who spots one of these 
     birds to contact the zoo or one of the bird rehabilitators 
     whose names and numbers it made public. They noted that it 
     was unlikely that anyone could catch one of the birds, but if 
     a bird is caught, it should not be taken indoors, but kept in 
     a well ventilated cardboard box. The birds are not dangerous, 
     but can bite if grabbed.
       Dr. Bruning said he hoped the aviary would be rebuilt, 
     especially in time for the zoo's centennial next year. He 
     noted that it might cost several hundred thousand dollars and 
     that there was little money for such a project at a time of 
     tight budgets. But he called it an important facet of the 
     zoo.
       ``It is tragic to lose this beautiful landmark aviary,'' 
     the curator said.
     

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