AVICULTURAL

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VOLUME 110
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2004

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THE JOURNAL OF THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY

Vol. 1 10 - No. 1 All rights reserved ISSN 0005 2256 2004

THE BEHAVIOUR OF Struthio camelus australis AT BELO
HORIZONTE ZOO, BRAZIL: EVALUATING CAUSES OF
BREEDING FAILURE

by Herlandes Penha Tinoco and Angela Bemadete Faggioli

Introduction

Standing up to 2.7m (approx. 9ft) tall and weighing 100kg- 130kg (approx.
2201bs-2801bs) and sometimes up to 150kg (approx. 3301bs) (del Hoyo,
1991), the Ostrich Struthio camelus (Aves, Struthionidae) is the largest and
heaviest living bird. The Struthioniformes together with the Tinamiformes,
Rheiformes, Casuariiformes and Apterygiformes have a flat, raft-like sternum
without a keel and are known as ratites {ratis - a raft) (Sick, 1997).

The Ostrich is distributed over much of the African continent and is
among the common inhabitants of the great African plains. Generally, it
lives in open, semi-arid areas with short grass, where it can find an adequate
food supply and has good all-round visibility to facilitate it seeing predators.
The Ostrich is omnivorous, its diet consists mainly of plant matter (roots,
leaves, flowers and seeds) and it also eats insects and small vertebrates such
as lizards and even small tortoises (del Hoyo, 1991). Most of the water it
needs is obtained from succulent plants.

Ostrich farming can be a profitable practice, producing feathers (used in
carnival costumes, hats and to produce domestic utensils), eggs (providing
food, necklaces and other artefacts), fat (for cosmetics, pharmaceutical
products and the electronics industry), leather (for shoes and purses) and
meat (similar to bovine meat but with less cholesterol, fat and calories (Carrer
and Komfeld, 1999).

The Ostrich has been kept in captivity for millennia and breeds regularly
in zoos (del Hoyo, 1991). At Belo Horizonte Zoo breeding was common
until a few years ago, when it became a rare event following the arrival of
the new male. Nowadays, the female lays only infertile eggs.

Behavioural studies of Ostriches in the wild are common in scientific
literature, but studies that describe its habits in captivity are rare. Due to its
economic importance, such studies are necessary to improve the bird’s

2

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

welfare and, consequently, increase its productivity. It is known that captive
environments cause significant changes in the behavioural repertoire of the
birds, causing reproductive losses and the non-expression of other natural
and important behaviours.

The aim of the study was to describe the kinds and frequencies of
behaviour displayed by the Ostriches at Belo Horizonte Zoo and attempt to
correlate the reproductive failure to behavioural factors.

Materials and methods
Subjects and maintenance

The female, named Savana, was hatched at the zoo in 1998, and the
male, named Zumbi, came from an ostrich farm in 2000, when he was
approximately three years of age.

They were usually fed dog ration (0.8kg (lib 12oz)), bird ration (3kg
(61bs 10oz)), horse ration (0.8kg (lib 12oz)) and pickled cabbage (0.2kg
(7oz)), twice a day at 8.00am and 2.00pm. The birds also ate flowers, leaves
and fruits that fell from the trees in their enclosure.

Enclosure

The Ostriches were displayed in a 2,042sq m (approx. 22,000sq ft) open
enclosure, confined by a 2m (approx. 6ft 6in) high wire fence, supported by
wooden poles. The enclosure was planted with trees, shrubs and grass and
had a 3.1m (approx. 10ft) wide freshwater pool. The birds could be viewed
from three sides and there was no place that allowed them to hide if they
wished to. A small handling area provided shelter (see Fig.l ).

Preliminary observations

Six hours of preliminary observations, both in the mornings and
afternoons, were made during the last week of September and the first week
of October 2001 . The behaviours were recorded using the ad libitum method
and the results were used to compile an ethogram (Table 1).

Data recording

Twenty hours of observations were made between October and November
200 1 . They were made three times a week (on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday). The scan method was chosen because it allowed the recording of
all behaviours of the birds at pre-selected times during the sampling period
( Veado and Leite , 1 999) . The birds were rapidly observed at regular intervals
(recording intervals were of one minute) and the behaviour of each individual
was recorded. The behaviour of each Ostrich was necessarily recorded by
instantaneous sample (Martin and Bateson, 1993). The observations were
made from a distance of approximately 20m (65ft), to avoid the possibility
of the observer’s presence interfering with the birds’ behaviour.

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

3

Fig. 1 . Plan of Ostrich enclosure at Belo Horizonte Zoo.

Statistical analysis

The mean number of observations of all behaviours was calculated for
the two Ostriches. Significant differences between the sexes were analysed
using the Mann-Whitney U-Test. This is a non-parametric test that compares
two independent samples of the same or different sizes, whose scores have
been measured on the same ordinal level (Ayres et al. 1998).

Results

The mean number of behaviours displayed by the Ostriches is shown in
Table 2. A significant difference was found between the sexes in the number
of scans for the behavioural category ETNa (Z=2.08;p<0.04); the female
spent more time eating alone than the male. Similarly, the behaviour FO
showed a statistically significant difference (Z=2.03;p<0.02), being recorded
451 times for the female and 288 times for the male.

The behavioural category OTH was displayed more often by the female,
with 150 occurrences recorded, against 106 occurrences recorded for the
male. This difference was significant (Z=l .90;p<0.05). The IV and SW
behaviours also differed significantly (Z=3 .46 ;p<0 .0005 ;Z=2 .04 ;p<0 .04 ,
respectively). These behaviours were recorded 343/13 times for the male
and 9/1 times for the female.

The percentage of behaviours displayed by both of the Ostriches is shown
in Fig. 2. The birds ate and walked alone more often than together. The male
spent more time interacting with people than displaying reproductive

behaviours.

4

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

Percentage of time spent by the ostriches
displaying some behaviours

Fig. 2. Abbreviations: ETNa = eating alone; WKNa = walking alone;
FO = foraging; PR = preening; IV = interacting with visitors; OTH = other
behaviours.

Discussion

Ostriches are very curious birds, easily attracted by objects, especially
shining ones. The Ostriches at BH Zoo were also attracted by people and
animals walking past their enclosure, which explains why the behaviour
‘interacting with visitors’ was so high (Fig. 3). The male Ostrich spent more
time interacting with visitors and keepers than with the female. The male
would stop what he was doing, walk towards the person and stand watching
them, shaking his wings and sometimes vocalizing (courtship behaviour).
According to McKeegan and Deeming (1997) courtship behaviours occupy
only a small portion of the Ostrich’s time. Human-induced courtship
behaviour is a widespread phenomenon (Deeming, 1996). Observations by
Bubier et al. (1998) showed that out of 200 adult Ostriches 136 (68%)
displayed to humans. This did not occur in this study at BH Zoo. It is not
surprising that zoo keeper-directed behaviours increased in frequency when
zoo keepers were inside the enclosure because the removal of the physical
barrier (i.e. the enclosure fence) facilitated greater interaction. Bubier et al.
(1998) observed a male Ostrich apparently taking advantage of female
courtship behaviour directed towards humans to mount the female each time
she dropped to the ground in response to a human standing nearby. Similar
abnormal behaviour was observed at BH Zoo, where the male tried to mount
the female and copulate with her when she was displaying to humans and
even when she was taking a sand bath.

Chronic stress can have deleterious effects on the levels of a number of
hormones and other parameters essential to reproduction. For example,
chronic restraint stress in rats results in reduced plasma lutenizing hormone

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

5

(LH) levels (Lopez-Calderon et al. 1987) and decreasing pituitary sensitive
to lutenizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) (Armario et al. 1988).
The cyclic release of the lutenizing hormone from the anterior pituitary
causes ovulation in females (Sturkie and Mueller, 1976) and the release of
androgynous hormones in males (Proudman, 1994). Domestic cats stressed
by unpredictable changes in their caretaking routine showed a similar reduced
pituitary LHRH sensitivity (Carlstead et al. 1993). Stress-related increases
in glucocorticoid secretion may act directly at the testicular level to decrease
testosterone secretion (Sapolsky,1987). The conclusion is that stress may
interfere with reproductive behaviours (Ward, 1972).

The presence of zoo visitors as a source of chronic stress may be
underestimated for some species (Shepherdson, 1995). Gladston et al. (1984)
found clearly deleterious effects on the behaviour of some animals when
exposed to zoo visitors, as compared to animals housed off-exhibit. Several
authors have also mentioned a number of behavioural effects produced by
the presence of the public (Conway, 1977; Denke, 1977; Yaninek, 1977).
The sounds of machinery may also be a chronic stressor. This could explain
the lack of successful reproduction by the Ostriches at BH Zoo, whose
enclosure is next to a busy street. The birds might be so stressed that they
are simply not indulging in courtship behaviours.

The main purpose of a zoological garden is to help make the public
more conscious of wild and exotic animals and the importance of their
conservation for mankind (IUDZG/CBSG(IUCN/SSC), 1993). With this
in mind, it would be counterproductive to impede the viewing of the animals
by the public. To minimise the deleterious effects of stress caused by human
presence, many zoos provide the animals with places to hide. In the case of
BH Zoo, where there are few visual barriers in the Ostrich enclosure and a
suitable hiding place does not exist, the birds are in almost permanent contact
with people. Shrubs such as Eugenia spregelii should be planted in the
enclosure to provide cover for the birds. The presence of guides and keepers
to avoid disturbances (e.g. members of the public shouting) in front of the
Ostrich enclosure may also help reduce stress.

The reproductive failure of the Ostriches at BH Zoo could be a result of
incompatibility between the two birds (see Fig .2). In this study we did not
find any signs of behavioural problems but did find high levels of individual
behaviours (there had been fights between the two birds, mainly at the time
of the introduction of the male Ostrich into the enclosure). Copulation failure
due to behavioural problems is the most obvious cause of infertility in
Ostriches. Although Ostriches are gregarious birds, they show certain
individual preferences. Incompatibility is common when birds have been
unable to select their own mates. Environmental conditions also can result
in infertility. High stress levels, the sounds of heavy machinery or equipment,

Table 1 . Ethogram of the behaviours observed by Struthio camelus australis at BH Zoo.

6

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

Courting* Male: flops down on the ground, opens his wings and tail and begin to shake each wing alternately and move his tail up and down, his head and neck
sway from side to side and beat rhythmically against his flanks (del Hoyo, 1991). Female: holds her wings forward and down, flapping them backwards and
forwards whilst holding her head close to the ground and opening her beak repeatedly to make a clapping sound (del Hoyo, 1991).

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

7

Table 2. Mean number of behavioural observations of the Ostriches at BH
Zoo, shown by sex (± standard error, a=0 .05).

Behaviour

Sex

X2 n=20, gl=l

p-value

Male

Female

Escaping from male (EM)

0.60 ±0.24

-

0.00

1.00

Chasing after the female (CF)

-

0.60 ±0.24

0.00

1.00

Eating together (ETNt)

1.45 ±0.52

1.45 ±0.52

0.00

1.00

Eating alone (ETNa)*

1.55 ±0.60

7.80 ±2.02

2.08

0.04

Courting humans (CORh)

0.25 ±0.16

0.10 ±0.10

0.53

0.60

Courting bird (CORb)

-

0.05 ±0.05

0.27

0.79

Walking together (WKNt)

0.45 ±0.16

0.45 ±0.16

0.00

1.00

Walking alone (WKNa)

14.35 ±2.69

9.95 ±1.75

0.87

0.39

Shaking wings (SW)*

0.65 ±0.18

0.15 ±0.15

2.04

0.04

Preening (PR)

7.00 ±1.94

4.35 ±1.23

0.78

0.44

Sand bathing (SB)

-

0.40 ±0.21

1.08

0.28

Foraging (FO)*

11.15 ±1.49

22.45 ±3.46

2.03

0.02

Interacting with visitors (IV)*

17.15±3.18

4.75 ±1.33

3.46

0.0005

Fighting (FGT)

-

-

-

-

Copulating (COP)

0.05 ±0.05

0.05 ±0.05

0.00

1.00

Others (OTH)*

5.30 ±2.27

7.50 ±1.67

1.90

0.05

indicates behaviours significantly different between the sexes.

predator presence and the transfer of birds from one enclosure to another
can also interfere with normal sexual behaviour (Tully and Shane, 1996).

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Robert Young for the invaluable suggestions he
made during the preparation of this paper, Cristiano Schetini de Azevedo
for help during the course of the study, and Joao Bosco Ferraz, Luciana
Ba^ante and Humberto Mello for their support. We would also like to
thank Carlyle Mendes Coelho, Director of Belo Horizonte Zoo, for his
assistance, and thank our families and friends for their help and support.

References

Armario, A., Restrepo, C. and Lopez-Calderon, A. C. 1988. Effect of a chronic stress model of
depression on basal and acute stress levels of LH and prolactic in adult male rats. Biological
Psychiatry 24:447-450.

Ayres, M., Ayres Jr., M., Ayres, D. L. and Dos Santos, A. S. 1998. BioEstat - Aplicagoes
Estatisticas nas Areas de Ciencias Bioldgicas e Medicas. Sociedade Civil Mamiraua, Manaus.
Bubier, N.B., Paxton, C. G. M., Bowers, P. and Deeming, D. C. 1998. Courtship behaviour of
ostriches ( Struthio camelus ) towards humans under farming conditions in Britain. British Poultry
Science 39:447-481.

Carlstead, K., Brown, J. L. and Strawn, W. 1993. Behavioural and physiological correlates of
stress in laboratory cats. Applied Animal Behavioural Science 38: 143-158.

TINOCO AND FAGGIOLI - OSTRICH

Carrer, C. C. and Komfeld, M. E. 1999. A Criagdo de Avestruzes no Brasil. Brasil Ostrich
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Conway, K., Shaw, L., Michleson, S., Crouse, D. 1977. Activity rhythms of ten species of
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Crockettt C., Hutchins, M. (eds.), Pika Press, Seattle.

Deeming, D. C. 1996. Production, fertility and hatchability of ostriches (Struthio camelus)
eggs on a farm in the United Kingdom. Animal Science 67:329-336.

del Hoyo, J., Elliott A. and Sargatal, J. A. (eds.). 1991 . Handbook of the Birds of the World.
Void. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Denke, R. 1997. Enclosure utilization and social behaviour of the vampire bat (Desmodus
rotundus murinus). Pp. 157- 180 in Applied Behavioural Research. Crockett, C., Hutchins, M.
(eds.). Pika Press, Seattle.

Gladston, A. R., Geilvoet-Soeteman, E., Hora-Pecek, E. and van Hoof, J. A. R. A. M. 1984.
The influence of the zoo environment on social behaviour of groups of cotton-topped tamarins
(Saguinus oedipus oedipus ). Zoo Biology 3:241-253.

IUDZG/CBSG (IUCN/SSC). 1993. The world zoo conservation strategy: the role of the zoos
and aquaria of the world in global conservation.

Lopez-Calderon, A. C., Ariznavarreta, M. D. and Calderon-Tresguerres, J. A. F. 1987.
Gonadotropin inhibition during chronic stress: role of the adrenal gland. Journal of Steroid
Biochemistry 27:609-614.

Martin, P. and Bateson, P. 1993. Measuring behaviour, 2nd Edition. Cambridge University
Press.

McKeegan, D. E F. and Deeming, D. C. 1997. Effect of gender and group size on the time-
activity budgets of adult breeding ostriches ( Struthio camelus ) in a farming environment. Applied
Animal Behavioural Science 51:159-177.

Proudman, J. A. 1994. Hormonios reprodutivos das aves. In: Rinheiro, M.R. (ed). Fisiologia
da Reprodugao das Aves. Fundafjao APINCO de Ciencia e Tecnologia Avfcolas, Campinas.
Sapolsky, R. M. 1987. Stress, social status and reproductive physiology in free living baboons.
In: Crews, D. (ed.). Psychobiology of Reproductive Behaviour: An Evolutionary Perspective.
Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

Shepherdson, D. and Carlstead, K. 1995. Understanding the relationship between environment
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Sick, H. 1997. Ornitologia Brasileira. Nova Fronteira, Rio de Janeiro.

Sturkie, R. P. and Mueller, W. J. 1976. Reproduction in the female and egg production. In:
Sturkie, P. D. (ed.). Avian Physiology. Springer- Verlag, New York.

Tully, Jr. T. N., Shane, S. M. 1996. Rathe Management, Medicine, and Surgery. Kreiger
Publishing Company, Florida.

Veado, B. V. and Leite, M. T. V. 1999. Comportamento e Bem-estar de animais em cativeiro.
In: XII Jornada de Biologia da PUC/MG. Belo Horizonte. Mini-curso, p.38.

Ward, I. L. 1972. Prenatal stress feminises and desmaculinizes the behaviour of males. Science
175:82-84.

Yaninek, J. S. 1977. Daily behavior activities of Kenya impala (Aepyceros melampus rendilis )
and Thomson gazelle ( Gazella thomsoni thomsoni) in a mixed exhibit. Unpublished manuscript.
San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo, California.

Herlandes Penha Tinoco and Angela Bernadete Faggioli (Bird Section),
Fundagao Zoo-Botanica de Belo Horizonte, Av. OtacUio Negrdo de Lima,
8000 Pampulha, CEP 31365-450, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. E-mail:
fzbzoo@pbh.gov.br and c!o cristianoroxette @ yahoo .com

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17

BREEDING THE WHITE-EARED BULBUL

by Gary Bralsford

Having in the past bred the Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
and had near misses with the Chestnut Hypsipetes castanotus and White-
headed H leucocephalus , I decided to have a pair of bulbuls in my collection
again for the 2003 breeding season. I looked around for a few weeks until I
saw that a dealer in nearby Doncaster had a few different species for sale:
Red- whiskered, Finchbill Spizixos semitorques , White-headed, Chinese P.
sinensis and White-eared P. leucogenys leucotis or P. leucotis (see below) . I
watched the White-eared and they were very graceful in their flight patterns,
very much like butterflies and glided a lot in flight. There were about a
dozen (12) of them all together in the flight and trying to sex them was
nearly impossible. I decided to pick three birds; one with large white cheek
patches and two with a little less white on the cheeks.

My birds have hardly any crest to speak of, white cheek patches and an
otherwise black head (see photo). Whistler (1941) and Woodcock (1980)
treated this bird as a subspecies of the White-cheeked, calling both the White¬
cheeked Bulbul, P. /. leucogenys and P. /. leucotis. The latter is described as
being found in light woodland, gardens, the neighbourhood of towns and
villages, scrub and mangrove. Grewal, Harvey, Pfister (2002), however,
treat it as a full species, calling it the White-eared Bulbul (White-cheeked
Bulbul) P. leucotis , a common breeding resident of the plains of Pakistan
and north-west India, that also occurs in western Asia. It eats berries and
other fruits and will take insects and nectar, and in captivity will take a
coarse softbill food such as Bogena or Nutriluxe Red.

My birds were put in a flight in my shed. The flight measures 8ft long x
4ft wide x 6ft high (approx. 2.4m long x 1.2m wide x 1 .8m high) and all
three birds were released into it at the beginning of March. I had fixed up
several nest-boxes and wicker baskets, and hung up two wallflower baskets
and two hanging baskets all of which were filled with indoor plants. I had
also put wicker nest pans in each basket. The bulbuls settled down and
came into breeding condition fairly quickly. Soon afterwards I noticed a
few feathers scattered on the floor and on watching the three bulbuls, noticed
two had paired-up, isolating the other one. I removed the odd one, which
proved to be a male, that as soon as it was caged began to have singing
contests with the male in the flight.

Plaving decided that the two in the flight were a true pair, I provided lots
of coconut fibre and horse hair in salad racks hung on the flight walls. The
female started carrying nest material to one of the wicker baskets and within
three days had finished making a nest. No eggs were laid in it, instead the

BRALSFORD - WHITE-EARED BULBUL

Gary Bralsford

The female with two of the three chicks (August 7th 2003).

female started to build another nest in a half-open nest-box fixed to the back
wall. I was a little worried by this, as the box was close to the next flight in
which my Red-crested Cardinals Paroaria coronata had a nest with three
eggs. The bulbuls laid four eggs in the half-open box at the end of April and
the female did most of the sitting, with the male taking his turn at night.
They sat for 14 days.

All but one of the eggs hatched, the fourth was fertile but the chick was
dead in the shell. I provided waxworms, crickets and white skinned
mealworms. All went well until the fifth day, when I found one chick dead
on the feeding platform, followed by another the next day and the third on
the seventh day. All three had full crops but around their beaks there was
bruising and blood, as though the parents had tried to force feed them. I
came to the conclusion that the chicks had died from e.coli or something
similar and had been removed from the nest after they had died rather than
having been thrown out of the nest because the parents had become bored or
because the diet I had provided was inadequate.

The parents went back to nest three weeks later after I had moved the
nest-box to the side of the flight away from where the cardinals were nesting.
The bulbuls laid another four eggs and again sat for 14 days. All four eggs
hatched. One chick died on the second day and the other three were all
reared to maturity. This time I provided the parents with waxworms and
crickets but decided against giving them mini mealworms, instead I provided
buffalo worms and I think these did the trick and led to the successful rearing
of the chicks.

The pair went to nest a further three times and I eventually ended up
with six young bulbuls, which I fitted with size K rings. I believe bulbuls

BRALSFORD - WHITE-EARED BULBUL

19

are a species of softbill that we in aviculture could breed in sufficient numbers
to maintain self-sustaining populations. I have recently found an unrelated
female, so this breeding season I will try to breed from two pairs of White¬
eared Bulbuls.

With restrictions on the import of birds from Asia and other parts of
the world, we need to specialise in particular species. As I mentioned in my
account of breeding the Chestnut-backed Thrush Zoothera dohertyi
(. Avicultural Magazine Vol.109, No.4, pp. 150-153 (2003)), I have chosen
mostly Asiatic softbills. Among those I specialise in are bulbuls. They are
relatively easy to cater for both with regard to their diet and housing, with
the best birds to begin with being species such as the Red-whiskered and the
Chinese. If you keep one pair to a flight, you have a better chance of
breeding bulbuls. I tried showing bulbuls but found that their bouncy
personalities were a disadvantage when showing them. Bulbuls will not
settle down quietly for long periods, in addition to which they are soft
feathered (like the closely related leafbirds Chloropsis spp.) and will often
damage their tail feathers.

I hope more aviculturists will keep bulbuls. Here in the UK, Asian
softbills will often start breeding in March and may have three or four
clutches. They are likely to start to moult in late July into August, and if you
are planning to show current-year-bred birds, they should look great by early
September.

References

Grewal, B Harvey, B Pfister, O. 2002. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India Including
Nepal, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Bhutan. Christopher Helm, London.
Whistler, H. 1941 . Popular Handbook of Indian Birds. Third Edition Revised and Enlarged.
Gurney and Jackson, London and Edinburgh.

Woodcock, M. 1980. Collins Handguide to the Birds of the Indian Sub-Continent including
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Collins, London.

Surprisingly perhaps there appears to be no record of Pycnonotus
leucogenys leucotis or Pycnonotus leucotis having previously been bred in
Great Britain or Ireland. If you know of an earlier breeding please inform
the Hon. Secretary.

20

BREEDING THE RED BIRD OF PARADISE
AT CHESTER ZOO

by Roger Wilkinson, Wayne McLeod, Darren Langford
and Paul Morris

The Red Bird of Paradise Paradisaea rubra occurs only on the islands
of Waigeo, Batanta, Saonek and may possibly also be found on Gemien off
the north-west coast of Papua (the Indonesian governed western half of New
Guinea; formerly Irian Jaya). The Red Bird of Paradise lives in lowland
forest and is considered near-threatened in the wild because it has a very
restricted distribution and is currently threatened by both habitat destruction
and trapping (BirdLife International, 2000). Birds are trapped for their skins
and from recent reports are also entering the illegal wild bird trade.

History of birds of paradise at Chester Zoo

Chester has a long history of working with birds of paradise. In May
1965 a consignment from Sir Edward Hallstrorn of 29 birds of paradise of
10 different species was received at Chester Zoo. This consignment
comprised of four Princess Stephanie’s Astrapias Astrapia stephaniae, four
Ribbon-tailed Astrapias A. mayeri, five Magnificent Birds of Paradise
Cicinnurus magnificus, pairs of Superb Birds of Paradise Lophorina superba,
Raggiana Birds of Paradise P. raggiana and Blue Birds of Paradise P.
rudolphi, two male Carola’s Parotias Parotia carolae , four male Lawes’
Parotias P. lawesii, three Brown Sicklebills Epimachus meyeri and one
Loria’s Bird of Paradise Cnemophilus loria.

A further consignment of birds of paradise, also from Sir Edward
Hallstrorn, was received in December 1966. Birds then received were three
Raggiana Birds of Paradise, two male Blue Birds of Paradise, pairs of Ribbon¬
tailed Astrapias, Lawes’ Parotias, Superb Birds of Paradise and Brown
Sicklebills, as well as five more Magnificent Birds of Paradise and one
Carola’s Parotia.

An avicultural highpoint in this period was the successful fledging of
the Superb Bird of Paradise in June 1968 (Timmis, 1968, 1970). One of the
female Brown Sicklebills built nests but no eggs were laid (Timmis, 1972).
A male Lawes’ Parotia was transferred in 1 970 to Tierpark Berlin. In February
1 97 1 four of the remaining 1 1 birds of the Hallstrorn consignments were
stolen, leaving Chester with three Lawes’ Parotias and only single examples
of four other species.

In 1972 Chester Zoo acquired a female Red Bird of Paradise and in
1973 received a second female Red Bird of Paradise and two Wilson’s Birds
of Paradise C. respublica from Rotterdam Zoo. One of the Wilson’s Birds

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

21

of Paradise was returned to Rotterdam in 1975 in which year a male Red
Bird of Paradise arrived at Chester from Rotterdam Zoo.

Whereas several of these birds had died shortly after arrival here a few
survived longer. One Brown Sicklebill received in 1965 or 1966 remained
in the collection until September 1973 when it was transferred to Rotterdam
Zoo. By 1977 Chester Zoo no longer held any birds of paradise.

International zoo cooperation

Concerns over both the acquisition and husbandry of birds of paradise
indicated that if Chester Zoo was to work again with birds of paradise then
this must be as a partner with other collections in a coordinated breeding
programme and that husbandry concerns first needed to be addressed.

Very few birds of paradise are kept in zoos and the Red Bird of Paradise
Studbook and world centre for breeding this species are based at Bronx Zoo,
New York. It has built a reputation for the successful and sustained
propagation of several species of birds of paradise. This is because it has
researched the husbandry needs in terms of diet (iron storage disease or
haemosiderosis is known to be a problem with the Paradisaeidae), provides
off-show breeding facilities dedicated to these birds and has invested in
staff time and effort to work-up protocols for husbandry and rearing. It also
concentrates on working with larger numbers of a few species and links this
to on-site conservation support in New Guinea. It is a model to be emulated.

Preparations for receiving the Red Birds of Paradise

Preliminary discussions with Don Bruning, Chairman of Ornithology at
the Bronx Zoo had established his willingness for Chester Zoo to receive
captive-bred birds of paradise from New York. This was dependent on the
continued successful breeding at the Bronx Zoo and on Chester Zoo’s
agreement to commit to work cooperatively with these birds and to provide
purpose built on-show and off-show facilities.

A visit to New York in 1996 enabled Roger Wilkinson, then Curator of
Birds at Chester Zoo, to see first hand the bird of paradise facilities at the
Bronx Zoo. The planned demolition of Chester Zoo’s old Bird House and
replacement with the new Islands in Danger complex provided the
opportunity to advance the possibility of featuring Red Birds of Paradise as
a major exhibit in this new complex and developing the additional off-show
back-up breeding area.

Discussions between Mark Pilgrim who was responsible for the new
development at Chester and Kurt Hundgen who was responsible for the
care of birds of paradise at the Bronx Zoo enabled the design of Chester’s
on-show and off-show facilities to benefit from the experience gained at the
Bronx Zoo. The off-show area includes five interconnecting aviaries and

22

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

Roger Wilkinson

Red Bird of Paradise male, September 2002, at five years of age,
still lacking red flank plumes.

Roger Wilkinson

Female feeding one of the chicks ca. four weeks of age.

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

23

Roger Wilkinson

Two chicks together ca. four weeks of age.

24

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

has its own kitchen. The on-show facility in Islands in Danger was also
designed as a breeding facility and has three adjoining areas providing the
possibility of holding two males and a breeding female. Chester Zoo joined
the Bird of Paradise Species Interest Committee (BOPSIC) with the intention
of continuing international cooperation with other members.

Arrival of Red Birds of Paradise

In May 1999, Chester Zoo received its current pair of Red Birds of
Paradise on breeding loan from the Bronx Zoo. Both birds were bred there,
the male in February 1998 and the female in May 1998. Wayne McLeod
and Darren Langford travelled to New York where they gained experience
by working with the bird staff at the Bronx Zoo before accompanying the
birds of paradise on their journey to Chester. Both birds settled in well in
the off-show facilities and in April 2000 were transferred to their present
aviaries in the Islands in Danger exhibit complex.

Husbandry and aviary accommodation

The Islands in Danger complex was built in 1999-2000 on what had
been the site of the Temperate Bird House following the demolition of the
latter. This indoor exhibit was specifically designed to hold birds and reptiles
from tropical islands and to include interpretation materials explaining why
many of these forms are now endangered.

The site includes large display and off-show areas for Komodo Dragons
Varanus komodoensis, a series of large aviaries housing the Red Birds of
Paradise and other birds from New Guinea and a large aviary holding St
Lucia Parrots Amazona versicolor.

The New Guinea section includes three adjoining aviaries specifically
designed to hold the Red Birds of Paradise and a fourth larger mixed species
aviary that accommodates a range of birds including Victoria Crowned
Pigeons Goura victoria, White-naped Pheasant Pigeons Otidiphaps nobilis
aruensis, Golden-heart Pigeons Gallicolumba rufigula, Papuan Lorikeets
Charmosyna papou and White-collared Kingfishers Halcyon chloris.

The building is maintained at a minimum temperature of 20°C (68°F).
The temperature in this naturally well lit area may increase in the summer
months and fans can be utilised to prevent it becoming overheated. The
aviaries are well planted with a range of tropical species and misters ensure
that humidity is maintained for plant growth. The three aviaries for the
birds of paradise reach up to 4.4m (approx. 14ft) high and together occupy
an area of ca. lOOsq m (approx. l,000sq ft). Although all three areas are
available for the birds of paradise, during the breeding reported below only
two of these areas were occupied by them. The birds of paradise are highly
intelligent and most inquisitive and we soon learnt that our planting scheme

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

25

needed to accommodate this. The beautiful flowering orchids that initially
graced these aviaries proved irresistible to their attentions and the flowers
were soon individually demolished petal by petal.

The pair later shared its accommodation with a pair of Green-naped
Pheasant Pigeons O. nohilis but this arrangement was changed after the
birds of paradise were found to be responsible for destroying the eggs of the
ground nesting pheasant pigeons.

The Red Birds Paradise at Chester Zoo are fed a diet of fruit (chopped
apple, pear, banana and whole blueberries) dusted with Zeigler’s low iron
bird of paradise pellets. Because of concern that birds of paradise in captivity
have a propensity for being affected by iron storage disease, foods such as
oranges, tomatoes and sultanas that are rich in Vitamin C are not fed to them
because of concern that these may result in increased iron uptake.

Breeding of Red Bird of Paradise

Birds of paradise take many years to attain full breeding plumage and
the male at Chester Zoo, which at the time of breeding was just over five
years of age, had only recently acquired tail streamers and otherwise remained
in immature plumage. The male and female which up until then had been
living together were separated at the beginning of March 2003 , as it is known
that males may interfere with breeding attempts by destroying nests built by
females. The female was later observed nest building after which she was
allowed short daily visits April 10th- April 14th to join the male in his quarters
before returning afterwards to her own breeding aviary. The female initially
placed twigs on the top of a horizontal log just under lm (approx. 3ft) from
the ground, before finally choosing a wall-mounted partially open-fronted
box at a height of ca. 3m (approx. 9ft 9in) above the ground. The box
measured ca. 20cm long x 18cm wide x 18cm high (approx. 8in long x 7in
wide x Tin high) with the front open above the 7cm (2V2in) high lip. The
female filled this with dry palm leaves and stripped palm fibres.

Two eggs were laid, the first on April 15th and the second two days later.
Notwithstanding his lack of breeding plumage our male proved his fertility
when the first chick hatched May 1 st and the second chick hatched one or
two days later. The female reared the chicks on a diet of insects (mainly
wax worms and locusts) and fruit, being especially partial to blueberries.
Both chicks fledged May 18th. Although both continued to be fed and cared
for by their mother one of the two chicks was found dead on June 7th when
five weeks of age. Post mortem failed to reveal a cause of death. The
second chick thrived and was still being fed by its mother on July 20th. On
August 3rd the youngster was seen feeding itself on blueberries. Over the
incubation, nestling and fledgling periods, although in visual contact, the
female and chick(s), had remained physically isolated from the breeding

26

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

male. September 21st, the doors between the female’s enclosure and the
male’s enclosure were opened for two hours to allow supervised interaction
between the male, female and youngster. The male showed much excitement
on being allowed access to the female’s enclosure and although initially
some quarrelling between the adults was observed there was no serious
aggression. The male later returned to his own enclosure and free access
was again permitted the following day. With no negative interaction between
the male and juvenile and it being thought that because of its large size it
might be a male, it was decided to house this bird with the breeding male,
leaving the female on her own in preparation for a second breeding attempt.

Discussion

Birds of paradise take many years to attain full breeding plumage and
the male at Chester, which at the time of first breeding was just over five
years of age and had only recently acquired tail streamers and otherwise
remained in an immature plumage. The male and female which up until
prior to the breeding had been living together were separated at the beginning
of March 2003 , as it is known that males may interfere with breeding attempts
by destroying nests built by females. The female was observed nest building
and then allowed short daily visits April 10th- April 14th to join the male in
his quarters and returned afterwards to her own breeding aviary. She laid
two eggs, the first on April 15th and the second two days later.
Notwithstanding his lack of breeding plumage our male proved his fertility
when the first chick hatched on May 1st and the second chick hatched one or
two days later. The female reared the chicks on a diet of insects (mainly
waxworm larvae and locusts) and fruit, being especially partial to blueberries.
Both chicks fledged May 18th and although soon able to fly both were fed
and cared for by their mother for a protracted period.

This breeding was especially significant in that it is the first time that the
Red Bird of Paradise has been bred in the UK. It is also unusual and very
satisfying in that the female, with no previous experience of hatching and
rearing chicks, successfully fledged two young on her first breeding attempt
and that one of these was reared to independence. We of course hope that
this was the first of many breedings of this important and most attractive
species at Chester Zoo.

Acknowledgements

The breeding of the Red Bird of Paradise was the culmination of many
years of planning by staff at Chester Zoo and the fulfillment of a personal
dream to work with these most charismatic birds. Thanks are especially
due to Don Bruning and Kurt Hundgen of the Bronx Zoo for agreeing to
and facilitating Chester Zoo’s participation in the international breeding

WILKINSON ET AL. - RED BIRD OF PARADISE

27

programmes for this bird of paradise. Special credit must be given to the
bird keeping staff and curatorial team at Chester for planning and providing
the conditions in which this successful breeding occurred.

References and bibliography

Anon. 1965. Birds of Paradise. Chester Zoo News , Jum 1965:10-16.

BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife
International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK.

Cooper, W. T. and Forshaw, J. M. 1977. The Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds. Collins,
Sydney, Australia.

Frith, C. B . 1976. Displays of the Red Bird-of-Paradise Paradisaea rubra and their significance,
with a discussion and systematics of other Paradisaeidae. Emu 76:69-78.

Frith, C. B. and Beehler, B. M. 1998. The Birds of Paradise: Paradisaeidae ( Bird Families of
the World). Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Hundgen, K., Hutchins, M., Sheppard, S., Burning, D. and Worth, W. 1991 . Management and
breeding of the Red Bird of Paradise Paradisaea rubra at the New York Zoological Park.
International Zoo Yearbook 30:192-199.

Isenberg, A. H. 1961 . Nesting of Red Bird of Paradise ( Uranornis ruber). Avicultural Magazine

67,2:43-44.

Isenberg, A. H. 1962. Further notes on the breeding of the Red Bird of Paradise. Avicultural

Magazine 68,2:48.

Timmis, W. H. 1968. Breeding the Superb Bird of Paradise at Chester Zoo . Avicultural Magazine

74,5:170-172.

Timmis, W. H. 1970. Breeding the Superb Bird of Paradise, Lophorina superba, at Chester
Zoo. International Zoo Yearbook 10:102-104.

Timmis, W. H. 1972. Notes on the display and nest building of the Sickle-billed Bird of Paradise.
International Zoo Yearbook 12:190-192.

Todd, W. and Berry, R. J. 1980. Breeding the Red Bird of Paradise Paradisaea rubra at the
Houston Zoo. International Zoo Yearbook 20:206-210.

Wilkinson, R. 1999. Birds of Paradise at Chester Zoo. EAZA News 28:8.

Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, Chester CH2 1LH, UK. Tel :0 1244
380280/Fax:01244 37 1273/Website :www. Chester zoo .org

28

COLLATED DATA ON THE BROWN TWINSPOT
Clytospiza monteiri

by Neville Brickell

The Brown Twinspot has the alternative name of Monteiro’s Twinspot,
though the latter name is rarely if ever used these days. Joachim Joao
Monteiro (1833-1878) was a Portuguese mining engineer who collected
natural history specimens in Angola from 1860-1875 (Beolens and Watkins,
2003).

Description

Length approximately 10cm- 13cm (4in-5in). Adult male: head and sides
of neck slate grey; nape, mantle, back and wings dark brown; rump and
upper tail-coverts reddish orange; tail blackish brown. Chin and upper throat
grey, with a triangular red spot in the centre of lower throat; breast, belly
and remainder of underparts chestnut brown, spotted and barred with white.
Eyes red-brown or dark red; eyelids pale blue. Bill black with blue base;
legs and feet red-brown. Adult female: lacks red on the throat, instead the
female has a whitish median stripe. Juvenile: similar to adult female but
with greyish throat and warmer brown unspotted underparts; rump and upper
tail-coverts pale red. Young males appear to have the grey of the head and
the chestnut of the breast somewhat darker than young females according to
Neff (1975), and apparently corroborated by differences in unsexed juveniles
in British Museum collection. Nestling: three-day old nestlings have been
recorded as having dark skin and quite profuse pale down. Their mouth
markings consist of five black spots on a yellow palate, with a black band,
narrowing centrally, across the flesh-coloured tongue and a black crescent
inside the lower mandible. The swollen bilobed gape flanges were described
as white by Neff (1975), who included good photographs of nestlings and a
juvenile in his 1977 paper.

Distribution and status

South-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, southern Chad, Central African
Republic, south-west Sudan, Uganda and western Kenya, also northern and
central Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Congo, southern Gabon and
north-west Angola. Generally uncommon but in some places locally
common. In pairs or small family groups.

Habitat, feeding and general habits

Favours moist thickets, tall grass, undergrowth (lantana) and overgrown
cultivation. Described as nervous and shy and therefore keeping close to

BRICKELL - BROWN TWINSPOT

29

cover, but in captivity when feeding nestlings becomes quite brazen when
livefood is being offered (Pinchin pers. comm.). Feeds on the ground taking
mostly grass seeds, but also some cultivated millet. Also consumes insects,
particularly termites, and is known to take spiders. In captivity it will take
canary seed and various millets such as yellow and red manna and Japanese
millet. It also takes grass seeds, mostly those of Guinea Grass Panicum
maximum , as well as taking spray millet and soaked seed. The preferred
greenfood is chickweed and it will take ant pupae, white worms and mound
termites when it is breeding (Brickell and Konigkramer, 1997; Goodwin,
1982; Immelman et al. 1963; Neff, 1975, 1977). A successful softfood recipe
prepared by Pinchin consists of equal parts of ProNutra (high protein
breakfast cereal), Nestum (infant breakfast cereal), powdered soya beans
and canned dog food, beef being preferred. This is fed to them daily
throughout the year.

Voice

Goodwin (1982) described the close contact call as a repeated “vay, vay,
vay. . .”, which intensified and tends to be uttered in longer series as a distance
contact call. The alarm call is described as a hard sounding, Sylvia- like
“teck” or “tack” (Clement et al. 1993). Stevenson and Fanshawe (2002)
state it has an incredibly varied, long rambling song which includes mimicry,
and its call is an explosive nasal and clipped “cht cht. . .” Harrison and Dormer
(1962) thought its voice has little to commend it and is very reminiscent of
the crackling of bishop birds Euplectes spp.

Courtship display

Harrison and Dormer (1962) described the display as in all respects
identical to that of Peters’s Twinspot Hypargos niveoguttatus, except that
the movements of the male are far more jerky and less graceful. Neff (1977)
implied that, at least in some cases, display may occur without nesting
material in the bill or that it may be held only at the beginning of the display.

Nesting

The Brown Twinspot has been found using the old nests of the Bronze
Mannikin Lonchura cucullata and other species, which it relined with hair,
feathers, soft vegetable material and, in all cases, some cast snake skin
(Chapin, 1954). Mackworth-Praed and Grant (1973) stated it was believed
to reline the old nests of various weavers but also referred to Myers’
description of nests, presumably built by the twinspots themselves, being
little more than small domed grass structures in the forks of trees.
Observations of captive twinspots have revealed that this species builds
mostly amongst any available foliage positioned in secluded spots. Neff

30

BRICKELL - BROWN TWINSPOT

Neville Brickell

Adults and young owned by George Pinchin.

Neville Brickell

Three of a clutch of four young Brown Twinspots bred by George Pinchin
in South Africa.

(1975) reported that in one case a nest-box was utilised. Various materials
may be used in the construction of the nest, these include broad blades of
green grass and wheat, while Pinchin (1998) listed Teff Grass Eragrostis tef
and Guinea Grass. Neff (1975) recorded the nest as being lined mostly with
feathers, while Pinchin (1998) stated mattress coir was preferred. Both sexes

BRICKELL - BROWN TWINSPOT

31

are involved in nest building, with the male carrying nest material and playing
a greater part in the construction and the female confining herself to working
on the inner chamber. The side entrance hole is screened at all times by soft
grass inflorescences or a large feather.

Usually four to six eggs are laid which are incubated by both sexes. The
eggs hatch after about 12-13 days and the young fledge after 18-21 days.
Four successful breedings have been recorded in South Africa by George
Pinchin. His pair was housed in an aviary measuring lm wide x 3m deep x
1 .8m high (approx. 3ft 3in wide x 9ft 9in deep x 5ft lOin high), with half the
roof covered with clear fibre glass sheeting. Beneath the shelter roof the
strongly scented Khaki Weed Tagetes minuta was tightly packed to provide
possible nest sites.

References

Beolens , B . and Watkins , M . 2003 . Whose Bird? Men and women commemorated in the common
names of birds. Christopher Helm, London.

Brickell, N. and Konigkramer, T. 1997. African Birds in Field & Aviary. ARU, South Africa.
Britton, P. L. (ed.). 1980. Birds of East Africa. EANHS, Nairobi, Kenya.

Chapin, J. P. 1954. The birds of the Belgian Congo. Bulletin American Museum Natural History.
Clement, P., Harris, A. and Davis, J. 1993. Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide.
Russel Friedman Books CC, Halfway House, South Africa.

Goodwin, D. 1982. Estrildid finches of the world. British Museum (Natural History) and Oxford
University Press, London and Oxford.

Harrison, C. J. O. and Dormer, B. P. 1962. Notes on the display of Peter’s Twinspot and the
Brown Twinspot. Avicultural Magazine 68,4:139-143.

Immelmann, K., Steinbacher, J. and Wolters, H. E. 1963 & 1975. Vogel in Kafig und Voliere:
Prachtfinken : 7 1 -74 and 525. Aachen, Germany.

Mackworth-Praed, C. W. and Grant, C. H. B. 1973. African Handbook of Birds. Series Three,
Volume 2. Longman Group Ltd., London.

Neff, R. 1975. Der Braune Tropfenastrild. Gefiederte Welt: 181-184.

Neff, R. 1977. Uber den Braunen Tropfenastrild. Gefiederte Welt: 122-123.

Pinchin, G. 1998 .Aviary notes on the Brown Twinspot (unpublished).

Stevenson, T. and Fanshawe, J. 2002. Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa Kenya Tanzania
Uganda Rwanda Burundi. T & A D Poyser, London.

Zimmerman , D . A . , Turner, D . A . and Pearson , D. J. \ 996. Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania .
Russel Friedman Books CC, Halfway House, South Africa.

Neville Brickell lives in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. E-mail:
anivests@absamail.coza. He is a member of the Natal Bird Breeder’s
Society, Natal Avicultural Society, Wildlife Environmental Society
( Photographic Section) and the Indigenous Bird Breeders Research Group.

32

BREEDING SUCCESS WITH THE BROWN TWINSPOT
Clytospiza monteiri

by Andy Chaney

The Brown Twinspot is seldom seen in UK aviculture. When it is
available it tends to be just an odd pair or a single bird that has been brought
in with a consignment of other estrildids. With this in mind, I consider
myself rather fortunate that early in 2002 I was offered two pairs and four
odd males. The offer came from Graham Lee, a breeder of parrot finches
Ery thrum spp. and the Violet-eared Waxbill Uraeginthus granatina, of whom
I had read about and who seemed to be having more than his fair share of
success. I had kept birds for 20 years, from when I was aged 1 1 , and was
just returning to birdkeeping after an absence of five years. I wanted to
specialise in estrildids but was unsure as to which species I wanted to keep.
Graham was a great help to me and I probably learnt more from him in a
few weeks than I had learnt in all my previous years of birdkeeping. I will
always be grateful to him for the many hours he spent on the telephone
passing on information which Graham modestly told me was information
passed on to him by breeders on the continent (mainland Europe).
Nonetheless, it is still to his credit that he took the time and effort to visit
these breeders and develop his own variation of the so-called continental
system.

Graham explained that he would be going into hospital and along with
the Brown Twinspots, offered me three pairs of Grey-headed Olivebacks
Nesocharis capistrata and six pairs of Violet-eared Waxbills. I made
arrangements to collect the birds and on my arrival there was very impressed
by Graham’s set-up. An interesting feature of Graham’s birdroom was that
it had no windows, instead it had sections of polycarbonate sheeting in the
roof. The benefits of this are twofold: not only does it allow more light into
the room but it also means there is extra space along the internal walls. This
idea was brought back from the continent by Graham and would be beneficial
for whichever types of birds are kept.

Needless to say that on returning home with the birds I was eager to pair
them up. However, I decided to give them a couple of weeks to recuperate
during which they were caged individually as advised by Graham, who has
noted how birds of the same sex can be aggressive towards each other. This
also seemed to be the advice from the little information I could find in books.

Once the birds had settled in, the two females were paired to the two
best males. They were housed in cages measuring 100cm x 50cm x 50cm
(approx. 3ft 3V2in x 1 ft 772in x 1ft 7 Van). From Graham’s experience I
knew they would accept half-open-fronted nest-boxes and placed one at

CHANEY - BROWN TWINSPOT

33

each end of the cages. The nest-boxes, which were facing inwards, measured
12.5cm x 12.5cm x 12.5cm (approx. 5in x 5in x 5in), with 12mm (V2in)
mesh on the bottom of the boxes to allow the air to circulate and prevent the
nests from sweating. The boxes were half filled with clean hay and a variety
of other nesting materials including coconut fibre (both the natural and white
bleached types), bleached sisal and feathers were placed on the floor of the
cages.

Both pairs were soon entering the nest-boxes and although they were
not seen carrying nesting material, I was hopeful they would soon have
eggs. However, the birds appeared to be very shy and after watching them
closely during the next couple of weeks, I came to the conclusion that the
nest-boxes were being used only as a retreat when I entered the birdroom. I
tried placing new nesting material in the boxes and although the birds showed
an interest in moving this, they made no real attempt at nesting.

I decided I would have to try something different. Since my visit to
Graham I had been intending to build some bigger cages measuring lm x
1m x 1m (approx. 3ft Sin x 3ft 3in x 3ft 3in) and that seemed to be the right
time to do it. The birds were placed in the new cages at the beginning of
August 2002 and by the middle of that month one pair was observed taking
nesting material into a wicker nest basket. White feathers were used to line
the nest and a single large white feather was used to cover the entrance hole.
August 24th the first egg was produced and during the next three days a full
clutch of four eggs was laid.

With the thought in my mind that so far as I was aware this twinspot had
never before been bred in the UK, I decided to place the eggs under
Bengalese. I did this in the hope that after the Brown Twinspots had been
allowed to sit on dummy eggs for 13 days they would hopefully lay again,
and thankfully this proved to be the case. Of the four eggs which were
placed under Bengalese, only one was fertile and to my delight the egg
hatched September 11th. The chick was very similar to a Bengalese chick,
except that the white markings on the mouth were slightly larger. The chick
developed well and fledged October 3rd. It was left with its foster parents
until it was six weeks of age and had been seen feeding itself for a week. By
the time it had started to moult, a white spot was developing on its throat,
indicating that it was a female, which was just what I needed to help my
future breeding plans for the Brown Twinspots.

The second pair also produced eggs and during the next couple of months,
a total of seven young were reared to independence. All were reared using
Bengalese and of the seven, six turned out to be females. It was rather
ironic that whilst the Bengalese were rearing the twinspots, some Bengalese
eggs that I had placed under the twinspots had also hatched and the chicks
were approximately a week old before I noticed them. These were

34

CHANEY - BROWN TWINSPOT

successfully reared by the twinspots and will be used as foster parents.

Although in an ideal world I would like to have all my young parent-
reared, I feel it is essential, at least in the short term, to breed as many of
these birds as we can, so we have as large a stock as possible with which to
work. Once this has been achieved then parent-rearing can be tried.

The softfood mix I use is the one advised by Graham. It consists of 5kg
(approx. 111b) plain CeDe (canary), to which I add two packets of Jordan’s
wheat germ (with folic acid), 500g (approx, lib loz) mixed herbs, lh tin
Protifar (made by Neutricia, it is available from chemist shops/pharmacies,
and is used to increase the protein level of the softfood) and three level
teaspoons of Spirulina.

Once this basic mix has been made it can be stored in an airtight container
and the appropriate amount can be taken out when required. I originally
used the freshly squeezed juice of an orange to moisten it but I now use a
nectar mix. Any excess nectar is then diluted and given to the birds once or
twice a week in fountain drinkers. I have found that quite a few estrildids
seem to appreciate nectar, though care needs to be taken as some nectar
mixes can go off fairly quickly especially in hot weather. The nectar mix
recipe I use was given to me by a very experienced birdkeeper, who is a
fellow member of Plymouth Foreign Bird Club. It consists of one
dessertspoonful of acacia blossom honey, approximately Vs teaspoon of
Marmite (yeast extract) and three or four grains of pollen, to which I add
about half a cup of boiling water. It is stirred until the ingredients have
dissolved and left to cool before use. Any excess is then further diluted by
filling the cup with cold, boiled water and this is given in the drinkers.

On top of the moistened softfood I put frozen pinkies and buffalo worms
(which have been allowed to thaw out for at least 20 minutes), giving four
or five of each per pair per day. In addition the birds also receive a basic
seed mixture. This consists of 50% waxbill/estrildid mix and 50% Australian
finch mix, which provided them with a good variety of seeds. I used to use
the Voskes mixes but due to the difficulty in obtaining these I now use Versele-
Laga. I provide ad-lib in fountains, siskin mix to which I add weed seeds,
both of which are available from Rob Harvey Specialist Feeds. I also offer
ad-lib in separate dishes, oyster shell grit, pink pigeon minerals (powdered
form) and a small amount of fonio paddy.

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, 2003 was not a very good year
for me in the birdroom. I have now moved house and constructed a new
birdroom, and having been fortunate enough to purchase another three pairs
and four male Brown Twinspots, I am optimistic about my chances of success
this coming breeding season.

Having also been successful with the Grey-headed Olivebacks and Violet¬
eared Waxbills (albeit using Bengalese), I am convinced that the secret to

CHANEY - BROWN TWINSPOT

35

the successful breeding of estrildids lies in the feeding and keeping the birds
in a controlled environment, i.e. in cages in a birdroom. The trouble with
keeping mixed collections in outside aviaries is that you (and the birds) are
very much dependant on the British weather, in addition to which you usually
find that only two or three of the dominant pairs will breed successfully.
That said, there is no better way to watch your birds than in an outside
aviary on a warm summer day; just do not expect breeding success on a
regular basis. Obviously all birds are not the same, within the same species
as well as between different species, some experimentation with diet may
be needed to persuade some individuals or pairs to reproduce or, as Graham
puts it, to find what “flicks the switches” ! The urge to reproduce is a natural
instinct and provided with the right conditions I believe that most, if not all
birds, can be relied upon to act on this instinct.

Bibliography

Clement, P., Harris, A. and Davis, J. 1993. Finches and Sparrows. Christopher Helm/A & C
Black, London.

Goodwin, D. 1982. Estrildid finches of the world. British Museum (Natural History) and
Oxford University Press. London and Oxford.

As described above, the Brown Twinspot Clytospiza monteiri, had been
bred by Andy Chaney ( albeit using Bengalese). This is probably the first
successful breeding of this species in Great Britain or Ireland. Anyone who
knows of a previous breeding is asked to inform the Hon. Secretary.

36

LIVING COASTS
by Paul Boulden

Living Coasts is an enormous aviary of a striking, modem design located
on the quayside overlooking Torbay, the largest natural harbour in England.
It is a new venture by Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, dedicated to life
on the shoreline.

Living Coasts, Torquay, Devon.

The aviary is divided into sections inside and, although the birds can fly
into any area if they wish, at the time of my visit (November 2003) they
seemed content to remain in the area designed to meet their requirements.

The first exhibit is the Penguin Beach which houses groups of Gentoo
Penguins Pygoscelis papua and African Penguins Spheniscus demersus
which have access to a landscaped beach and a saltwater pool with a wave
machine. Although Living Coasts had only been open for a few months the
African Penguins already had chicks in their nest burrows. It was interesting
to observe the behavioural differences between the two species, the African
Penguins spent most of their time on the land whilst the Gentoo could be
seen swimming at speed in the pool.

The second section is the Auk Cliff which consists of an artificial cliff,
incorporating nesting ledges, and a deep pool, also with a wave machine.
The stars of this section are the Pigeon Guillemots Cepphus columba which,
together with the Long-tailed Ducks Clangula hyemalis, can through huge
acrylic windows be viewed swimming underwater. This presents an
interesting chance to compare the different swimming styles of the two

BOULDEN - LIVING COASTS

37

species, the guillemots ‘fly’ through the water using their wings for propulsion
whilst the Long-tailed Ducks use their wings only for the initial dive then
use their feet to swim and steer. There are also five Tufted Puffins Fratercula
cirrhata which are rather less active than the guillemots but will make up
for this with their spectacular breeding plumage.

Visitors then move past a display of Black Rats Rattus rattus to the Wader
Estuary where a large pool is bordered by beaches and planted areas providing
suitable nest sites for the species on display, these include: Pied Avocet
Recurvirostris avosetta, Black necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus , Common
Redshank Tringa totanus, Ruff Philomachus pugnax and Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa. Wading birds form a significant ornithological group but
are not often represented in avicultural collections. It was an impressive
sight to see a mixed flock of up to 80 waders flying from one side of the
pool to the other in response to the shrill piping alarm calls of the Redshanks.
It is to be hoped that the Ruffs will demonstrate their unusual lek displays in
the spring. This area was also the main hang-out for the gulls and terns,
these include Inca Terns Laro sterna inca, Common Terns Sterna hirundo
and Red-legged Kitti wakes Rissa brevirostris.

The last bird exhibit is the Sea Duck Pool, which like the other exhibits,
uses seawater pumped in from Torbay. The water is passed through a filter
to remove large objects and debris but plankton can pass through to help
create a more naturalistic environment with extra feeding opportunities as
the zooplankton matures into small crabs and fish, etc. The ducks on display
have adapted well to saltwater even though they were reared on freshwater.
There were some fears that their salt glands might not have been able to
cope but these fears were unfounded and the ducks are in superb condition.
Species on display include Common Eider Somateria mollissima. Spectacled
Eider S.fischeri, King Eider S. spectablis , Black (Common) Scoter Melanitta
nigra, Barrow’s Goldeneye Encephala icelandica and more Long-tailed
Duck.

The displays are rounded off by a group of four South American Fur
Seals Arctocephalus australis. To help visitors appreciate and understand
Living Coasts there are also interactive displays and educational material.
All in all it is a wonderful show of a previously neglected but fascinating
area of aviculture that will provide many ideas for anyone wishing to
investigate something different.

38

THE PRESIDENT’S GARDEN PARTY 2003

by Christopher Brack

The President’s Garden Party was held on Sunday July 13th, again by
kind invitation of our President Miss Ruth Ezra and Vice President Raymond
Sawyer. Not being a professional aviculturist (but a mammal keeper at a
German zoo), it was with some trepidation that I agreed to write this account
of the garden party. Stewart Pyper rather sprung it on me, saying “You will
do it won’t you”, just before leaving.

It was the first time Ulrike and myself had attended an Avicultural Society
social event and throughout the day both of us were made to feel very
comfortable and relaxed. Raymond very kindly met us at the railway station
and we arrived at Chestnut Lodge at the same time as Chairman Christopher
Marler and Richard his Curator.

After meeting Miss Ezra we were treated to a tour of Chestnut Lodge
which was a delight. The paintings were stunning, I especially liked the
study of the now extinct Pink-headed Duck in its typical erect-necked posture.
Miss Ezra’s father, Alfred Ezra, through his brother Sir David Ezra in
Calcutta, received five of these ducks in 1925 and 10 more in 1929, several
of which in 1925-1938 visitors to Foxwarren Park were privileged to see.
Presented to Raymond on behalf of the society by the late Ken Lawrence
(then Chairman) in 1999, a spectacular painting depicted 15 species all bred

Christopher Brack

Raymond (left) and John A. Ellis, Curator of Birds, Zoological of London.

BRACK - THE PRESIDENT’S GARDEN PARTY

39

Christopher Brack

Chistopher Marler announcing the award of the society’s medal to
P. J. Cleeton for the first UK breeding of the House Crow.

for the first time in the UK at Chestnut Lodge. A black and white photo
showed a very young David Attenborough and Raymond, with Raymond’s
Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, which had just won the award for the Best
Foreign exhibit at Olympia in the 1950s.

England was enjoying a heatwave at the time of our visit and out in the
garden it was sweltering hot. I had never before seen so many men wearing
Panama hats! A lot of the birds had taken refuge from the heat, though not a
group of Red-billed Choughs, which remained active despite such hot
weather. Raymond has had some of them since the 1980s. The aviaries all

40

BRACK - THE PRESIDENT'S GARDEN PARTY

looked immaculate. We watched Carmine and White-throated Bee-eaters
catching mealworms in flight, tossed to them by Raymond, who pointed to
John A. Ellis, Curator of Birds, Zoological Society of London, sitting on a
bench watching and with a wry smile said: “He’s eyeing up my bee-eaters.”
I later learnt that John wanted some for the Bird House at London Zoo, and
was trying to persuade Raymond to part with some.

A beautiful pair of Purple-throated Fruitcrows silhouetted against the
green lawn, the male with his dazzling iridescent purple throat, was a definite
highlight to be savoured. I failed to see Raymond’s 4 johnstonV - his Scarlet-
tufted Malachite Sunbird - which was hiding away because of the heat. The
heat though did not seem to be bothering the African Pygmy Geese. The
male Purple-breasted Cotinga Cotinga cotinga looked fantastic.

Growing in the tropical house was a fantastic Cycad, which judging by
its size, must be at least 100 years old! Raymond nurtured it back to life
after acquiring it in a desolate state. In the Japanese-style courtyard,
suiTounded by bonsai, two pools contained Koi Carp. Another of Raymond’s
loves I particularly wanted to see were the two Aldabran Giant Tortoises
hatched at Chestnut Lodge - a European first. Unfortunately, one had died,
but Roy Girdler showed me the other, which was heavy and was a real
handful. Jan Louwman has since told me that a French private collector
also bred this species last year.

Towards the end of the afternoon 95 members and their guests, along
with the tame Stanley, Paradise or Blue Crane, gathered on the lawn to enjoy
the delights of a wonderful tea. Following which, Chairman Christopher
Marler announced the award of the society’s medal for the first UK breeding
of the House Crow Corvus splendens to P. J. Cleeton, which was presented
to him by the President Miss Ruth Ezra. Christopher then wound up the
proceedings by thanking Miss Ezra and Raymond for their warm hospitality.
All too quickly the wonderful afternoon came to an end.

* * *

THE PRESIDENT’S GARDEN PARTY 2004

This year the President’s Garden Party will be held on Saturday July
10th, again at Chestnut Lodge, Cobham, Surrey. You are advised to book
early to avoid disappointment.

41

BOOK REVIEWS

BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES

Birds of the West Indies by Herbert Raffaele, James Wiley, Orlando
Garrido, Allan Keith and Janis Raffaele is a nice neat, attractive, easy-to-
use 226-page paperback guide, as I discovered when after some 15 minutes
I was eventually driven to using a razor blade to cut through the cling film¬
like cellophane it came sealed in.

The primary and laudable goal of this guide is stated to be to promote an
interest in birds among the local people of the Caribbean islands. Adding
that it is only when people appreciate and respect their wildlife that they
come to protect it. The West Indies are taken to include all the islands of
the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Lesser
Antilles, San Andres and Providencia. Omitted are Trinidad and Tobago
and other islands off the north coast of South America. Though Trinidad
and Tobago appear contiguous to the Lesser Antilles, their origins, and
consequently their birdlife, are entirely different.

Birds of the West Indies has 94 colour plates (not 92 as stated on the back
cover and in the press release). The principal illustrators are Tracy Pedersen
and Kristin Williams, supported by Cynthie Fisher, Don Radovich and Bart
Rulon. There are roughly seven to eight species per plate, some have less,
some have more, and the fairly brief field guide-type species accounts are
on the page opposite the appropriate plate, as are small, colour-coded,
distribution maps for selected species.

The 564 species covered in the guide include resident species that breed
in the West Indies, North American migrants that winter there or pass through
on migration and a number of introduced species, amongst them the Collared
Dove, Village Weaver, Pin-tailed Whydah, Orange and Yellow-crowned
Bishops, Red Avadavat, Black-rumped and Orange-cheeked Waxbills, Java
Sparrow, Indian Silverbill and several mannikins. Also included are several
species considered by some to be extinct, but which the authors feel might
be rediscovered after having gone undetected for many years. Not included
are at least 15 species of parrot said to have become extinct in the West
Indies during historic time! One, the Cuban Macaw, plus a subspecies of
the Hispaniolan Parakeet or Conure and of the Puerto Rican Parrot, are on
the list of Extinct and Extirpated West Indian birds included in this guide,
which also has lists of those Critically Endangered (which include the Puerto
Rican, St Vincent and Imperial Parrots), Endangered or Threatened.

Helm Field Guides, Birds of the West Indies , is published in the UK by
Christopher Helm, an imprint of A & C Black Publishers Ltd., London.
Price £16.99

Malcolm Ellis

42

BOOK REVIEWS

WHOSE BIRD?

If you have ever wondered who Fischer was, or Jackson, Von der Decken,
Lady Amherst after whom the pheasant is named, or any of the many other
people after whom birds are named, the answers are likely to be found in
Whose Bird? Men and women commemorated in the common names of birds
by Bo Beolens and Michael Watkins. “In a series of delightful vignettes we
are introduced to a cast of intriguing characters: heroic adventurers, library-
bound boffins, aristocratic patrons, mysterious lover, fortunate schoolboys,
respectable scientists and caddish charlatans” each of whom has achieved
immortality through having one or more birds named after them.

Altogether 2,246 birds according to the cover, 2,235 according to the
publisher’s press release, and an astonishing 1 ,124 individuals are included
in this 400-page paperback. Even then there are some notable omissions,
the authors have failed to discover the identity of Pesquet, after whom
Pesquet’s Parrot is named and surprisingly perhaps did not learn of Lilford’s
Crane until it was too late for it to be included. I was able to come up with
a number of birds from my days at London Zoo, amongst them Baillon’s
Aracari, Heine’s Hummingbird, Schrank’s, Petre’s and Mrs Wilson’s
Tanagers, which the authors missed and will include in any future edition.
Daniel Shearing, who typesets the magazine and whose father was Curator
for Alfred Ezra at Foxwarren Park, came up with Ezra’s Sunbird Aethopyga
nipalensis ezrai.

These like a good many of the names to be found in this book have over
the years fallen into disuse while others, I suspect, were never in common
usage. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating book useful for reference purposes or
merely to ‘dip’ into from time to time and read about the travels of many of
the early naturalists and explorers and others who have birds named after
them. There is D’ Amaud, Duyvenbode, Fischer (Georg, Gustav and Johann),
Goffin, John and Lady Gould, Hartlaub, Leadbeater and many others
including Jackson, Von der Decken and Lady Amherst. Lady Ross’s or Ross’s
Turaco I learnt is named after Lady Ann Ross (who kept one in captivity on
St Helena for 10 years), the wife of Rear-Admiral Sir James Clark Ross
after whom Ross’s Gull, as well as the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf (but
not Ross’s Goose) are named. Our late President, Jean Delacour, has three
birds (a fireback pheasant, a broadbill and a grebe) named after him, there
was even Ellis’ Sandpiper Prosobonia ellisi, now sadly extinct!

Whose Bird? Men and women commemorated in the common names of
birds (ISBN 0-7 1 36-6647- 1 ) by Bo Beolens and Michael Watkins , foreword
by Ben Schott, is published by Christopher Helm, an imprint of A & C
Black Publishers Ltd., London. Price £17.99.

Malcolm Ellis

43

NEWS & VIEWS
IMPORTANT NEW ARRIVALS

Towards the end of 2003 , Dr Lorenzo Crosta travelled from Loro Parque,
Tenerife, to Sao Paulo Zoo, Brazil, to exchange Loro Parque’s infertile old
male Spix’s Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii for a new male. Sao Paulo Zoo holds
seven Spix’s Macaws. Out of a choice of three possible males, the male
with the most developed testes was taken back to Loro Parque to join the
female bred there several years ago.

Other important new arrivals at Loro Parque included three pairs of
Purple-bellied Lories Lorius hypoinochrous from a Danish breeder and three
young examples of the Ouvean subspecies of the Horned Parakeet
Eunymphicus cornutus uvaeensis from a German breeder. Both are said to
be the only examples of their species on public exhibition in Europe.

* * *

FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE

Last year two Red-crested Cardinals Paroaria coronota were successfully
fledged at Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, two Red-billed Leiothrix or Pekin
Robins Leiothrix lutea were fledged at Houston Zoo, a further two (out of
three) were fledged at North Carolina Zoo and two Red-crested Cardinals
were fledged in the free-flight aviary at Detroit Zoo. What is particularly
notable about these breedings is that the parents were caught the previous
year in Hawaii, where these species are amongst a number of introduced
species which thrive there.

In October 2002, staff from Audubon, Brookfield, Louisville, North
Carolina and Toledo Zoos travelled to Hawaii to collect Red-crested
Cardinals, Red-billed Leiothrix or Pekin Robins and other introduced species
such as Japanese White-eyes Zosterops japonica and Shamas Copsychus
malabaricus, which are recommended for zoological exhibition by the
Regional Collection Plan of the AZA (American Zoo and Aquarium
Association) Passerine TAG (Taxon Advisory Group). Over a period of
four weeks, a total of 162 birds were collected from the wild in and around
Honolulu. These were later shipped to 14 North American zoos. A great
deal of experience was gained, as well as vital information that will be useful
on any future collecting trips.

* * *

BEE-EATER WEBSITE

William Wilson is researching bee-eaters in captivity and is interested in
obtaining information about these birds. He is currently constructing a
website on the subject. It can be viewed at: www.merop.co.uk

44

NEWS & VIEWS

JUNGLEFOWL BREEDING PROGRAMME

In India, Delhi Zoo is planning a breeding programme for the Red
Junglefowl Gallus gallus, in the hope of eventually being able to reintroduce
this species back into areas from which it has disappeared. Because of
interbreeding with domestic fowl, the zoo will have to be especially careful
to ensure that the birds it breeds from are of a pure strain. Such birds are
still to be found deep in the forests well away from villages.

* * *

DO YOU KEEP BLUE-BELLIED ROLLERS?

The Blue-bellied Roller Coracias cyanogaster has been kept in UK
collections over the past few years, with several successful breedings and
then a steady decline, so that by early 2003 only a handful of birds were left.
Then last autumn several Blue-bellied Rollers were imported into the UK in
an attempt to establish a viable breeding group. A total of 18 birds, 5.5.8 are
now held in six collections including London Zoo, Cots wold Wildlife Park,
Marwell Zoological Park, Suffolk Wildlife Park, Leeds Castle and that of
Ben Potterton in Norfolk. Elsewhere this West and Central African species
is also maintained by breeders in the Netherlands and France and is managed
in US collections by Tim Snyder at Birmingham Zoo, Alabama, who
maintains a studbook of 78 birds in 19 collections.

If you currently keep Blue-bellied Rollers or have experience of keeping
them, Ben Potterton, Blacksmiths Cottage, Langmere Road, Langmere, Nr.
Diss, Norfolk IP21 4QA, UK, Tel:01379 740982/E-mail:Benpotterton
@ aol.com, would like to hear from you.

* * *

HELP NEEDED TO SAVE MADAGASCAR WETLANDS

BirdLife International is appealing urgently for donations to help save
the Madagascar wetlands. The island of Madagascar probably has a higher
proportion of endemic species than any other large landmass on earth. This
includes about 120 endemic bird species. Nearly three-quarters of
Madagascar’s most threatened birds are wetland species and their habitat is
being destroyed. Two of them - the Madagascar Pochard Ay thy a innotata
and the Alaotra Grebe Tachybaptus rufolavatus - may already be extinct.
The last Madagascar Pochard was found entangled in a fisherman’s net in
1991 and no others have been found since. Last seen in the late 1980s, the
grebe may have become extinct as a result of gillnet fishing and falling prey
to an introduced carnivorous fish.

Donations can be sent to the Madagascar Appeal, BirdLife International,
Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CBS ONA, UK. Tel: +44(0)1223
279853/Website: www.birdlife.org

NEWS & VIEWS

45

ADJUTANT AND RARE MACAW BRED IN USA

The Wildlife Conservation Society Annual Report 2003, records how
last year the Ornithology Department at Bronx Zoo, successfully hatched
and reared three Adjutant Storks Leptoptilos dubius, a record- setting event
for a North American zoo. The success came after it was earlier discovered
that these stork chicks require twice the amount of calcium as other chicks,
so each fish and mouse fed to the three chicks was injected with a high-
calcium formula.

Funded by New York City Department of Parks - America’s Only Parrot
- an exhibit housing Thick-billed Parrots Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha, is
due to open this spring at the WCS’s Queens Zoo. The birds will be prepared
for release into the wild and used to introduce visitors to the work of WCS
field scientists. Queens Zoo Director Robin Dalton and Central Park Zoo
Assistant Curator Yula Kapetenakos have taken part in research projects in
Mexico to study this parrot in its natural habitat.

The WCS’s offsite St. Catherines Survival Center, Georgia, has the only
captive group of Blue-headed Macaws Ara couloni in the USA, and last
year celebrated the first captive breeding of this species in North America.
The WCS is developing a programme with field biologists in Peru to
investigate the ecological requirements of this little known macaw which
lives in small, scattered groups in the western Amazon Basin, eastern Peru
and north-western Bolivia.

A new bird facility at St. Catherines Survival Center, the Yoke Aviary,
has 11 interconnected enclosures which currently house Vulturine
Guineafowl Aery Ilium vulturinum, Crestless Fireback Pheasants Lophura
erythropthalma and Buff-crested Bustards Lophotis ( Eupodotis ) gindiana.

You can visit the WCS website at: www.wcs.org

* * *

MAJOR NEW THREAT TO ST VINCENT PARROT

It was reported in Cyanopsitta No.71, December 2003, that a proposed
project to cut a road from east to west across the mountainous spine of the
island of St Vincent, could pose a major new threat to the St Vincent Parrot
Amazona guildingii. Financed by a loan and a grant from the government
in Taiwan, the proposed road would open-up the central forests which until
now have been difficult to access. Experience suggests that people will
colonise areas opened-up by the road, causing disturbance and leading to an
increase in the poaching of young parrots from their nests.

The most recent census in 2002, estimated that the present population
on the island numbers 519 birds, compared to an average of 532 from the
five censuses undertaken between 1988-1999. Thirty are held in captivity
at the Calvin Nichols Wildlife Complex in the botanical gardens and another

46

NEWS & VIEWS

29 are in private hands. At the Calvin Nichols Wildlife Complex, a pair
fledged one chick in 200 1 , two pairs each fledged a chick in 2002 and two
pairs each produced two chicks in 2003.

A number of others are held in captivity outside of the island, at least 78
of them outside of the St Vincent Parrot Conservation Consortium (SVPCC).

* * *

FLYING FREE

Five California Condors Gymnogyps calif ornianus , three females and
two males from San Diego Wild Animal Park, six condors from Los Angeles
Zoo and one from The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey,
Boise, Idaho, a total of six pairs, are being sent to Oregon Zoo’s new
California Condor Conservation Center. More than 80 California Condors
are now flying free in the skies above parts of California, Arizona and Mexico,
and it is hoped to reintroduce this species into the skies above Oregon, from
which it has been absent for nearly 100 years. For more information you
can visit: SanDiegoZoo.org/wap/condors

* * *

LONGEST-LIVED FLAMINGO

In 1962, when Lake Natron, northern Tanzania, their main East African
nesting place was full of water, an estimated 1,100,000 Lesser Flamingos
Phoeniconaias minor nested at Lake Magadi, southern Kenya. However,
the legs of thousands of the chicks hatched there became encrusted with
soda and a rescue had to be undertaken.

In 1 997, one of the 8,000 young Lesser Flamingos ringed (banded) during
the rescue was found dead in Western Sahara over 6,000km (approx. 3,800
miles) to the west, providing the first evidence of a link between the large
East African population and the smaller West African population. Then on
July 13 th 2003, another of the rescued birds, ringed October 30th 1962, was
found dead at Lake Bogoria, Kenya. Aged approximately 40 years and nine
months, it is believed to be the longest-lived Lesser Flamingo ever recorded.

* * *

BREEDING STORM’S STORK

In Zoonooz January 2004, Michael Mace, Curator of Birds, San Diego
Wild Animal Park, described how in 1995, Malaysia’s Zoo Negara sent four
Storm’s Storks Ciconia stormi, thought to be two to three years of age, to
the Zoological Society of San Diego. One pair is housed at San Diego Zoo
and the other pair at San Diego Wild Animal Park.

It was a few years before the birds showed any interest in nest building.

NEWS & VIEWS

47

Then the pair housed off-exhibit at the park’s bird breeding complex started
to develop deeper facial colouring, a sign that breeding could be imminent.
The female laid one egg every other day until she had a clutch of four chalky
white eggs. Because of the species’ rarity the eggs were removed and placed
in an incubator. They hatched after 29 days and the chicks were sent to the
zoo’s Avian Propagation Center, where keepers fed, monitored and cared
for the chicks, which a few months later were transferred back to the wild
animal park. Following this initial success the pair has been allowed to
raise its own young. To date, seven Storm’s Storks have been added to the
captive population through the park’s breeding programme for this
Endangered stork.

Only an estimated 300 remain in the wild, most of them in Indonesia,
with possibly 150 of these in Sumatra. This species is also found in Peninsular
Malaysia, Kalimantan (Borneo) and possibly southern Thailand.

* * *

END OF YEAR REPORT

In 2003, Burgers’ Zoo, Arnhem, the Netherlands, bred 14 Hooded Pittas
Pitta sordida, seven Green-naped Pheasant Pigeons Otidiphaps n. nobilis,
two European Sea Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla, a King Vulture Sarcorhamphus
papa , a Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus and, for the first time, a
European Black Vulture Aegypius monachus was successfully raised by it
parents. A female Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus was also successfully
raised by its parents. Marc Damen believes this may be the first time in
Europe that Roadrunners have succeeded in rearing their own young. A
Wrinkled Hombill Aceros corrugatus died shortly before fledging.

Species added to the collection during 2003, included Little Bitterns
Ixobrychus minutus , Chukar Partridges Alectoris chukar, Crested Tinamous
Eudromia elegans. Greater Prairie Chickens Tympanuchus cupido and Guira
Cuckoos Guira guira. The cuckoos have already reared five young.

* * *

KEN DOLTON 1925 - 2003

On December 1 3th 2003 , 1 lost my dear friend Ken Dolton and the society
lost a greatly valued and popular Vice President. Ken and I shared many
interests - birds, tortoises, fish and plants - and a very similar sense of humour.
I am devastated to have lost yet another dear friend. Ken and his wife Mo
(Mona) were frequent visitors to Cobham. Also, we made three visits together
to Florida, where we had the most wonderful times as guests of fellow Vice
President The Rev. Ramon Noegel and Greg Moss, visited Bern Levine at
Parrot Jungle, Miami, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where although

48

KEN DOLTON

obviously extremely busy preparing for the grand opening, Grenville Roles
was outstanding and so kind entertaining us during our day there.

We also visited many zoos in Europe and the USA as part of a group
which included Ken’s close friend, Dominique Tropeano, owner of
Colchester Zoo, who also remembers Ken’s wonderful sense of humour.
He remembers Ken’s love, respect and understanding of animals and plants,
and how knowledgeable he was about them. He also remembers how Ken
would never mince his words, as far as Ken was concerned black was black
and white was white. Together with his common sense and knowledge of
the building industry, all these would, he believes, have made Ken an
excellent zoo director.

Ken joined the Avicultural Society in 1953, he was elected to the council
in 1980 and became a Vice President in 1994. The society had been invited
to view his collection four times with the most recent visit being on August
31st 2002, which was his and Mo’s 55th wedding anniversary. Mo always
accompanied him to the society’s meetings and social events.

Ken had kept birds for over 60 years. He loved his birds and was still
acquiring stock up until a few weeks before he died. Ken specialised in
parrots and the collection he had assembled at Parklands, ranged from
Hyacinth Macaws to Budgerigars and from Leadbeater’s Cockatoos to Thick¬
billed Parrots. Awarded the society’s medal for the first breeding in the UK
of the Thick-billed Parrot, Ken was proud of having built up the stocks of
this species in the UK. He was also awarded the society’s medal for the first
UK breeding of the Yellow-naped Amazon. For his breeding of
Duyvenbode’s Lory, Ken received the society’s Certificate of Merit, having
just been beaten to the medal by Rosemary Low and Bob Grantham.

Although specialising in parrots, Ken also kept a large selection of
waterfowl, including several species of swans and also kept cranes. Like
myself, he had albino wallabies and tortoises, and had assembled the largest
collection of tortoises in the UK. He also had a large collection of fish. A
noted horticulturist as well, Ken was proud of his plants and especially proud
of his orchard with all the varieties of apple tree native to Worcestershire.

Ken was very much a family man and on behalf of our President Miss
Ruth Ezra, fellow officers of the society and the membership, I have extended
our deepest sympathy at the sad loss to his widow, Mo, and family (who
plan to maintain the collection).

Raymond Sawyer

BLUE AND GOLD MACAW RETURNS TO TRINIDAD

Almost 40 years after they were last seen in the wild there, Blue and
Gold Macaws Am ararauna have been returned to Trindad’s Nariva Swamp,
designated a protected area under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in
1992. With help from the Wildlife Section of Trinidad’s Forestry Division,
the Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago,
and Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, the first birds, a small flock of 14
wild-caught Blue and Gold Macaws from Guyana were in 1999 and 2000
reintroduced into the 15,000 acre (approx. 6,000 hectare) swamp on the east
coast of the island. More than half of them have survived and to date the
nine adults have produced 12 chicks.

Last December, to improve genetic diversity, zoo officials helped to
release a further 20 macaws.

* * *

NEW WATERBIRD AVIARY

A new waterbird aviary measuring some 250m (approx. 820ft) in
circumference x 45m (approx. 148ft) at its highest point, was built during
the wintpr at Longleat, near Warminster, Wilts. The aviary houses 40 Chilean
Flamingos Phoenicopterus chilensis , Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus,
Ringed Teal Callonetta leucophrys, North American Wood Duck or Carolina
Aix sponsa and whistling ducks Dendrocygna spp. Unlike in most
collections, the flamingos will be full-winged and there will be the possibility
of seeing them flying.

Longleat, which has been successful breeding pelicans, now has 1 6 Pink-
backed Pelicanus rufescens and eight Eastern White P. onocrotalus. It also
has a solitary male Spot-billed P philippensis , thought to be the only one in
the UK, for which the park would like to find a mate.

* * *

CONGRATULATIONS

Members will wish to offer their hearty congratulations to President Miss
Ruth Ezra and Vice President Raymond Sawyer, on their marriage on
Wednesday April 14th, and offer them their very best wishes for their future
happiness together.

CONTENTS

The behaviour of Struthio camelus australis at Belo Horizonte

Zoo, Brazil: evaluating causes of breeding failure

by Herlandes Penha Tinoco and Angela Bemadete Faggioli . 1

A history of the genus Picathartes in captivity, 1948-2002
by Marvin L. Jones . 9

Breeding the White-eared Bulbul

by Gary Bralsford . 17

Breeding the Red Bird of Paradise at Chester Zoo

by Roger Wilkinson, Wayne McLeod, Darren Langford and

Paul Morris . 20

Collated data on the Brown Twinspot Clytospiza monteiri
by Neville Brickell . 28

Breeding success with the Brown Twinspot Clytospiza monteiri
by Andy Chaney . 32

Living Coasts

by Paul Boulden . 36

The President’s Garden Party 2003

by Christopher Brack . 38

Book Reviews
Birds of the West Indies
Whose Bird? .

News & Views .

Obituary - Ken Dolton ..

Published by the Avicultural Society, England.
Produced by Data Publishing Service, Cheddar.