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AVICULTURAL
MAGAZINE
VOLUME 111
No. 4
2005
THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY
The Avicultural Society was founded in 1 894 for the study of British and
foreign birds in the wild and in captivity. The Society is international in
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AVICULTURAL MAGAZINE..
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ADDRESS OF THE EDITOR
Malcolm Ellis, Hon. Editor, The Avicultural Magazine, The Chalet, Hay
Farm, St. Breock, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7LL, England.
E-mail: editor@avisoc.co.uk
Avicultural Magazine
THE JOURNAL OF THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY
Vol. 1 1 1 - No. 4 All rights reserved ISSN 0005 2256 2005
RECORDS OF THE BREEDING OF THE GUIRA CUCKOO
Guira guira BETWEEN 1987-2004 IN FOUR GERMAN AND
SWISS zoos
by Herbert Schifter
Among Berlin Zoo’s acquisitions in 1987 were six Guira Cuckoos from
the zoo in San Carlos, Uruguay (Reinhard & Blaszkiewitz, 1988). Although
they had arrived only in June of that year, by October they had already
started to breed in an aviary in the Bird House. An attempt to artificially
rear the first three young was unsuccessful but shortly afterwards the adults
bred again in a wooden box and succeeded in rearing two young. Dr Reinhard
and Dr Blaszkiewitz’s report included a photo of a young Guira Cuckoo the
first day after it had hatched. In 1988 the Guira Cuckoos nested 1 1 times
and hatched no fewer than 43 young, 32 of which were reared successfully.
With so many offspring, the zoo felt able to donate six young to Wuppertal
Zoo in Germany and six to Zurich Zoo in Switzerland (Reinhard &
Blaszkiewitz, 1989).
At Berlin Zoo the Guira Cuckoos continued to breed successfully in
1 989 and that year hatched 42 young, 1 5 of which were given to other zoos.
In the Annual Report for 1989 published in the Berlin Zoo journal Bongo
Vol. 16, there was a photograph of a clutch of four very dark streaked eggs
and another photo showed Head Keeper Clemens Kuczynski with a hand-
reared bird. In 1 990 the Guira Cuckoos produced 25 young. Some of them
had to be hand-reared which created no problems for the keepers. The
following two years (1991 & 1992) there was no breeding activity but in
1993 they bred again and successfully reared three young. In 1994 seven
young were hatched but none of them were reared. This species did not
breed again until 2000 when five Guira Cuckoos imported recently from
Argentina were donated to the zoo. On that occasion the young had to be
hatched and reared artificially. In 2002 three more Guira Cuckoos were
reared by their parents and one was reared artificially. In 2003 five Guira
Cuckoos were reared and two more in 2004.
In the Bird House at Wuppertal Zoo the Guira Cuckoos received from
Berlin Zoo in 1988 reared 10 young in 1989, five of which were sent to
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SCHIFTER - GUIRA CUCKOO
other zoos. Thirteen young were reared in 1990, nine in 1991, seven in
1992 and three in 1993. In 1994, 1995 and 1996 the Guira Cuckoos were
less successful, rearing only two young each year but in 1 997 they had four
young. Only one was reared in 1998 but in 1999 there were no fewer than
12 young. During 2000 three young were reared, there was one in 2002 and
five in 2003 and one in 2004, bringing the number of Guira Cuckoos bred at
Wuppertal Zoo to 75.
The Guira Cuckoos donated by Berlin Zoo to Zurich Zoo in 1988 started
to breed within four months of their arrival, rearing first one youngster and
then breeding again in December when four more young were reared. In
1989 a total of 13 were reared at Zurich Zoo but only one was reared in
1990. In 1993 only one male and two female Guira Cuckoos survived at
Zurich Zoo. After both females died in 1 995 a further male and two females
were acquired in 1996. In 1999 Zurich Zoo no longer kept Guira Cuckoos.
In 2000 Wuppertal Zoo donated a male and three females to Basle Zoo in
Switzerland. They bred there successfully in 2001 and a photo showing
four young birds was included in the Annual Report for that year. The Guira
Cuckoos continued to breed there in the following years and were still being
kept in the collection December 31st 2004.
References
Coles, D. 1986. First Breeding Records for Birds Reared to Independence under Controlled
Conditions in the United Kingdom. Published by Dave Coles (website:dcbooks. co.uk).
Hopkinson, E. 1926. Records of birds bred in Captivity. H. F. & G. Witherby, London.
Neunzig, K. 1921. Fremdlandische Stubenvogel, Creutzsche Verlagsbuchhandlung.
Reinhard, R. and Blaszkiewitz, B. 1988. Bemerkenswerte Ereignisse in den Vogelrevieran des
Berliner Zoos im Jahr 1987. (1. Teil). Gefiederte Welt 1 12:233-236. (Schluss) Gefiederte Welt
112:261-262.
Reinhard, R. and Blaszkiewitz, B. 1989. Ornithologischer Jahresbericht 1988 fur den
Zoologischen Garten Berlin. Gefiederte Welt 113:339-341.
In his accompanying letter, Dr Schifter wrote that Neunzig (1921)
recorded that Guira Cuckoos were received by London Zoo in 1864 and this
species was imported later on several occasions and “in zoologischen Garten
meist vorhanden ” (which could be translated as “usually being present in
zoological gardens ”). On July 22nd 1886 the museum in Vienna received a
Guira Cuckoo from Vienna Zoo but it is not known when it was acquired by
the zoo. Dr Schifter found another record of a Guira Cuckoo which arrived
at Vienna Zoo on November 7th 1901 but survived only to June 14th 1903.
He believes that the first recorded breeding may be that by Lord Poltimore
in 1911, whose birds reared a single young one (Hopkinson, 1926, listed in
Coles, 1986). Dr Schifter saw his first live Guira Cuckoo in 1957 living in
the famous Bird House at Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark. He saw another one
in 1958 in Wassenaar Zoo in the Netherlands and a further one in 1959 in
the Bird House at London Zoo. - Ed.
147
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
by Bernard Sayers
It is strange that although, since my earliest recollections my life has
revolved around livestock and natural history, my parents and sister have no
similar predilections. Indeed, at best, they have been disinterested and, more
frequently, vehemently opposed to close contact with pets and nature.
I suppose that, in some respects, it was fortuitous that I was bom during
the latter part of the Second World War. During the war, and for several
years afterwards, food rationing dominated our lives and, as is customary
during periods of deprivation and adversity, my parents showed considerable
resourcefulness in becoming virtually self-sufficient. Local timber was
bought and cut into logs; our garden was planted with fruit trees, soft fruit
and vegetables; and, of more interest to me, we kept chickens for meat and
eggs and, because these attracted rats, we acquired a cat.
Although I was bom where I still live, which is close to the town centre
of Chelmsford, Essex, until recently our garden was bordered by land
belonging to a nearby dairy farm. Neighbours recall me as a tiny tot lugging
baskets of windfall apples and carrots mstled from my father’s garden into
a nearby field and standing surrounded by a jostling circle of 40-50 cows
whilst these delicacies were shared around. Of course, in those days livestock,
particularly in a semi-rural area, was far more part of everyday life than it is
now. Milkmen had horse-drawn carts, much of the farm work was still
done by heavy horses and not far from my home there were horse-drawn
barges on the Chelmer Navigation Canal. So I was able to set off with
apples, slices of bread and carrots to feed these magnificent animals and,
sometimes, if I was lucky, the horsemen would lift me up onto a Shire or
Suffolk Punch and I was allowed to ride on it for a short distance.
Enchanting though the domestic livestock was, I yearned to have
something more exotic. Eventually my parents, somewhat reluctantly, agreed
to me saving my pocket money to buy a tortoise. The great day came when
in a local pet shop I proudly handed over 7/6 (approx. 37p or US$0.65) for
a Greek Tortoise Testudo graeca - indeed it was only about 1 0 years ago that
it died after some 40 years in captivity. A little while afterwards I acquired
a guinea pig and occasionally Slow Worms Auguis fragilis , Grass Snakes
Matrix matrix and Common Lizards Lacerta vivipara, which I had caught on
the suiTounding farmland and commons, were kept and admired for a few
days or weeks and then released. Unbeknown to my parents, I also kept two
Adders Vipera berus , which I had caught, but I found them to be timid and
reluctant to feed so soon released them. There were Badgers Meles meles
living nearby and my abiding wish was to acquire a Badger cub. I scoured
the surrounding hedgerows and woodland for Badger setts, which were quite
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SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
plentiful, and attempted to crawl or reach into them to extract the inhabitants.
Knowing, as I do now, how powerful Badgers are, it is a mercy that I was
never successful.
By the time I had reached 10 years old, the situation looked pretty bleak.
Our cat and the guinea pig had died and, the wartime shortages having ceased,
the chickens had been disposed of. My parents remained reluctant to allow
my interests in natural history free rein and the highlight of my year was
when we climbed into my father’s Ford Prefect for a day trip to London
Zoo, which, to my mind, was little short of heaven on earth. On TV, I avidly
watched George Cansdale, Superintendent of London Zoo, who used to bring
various mammals, birds and reptiles to the television studios and Armand
and Michaela Dennis who showed their films of African wildlife. What I
desperately wanted though was personal involvement and I was allowed to
have a tank of tropical fish and start a museum.
It was an era when a lot of grand houses were going out of private
ownership and there was very little interest in taxidermy and native weapons
and artefacts. Even with my small amount of pocket money, I quickly
amassed a considerable quantity of cased birds and fish, big game trophies,
native weapons, tom-toms and endless other items which quickly filled the
house to overflowing. As a solution, I decided to build a garden shed in
which much of my cherished collection would be housed. For, about a year,
I did gardening for neighbours, ran errands, did work for local farmers and
finally, with money received on my birthday, I had amassed £20
(approx. US$35) - a huge sum to a 12 year old lad in 1956. A sturdy shed
was quickly built and my museum was moved into it, but truth be told, my
collecting had been so successful that the shed only accommodated the
overspill and my real treasures still filled the house.
Although I was immensely proud of my museum, it still lacked the
stimulus and interest of keeping and breeding livestock. It was then that I
hit upon a scheme that overcome my parents’ refusal to let me keep birds or
mammals. I made a magnificent box-style bird cage to practise my carpentry
skills even though my parents had emphasised over and over again that I
would not be permitted to find an occupant for it. Although I assured them
that I had no intention of acquiring any birds, with hindsight, I must admit
that my plan showed a high order of duplicity. A local milkman was well
known for breeding and exhibiting budgerigars and from him I bought a
light green cock. I knew that I could not take it home, but I had a strategy
carefully worked out, whereby a neighbour agreed to take temporary custody
of the bird and later in the day would call at our home and claim that the
budgerigar was an escapee he had caught in his garden and, since he had
heard that I had an empty cage, would I please look after it until the owner
came forward? Of course, the owner never did appear, and once the
budgerigar was settled in my parents could not find a way of disposing of it
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
149
so I was allowed to keep it. Soon, my cock budgerigar was pining for a
companion, or so I assured my parents, and I was allowed to buy another
cock budgerigar, but through my ineptitude - or was it cunning, of which I
am now bitterly ashamed - the blue cock proved to be a blue hen. Before
long, aged just \2lh years old, I was breeding baby budgerigars for the
Christmas trade.
In those days budgerigars were enjoying immense popularity as pets
and, at Christmas, babies six to 10 weeks old sold for 30/- (£1.50 or
approx. USS2. 60) each. My first nest of four young brought me £6
(approx.US$10) which I could spend on seed or perhaps extend my stock
by another pair. The budgerigars’ breeding cage stood on a table in our
lounge and my parents were becoming increasingly distraught with their
wayward son’s activities. My father sat me down and the deal he offered
was that if I disposed of my museum and the tropical fish, my garden shed
could be converted into a birdroom and I would also be permitted to have a
garden aviary. Wrench though it was to dispose of my museum, I agreed,
because in my mind I could picture rows of aviaries with macaws, cockatoos,
toucans and other exotics. So, the tropical fish and accessories were disposed
of and my cherished collection of taxidermy, ethnic and other curios, which
filled a large van, was sold to an antique shop for £9 (approx.US$I5). Today
the collection would have been worth thousands!
The proceeds from the sale of the tropical fish and museum paid for the
materials I needed to build my outside aviary and additional breeding cages.
My bird collection quickly multiplied and soon I had a permanent stock of
around 30 budgerigars and a pair of Golden Pheasants Chrysolophus pictus.
The budgerigars and pheasants both bred well and the money I made from
selling the young was ploughed back into my hobby and, in addition, I worked
weekends and holidays to earn extra money. This income though enabled
me to do little better than stand still. It is true that I did gradually add
another couple of small aviaries and bought a few common foreign birds
such as Village Weavers Ploceus cucullatus, known then as Rufous-necked
Weavers, Java Sparrows Padda oryzivora and Black-headed Munias
Lonchura malacca, known then as Black-headed Nuns, but the collection
fell well short of my dreams. Although I bred Java Sparrows, the others did
no better than produce infertile eggs so there was little income to pay for
replacements when I suffered the occasional mortality.
In 1960, at the age of 16, 1 joined the Marconi Company as a technician
apprentice. I thought that my wages would provide the funds for major
expansion, but how wrong I was. My wages were £3 (a little over US$5)
per week and after weekly deductions to pay for my overalls and tool kit,
the cost of bus fares to technical college and paying my mother for my keep,
I had very little left to finance the major expansion. Clearly radical action
was required.
150
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
The solution I hit upon, was to become an importer. I reasoned that
dealers bought their stock from the wholesalers mainly in Holland and
Belgium, or they received them direct from source. If I obtained birds in
this way, they would obviously be cheaper and if I imported a few extra
birds, these could be sold at a profit to subsidise the cost of those I kept. So,
at the age of 1 8, 1 became an importer - albeit in a very small way. The plan
worked very well and soon my collection had grown both in terms of the
number of aviaries and the number and variety of species they contained. I
had Fischer’s Lovebirds Agapornis fischeri, Indian Ring-necked Parakeets
Psittacula krameri , Senegal Parrots Poicephalus senegalus, Purple Glossy
Starlings Lamprotornis purpureus, Paradise Whydahs Vidua sp. and the
piece de resistance - a magnificent pair of Scarlet Macaws Ara macao. The
macaws cost £60 (just over US$100), which, at the time, represented three
months’ wages, but I considered they were worth every penny. I built them
a roomy aviary with a well insulated shelter and installed a huge, reinforced
nest-box. Both birds were very tame with me and learnt to talk. I thought
the world of them. I was, I thought, making progress.
Gradually my collection started to take the shape I had long dreamt about.
There was a small pond in the garden with some exotic ducks; a pair of
White- winged Trumpeters P sophia leucoptera wandered at liberty and there
were aviaries with hombills, toucans, macaws, cockatoos, waders, lories,
foreign crows, starlings and many others.
In addition to importing birds, I was also having problem cases routed to
me by dealers. This did not suggest any great expertise on my part, but I
have got great patience and I was happy to make enormous efforts in an
attempt to establish difficult or sick birds. There were many instances, but
two stand out in my memory because both had happy endings. In the first,
a dealer in the Midlands telephoned me to say he had received a shipment of
Red-billed Hombills Tockus erythrorhynchus which, for some reason, refused
to feed. Several had died and the rest looked in a bad way. He asked if he
could send the survivors by overnight train, on the chance that I could save
them. I agreed and in the morning I received a box, the occupants of which
looked a picture of abject misery. There were nine hombills in the box, two
were dead and seven were alive - but only just.
I have always been an avid reader of books connected with natural
history, zoological gardens and animal collections and I remembered reading
that insectivorous birds are sometimes reluctant to feed directly after capture.
A trapper’s trick of the trade to overcome this problem is to take a long
sliver of bamboo and split the end. An insect is then wedged in the split end
and the bird’s beak is gently tapped with the end of the sliver holding the
insect. Eventually the bird becomes infuriated by being tormented in this
way and snaps its beak at the insect. With luck the bird gets the insect in its
beak and swallows it. Before long the bird learns the routine and grabs the
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
151
insects offered in this way. It is then a gradual process of mixing insects
with more conventional insectivorous food until a standard captive diet is
being accepted.
The wretched little hornbills were installed in an 8ft long x 4ft high
(approx. 2.4m long x 1 .2m high) cage. It was summer and after searching
surrounding pastureland, I came home with large plastic box full of
grasshoppers. I wedged a grasshopper in the split bamboo and tapped the
beak of each hombill in turn. It required great patience, but it worked. The
hornbills ate all the grasshoppers. No birds died overnight and each day
thereafter things became easier. Within two weeks the transition was
remarkable. The seven hornbills were in an outside flight and looking a
picture of health. By then they were weaned onto a mixture of turkey pellets,
chopped ox heart, a little fruit, proprietary coarse insectivorous food and
mealworms. The hornbills had been shipped from Tanzania and we never
knew if they had been flown out immediately after capture, fed a specialised
diet or what explained their reluctance to feed. I kept a pair and the others
were sent to the late Ken Smith who kept an interesting small zoo at Exmouth
in Devon.
The second episode involved a shipment of that most spectacularly
beautiful of lories the Blue-streaked Eos reticulata. At that time the only
pair of Blue-streaked Lories I knew of in the UK, was in the superb collection
of lories and pheasants maintained by Jack Rawlings at Kelling Pines in
Norfolk (Jack had made his fortune from Rawplugs, Rawbolts and similar
fittings - their trade name derived from his own). Then, quite by chance, a
dealer named Alan Butcher, who operated from premises in Sclater Street
(otherwise known as Club Row) in the East End of London, imported a
large batch of Blue-streaked Lories. Like the hornbills, they too refused to
feed (the only time I have experienced this problem with these generally
easily managed birds which I later specialised in) and several had died.
Alan asked if he could rush the survivors to me in an eleventh hour attempt
to save them and I readily agreed.
I knew, of course, that lories feed primarily on pollen and nectar which
they extract from flowers. It was high summer and with the lories’ arrival in
mind, I walked round the garden, taking note of where bees were most active.
I reasoned that if flowers attracted bees, then lories would also find them
acceptable. The African Marigold Tagetes erecta attracted the most bees
and therefore I cut several branches and tied them against the perches in the
cage. Within two hours Alan arrived with eight lories which were more
dead than alive. Some were so weak that they could not get up onto the
perches so I carpeted the floor around them with marigold flowers. In no
time they were working the flowers with their brush-tongues and watching
them do this gave me an idea. I was not sure how much food value the
marigolds had so I prepared some dishes of Stimulite Nectar Solution (made
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SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
by Percy Hastings one of the pioneer keepers of hummingbirds and other
nectar- feeders). I then fashioned some wicks out of thin strips of linen and
pushed one end into the middle of a marigold flower. The other end was left
trailing. Then I floated some of the flowers on the dishes of nectar and sat
back to see what would happen. The lories were still attracted to the flowers
but were sucking up the Stimulite Nectar Solution - all were saved. After a
few days’ feeding and bathing they were unrecognisable from the pathetic
bundles of feathers which had arrived.
Not all of the rescue attempts met with success. In fact two instances
were responsible for totally changing the direction of my avicultural activities
and left me with my health permanently impaired. Back in those days,
before quarantine became mandatory, a friend imported some Amazon parrots
from Colombia and when they arrived they were in very poor health. I
accepted part of the shipment in the hope that if they were treated with
broad-spectrum antibiotics and carefully nursed, I could return them to good
health. It is true that, although some died, the other parrots were saved, but
I also became very ill with what appeared to be a high fever and severe
pneumonia-like symptoms. The family doctor was baffled and although
many tests were conducted, no conclusion was reached as to what I was
suffering from. Within two or three weeks I recovered and I suppose that
the incident did bring one benefit because - whilst sick I lost 2lh stones
(3 5 lbs or approx. 15.8kg) in weight. There was no recurrence for about two
years when I again succumbed to similar symptoms, but this time they were
far more severe and sure enough the second attack coincided with me nursing
a shipment of sick parrots from Colombia. Despite exhaustive tests, the
problem was never identified although the obvious diagnosis of ornithosis
(psittacosis) proved wrong. Again I gradually recovered, but, this time, it
took much longer and my doctor advised me to keep clear of freshly imported
parrots because he considered another attack might prove very serious. I
took his advice and fortunately there has been no further recurrence, though
I have been left with a permanent lung weakness.
The episodes with the sick parrots hastened the decision I had been
intending to make for some time. I had become increasingly disillusioned
with importing wild-caught birds and felt that my involvement in this traffic
did me little credit. Therefore, I terminated my involvement in importing
wild-caught birds and resolved to concentrate on breeding from the very
eclectic collection I had assembled.
By then I was in my mid-twenties and with the arrogance and certainty
of youth, thought my knowledge of natural history, and birds in particular,
impressive and comprehensive. How wrong I was. Fortunately I had the
good fortune to be let down gently by the late John Yealland who was then
Curator of Birds at London Zoo. John had been Curator for the Duke of
Bedford, had collected birds in West Africa and was the Curator of, what
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
153
was then, one of the finest collections of birds in the world. He possessed a
prodigious memory and the gift of instant recall, but, like virtually all of the
aviculturists I have admired and respected, was quiet and unassuming and
would never offer a view unless asked to do so. He very kindly agreed to
devote a large part of one day showing me around the huge collection at
Regent’s Park. Convinced of my own expertise, I ostentatiously named the
birds shown to me and, uninvited, offered comments on the country of origin,
identifying the sexes, captive breeding records and other information. John
must have squirmed, but he said nothing and bore my conceit and arrogance
with good humour and patience. He then showed me a pair of birds and a
singleton of another species and nonchalantly asked what I could tell him
about them? To my shame, I had not the vaguest idea what they were - later
I found they were a pair of Piapiacs Ptilostornus afer and an ant-thrush
Neocossyphus sp. John had taught me a salutary lesson and since then I
have been acutely aware of how little I know.
John must have forgiven my sins during that first meeting for he became
a valued and helpful friend throughout the remainder of his career at London
Zoo and throughout his retirement at Binstead on the Isle of Wight. In
retirement, John was a plantsman rather than an aviculturist and our
correspondence was all about the plants we had established in our gardens.
Many a pack of seeds or cuttings of unusual plants were sent to me by John,
some flourished, but many of the species failed to survive, because the winters
here in East Anglia are much more severe than those at Binstead.
For many years I was an Avicultural Society Council Member. John
introduced me to the society, which then met regularly at the Windsor Hotel
at Lancaster Gate in London. Although the meetings were perhaps a trifle
formal in those days, after dinner there was either a lecture by some
avicultural luminary or a conversazione which was a rather grand term for
chatting amongst ourselves. It was the latter that I particularly enjoyed
because the participants were interesting aviculturists of proven ability.
Amongst those which spring to mind are Jean Delacour, Arthur Prestwich,
Donald Risdon, Jack D’eath, Newton Steel and Len Hill who, sadly, are no
longer with us, but one prominent member at that time still possesses one of
the finest private collections in Europe - he is, of course, Raymond Sawyer.
I was totally outclassed in such company, but I was a good listener and I
learnt a great deal.
Towards the end of the 1960s, it was again becoming obvious that a
change of direction was called for. My collection was a nightmare to service,
in that the occupants of almost every aviary required different food. I had to
supply fruit, fish, nectar, mealworms, mice, day-old chicks, many sorts of
seed and pellets and endless other ingredients. Some species did breed,
although the results were not what they should have been and I was receiving
ever more angry complaints from neighbours about the raucous and
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penetrating calls of my macaws, cockatoos and hombills. Therefore, the
decision was made to specialise and lories, lorikeets and birds of prey were
the chosen subjects.
Lories and lorikeets are an absolute joy to keep. Their colours are
unbelievably gaudy, they have extrovert temperaments and are natural bom
clowns. Give them a length of rope, a ping pong ball or a plastic ball and
they will play for hours. Now that I am retired and have more time, I keep
a few pairs of lories again, but at the time when they were one of the subjects
of my specialisations, this did not really make good sense. Their artificial
nectar and fruit diet sours quickly in hot weather which necessitates two
freshly prepared feeds a day, with all of the utensils being thoroughly washed.
In winter, although the birds themselves are relatively hardy, their food
freezes, so to prevent this they need heated shelters. Since my aviaries are
scattered around the garden, heating shelters would have been difficult. Also,
because of the liquid nature of their diets, their droppings are copious and
incredibly sticky. Thus their accommodation needs to be thoroughly scrubbed
at least once a week. Back in those days, before surgical sexing, there was
also the difficulty or impossibility of visually sexing most lories. This led
to several wasted years when I tried to breed from what I believed was a
tme pair until both birds eventually laid eggs and other apparently bonded
pairs which did nothing and I suspect both birds were males. I did breed a
few species of lories, but, after a time, sadly reached the conclusion that the
lories must go.
The diurnal birds of prey presented different problems, resulting from
folk who would not accept their ignorance being allowed to recommend
who in the UK should be granted import licences. Just before I was trying
to establish my breeding collection of hawks, eagles and vultures, legislation
was enacted which required importers to obtain licences for any bird of
prey they required. I should emphasise that I fully supported this move
because huge numbers of raptors were being imported under appalling
conditions and the mortality was absolutely horrific. The problem was that
the Department of the Environment (DOE), now the Department of
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), relied heavily upon advice
from a prominent falconry organisation that considered breeding these noble
birds in captivity was virtually impossible, particularly by non-falconers.
This was inexcusable because, even at that time, several species had bred
successfully. Even in my collection, three species had reared chicks. Yet I
sat through a meeting which was jointly hosted by the organisations advising
the DOE at which I had to listen to the most incredible rubbish. To make it
worse, it was delivered in a pompous and arrogant manner. Probably the
most absurd snippet of wisdom offered was that Peregrine Falcons Falco
peregrinus would only breed successfully if they could perform their
courtship flight and this would entail building an aviary 1 mile sq x 1,000ft
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
155
high (approx. 2.5km sq. x 300m high). Well before this revelation, Peregrine
Falcons had been bred in captivity in moderately sized aviaries in Germany
and Australia.
Although I possessed a few falcons, hawks, eagles and vultures which
were imported before licensing was introduced, these included several
singletons and unsexed couples. Through the contacts that I had established
over the years, it would have been easy for me to import the necessary birds
to make up potential breeding pairs, provided I could obtain the necessary
licences. Knowing the influence wielded by the falconry organisation
advising the DOE and the fact that applications, which stated the applicant
was a member of this organisation stood much more chance of success, I
applied for membership. I explained that I had no intention of becoming a
falconer, but, instead, my interests centred on studying and breeding raptors
in aviaries. I received a brusque reply from the secretary, which was a
masterpiece of brevity. It stated that, since I was not a falconer, intended to
breed raptors in captivity, which apparently was not practical and, most
sinful of all, kept birds of prey “behind wire-netting” which, it was inferred,
was an heinous crime, my application for membership was refused. Even
though some so-called falconers known to me were readily obtaining licences
to import Shrikras Accipiter badius , Red-headed Merlins F. chicquera,
Shaheens F. peregrinoides and other species, subjecting them to hopelessly
incompetent care and losing them within a few weeks or even within days.
So my specialisation in diurnal raptors was hardly a towering success. Again
I did breed a few and had the pleasure of keeping such magnificent species
as the Crested Goshawk A. trivirgatus, Pearl Kite Gampsonyx swainsonii
(which I found to be mainly insectivorous), Crested Caracara Polyborus
plancus (two males I later sent to London Zoo), Yellow-throated Caracara
Daptrius ater , Crane Hawk Geranospiza caerulescens , Lugger Falcon F.
jugger, American Kestrel F. sparverius and Common Kestrel F. tinnunclus
(the last three I bred successfully), Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus, Crested
Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela , Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax and, my pride
and joy, a tame King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa. The latter species is one
I would like to keep again. Mine was a great character and, of course, this
species is one of the most arrestingly bizarre of all raptors in appearance. It
breeds quite well in captivity.
Eventually I accepted that my attempt to specialise in diurnal raptors
was going nowhere and in frustration and a sense of realism, I disposed of
them. This just left my owls and these had proved a great success. Not, I
must emphasis, due to any expertise on my part, but because of all the many
birds I have kept, owls are undoubtably the most trouble free. I have long
said that if an aviculturist cannot keep and breed owls successfully, they
should not try other birds, but instead consider collecting stamps. Owls are
hardy, easily fed, remarkably resistant to disease when well cared for and
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are long-lived with ages of between 20-30 years being commonplace. This
takes a lot of heartache out of keeping birds because losing an old friend is
always a moment of great sadness and certainly it is necessary to deliver the
last rights on fewer owls than any other bird which might be kept. Being
nocturnal, they were ideal for me. I was away from home from 8.00am-
6.00pm, which meant that in the winter, it was always dark when I was able
to attend to my birds. Instead of disturbing roosting birds, I could feed my
owls and service their aviaries when they were at their most active.
My introduction to these fascinating birds came when I was about 18
years old. A member of staff at Blackwater Timbers telephoned me to explain
that they had just felled an elm Ulmus sp. and just before it toppled they saw
a Tawny Owl Strix aluco fly out of a hollow high in the tree. When the tree
hit the ground they checked the hollow and found two downy chicks, which
I now realise were about three weeks old. One looked badly injured, but my
informant hoped that the other one, although obviously hurt, might survive.
I lost no time in collecting the twins and to my distress one died soon
afterwards. Fortunately its brother survived and, although the fall left it
with a dropped wing and a stiff leg, Hibou (French for owl), as he was
christened, lived here for many years and proved to be an able and devoted
father - who gave me a rough time when the female had eggs or chicks.
I bought a number of exotic owls from dealers, although, infuriatingly,
they were often singletons, others were supplied to me by London Zoo,
which was then the most successful collection in the world at breeding owls.
Soon I was breeding several species and this opened up other sources of
supply. The overseas zoos I approached for additional stock were more
sympathetic to my requests once they knew I was successfully breeding
owls, particularly since several were much more inclined to offer surplus
stock for exchange rather than selling it. Over the ensuing years, I received
owls from what were then West Berlin Zoo and Tierpark Berlin (East Berlin),
as well as from Copenhagen Zoo, Antwerp Zoo, Winnipeg Zoo, World of
Birds, Hout Bay, South Africa, Birdland, Malindi, Kenya and many specialist
breeders.
Coincidental with the development of my breeding collection of owls, a
chance experience sparked two other interests which have absorbed and
fascinated me ever since. Both were prompted by the landmark volume
Parrots of the World by Joseph Forshaw and William Cooper. Joe Forshaw
attended a meeting of the Avicultural Society in London and brought with
him a sample section of the book. I was lost in wonderment, his text was
more comprehensive than anything I had previously read on parrots and the
specimen plate of a Hyacinth Macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinns by
William Cooper made the comparatively few books I already had look
decidedly dowdy in comparison. It was after the style of the hugely expensive
bird books with magnificent colour plates produced during the 1 9th centuiy.
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
157
With high quality modem colour printing, a lavish book like Parrots of the
World could be produced at an affordable price. I was hooked and was one
of the first customers. It was the start of my serious book collecting. My
library now contains more than 8,000 volumes three-quarters of which are
on ornithology and aviculture.
When reading Joe Forshaw’s magnum opus , I constantly saw the curt
comment that the eggs of the species were “undescribed,\ How could this
be, I thought, because many of these species had been bred in captivity. The
sad truth was that the aviculturists who had enjoyed success had not recorded
details about the eggs and none of those that were infertile had been preserved.
This realisation coincided with me forming very mixed, in fact diametrically
opposed may be a more accurate description, views about natural history
museums. I found them immensely interesting and informative and although
I recognised the value of reference collections, I also felt an overwhelming
sadness that huge numbers of magnificent creatures had been killed to form
these collections. The solution suddenly dawned bright and clear - the
wastage from captive collections was an obvious source of reference material,
which would avoid the destmction of living creatures.
At that time, Dr Colin Harrison, a fellow Avicultural Society Council
Member, was keeper of the oological section of the British Museum (Natural
History). I approached Colin with my idea which he considered a good one,
but impractical because there was only a small staff at the museum and they
did not have the time or resources to deal with captive casualties. In the
case of unsuccessful eggs, he did not think the staff would welcome blowing
addled eggs and dealing with eggs containing rotting, dead chicks.
Fortunately, the Royal Scottish Natural History Museum is now vigorously
tapping this source of material and its dynamic Curator Dr Andrew Kitchener
has obtained some very useful material in this way. However, back in 1 972,
the only solution seemed to be for me to start collecting this material. Initially,
progress was rather slow, but once my contacts in zoos and private aviculture
realised I was serious and determined, they provided me with marvellous
assistance. My collection of eggs now extends to more than 60,000
specimens representing more than 2,000 species and subspecies and my
skin collection contains around 500 species. Here I must emphasise that not
a single viable egg has been destroyed and not a single bird has been killed
in assembling this collection - all of this material would otherwise have
been binned. At my peak, I was collecting and blowing 5,000 eggs a year,
mostly in the months of May- July. Every Sunday I would drive a 400-mile
(approx. 640km) circuit collecting eggs from up to 10 collections and on
some of these occasions I returned home with more than 1 ,000 eggs in varying
stages of volatility. The race was then on to blow and catalogue the eggs
before they exploded. Many times I worked through most of the night and
left for the office at 8.00am the next morning. I am still actively collecting
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although, largely due to pressure of space and my declining energy levels, I
only add about 1,000 eggs each season now.
Reference skins pose fewer problems because carcasses can be frozen
until time permits their preparation. Of course, the real problem is the space
required to house an extensive collection of skins. Even more space
consuming are the large glass cases housing the really spectacular specimens
I have mounted. We have many cases of magnificent species around the
house, which constantly remind me of the splendours of nature.
Although I encountered my share of failures and disappointments, my
owl collection quickly became established and quite productive. I have
now successfully bred over 1,200 owls of 30 forms and I believe eight of
these may have been first breedings in the UK, i.e. Kenyan Wood Owl S.
woodfordii nigricantior, Boobook Owl Ninox novaeseelandiae , Striped Owl
Rhinoptynx clamator, Brazilian Rusty-barred Owl S. hylophila, Chaco Owl
S. chacoensis , Barred Owl S. varia, Tengmalm’s Owl Aegolius funereus
and Ferruginous Pygmy Owl Glaucidium brasilianum. However, I quickly
realised that what I was doing was merely dabbling with the captive breeding
of owls in a very amateurish way.
A small private collection can achieve almost nothing alone therefore I
conceived the idea of managing an extensive captive breeding programme
based on placing birds on breeding loan with responsible collections, both
public and private. The whole collection was to be coordinated and managed
by me - or so I naively thought. It was obvious that to inject new vigour into
owl breeding in the UK, it was necessary for new species to be imported
and new bloodlines obtained to avoid disastrously inbreeding the species
already held in this country. During the 1970s and 1980s I imported large
numbers of owls, all of which were captive-bred by reputable collections.
This programme was given an enormous boost when Frank Keens joined
me and shared in the work involved and the cost of financing this undertaking.
Also, I must give credit to Murray Dishington and Tony Turk of the now
defunct Lilford Park Aviaries who built a quarantine facility for owls and
provided help and support in so many ways. Peter Olney and his staff at
London Zoo were also most supportive and helped by quarantining some of
the shipments. This programme certainly provided the stock which, had it
been used to best effect, should have enabled us to have established
populations of many species of owls which would have prospered long
term.
The agreement signed by the custodians of the loaned owls made it clear
that records should be kept and a copy passed to me every year for collation.
Dead owls and failed eggs were to be retained for reference purposes. To
finance further shipments of new stock and expand the breeding programme,
half the progeny bred from the loaned birds was to be returned to me either
to be loaned or sold. The remaining half would belong to the borrowers.
SAYERS - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
159
Some of the friends who accepted loaned birds did very well with them and
behaved impeccably. Prominent in this category were Tony Turk, Frank
Keens, Alan Smith and London Zoo plus a few others. However, most of
the owls I had gone to so much trouble and expense to import were
squandered. Once passed over to the borrowers, they were never heard of
again. Enquiries, which sometimes had to be conducted covertly, revealed
that the loaned owls had escaped, were stolen, were housed in mixed aviaries
where larger companions killed them or were otherwise maintained carelessly
and, even more unforgivable, many were given away or even sold without
my knowledge. This was disappointing in the extreme, but disappointment
soon turned to nightmare. My collection is small and confined to a suburban
garden so I am never blessed with vacant aviary space. It quickly became
apparent that when many of the custodians of the loaned owls encountered
problems (i.e. divorce, shortage of food, collection closure and sundry other
reasons), they picked up the telephone and demanded that I take the birds
back immediately. Not only was my plan a miserable failure, but the
associated problems were a constant source of worry. I had to admit defeat
and wind down the operation. From a peak of having over 150 owls out on
breeding loan, I now have only a handful.
In 1988 I visited Thailand on a tour of the national parks and zoological
collections. Quite by chance I met a Thai girl, Nongnut Promsawat (who
prefers to be called Wattana), who spoke several dialects and very adequate
English and who acted as interpreter and guide for the duration of my stay.
Thai animal keepers have a remarkable rapport with their charges and go in
with virtually everything, which can be rather unsettling to a western visitor
when they receive an invitation to go in and meet potentially dangerous
animals. Wattana took it all in her stride and remained at my side when we
were invited to stroke a magnificent adult male Tiger Panther a tigris, pat a
3m (almost 10ft) Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus siamensis , handle a 5m
( 1 6ft or so) Burmese Python Python molurus bivittatus , feed sugar cane to
huge bull Asian Elephants Elephas maximus and act as a nursemaid to an
enchanting, but rather boisterous, Orang-utan Pongo sp. Although Wattana
likes animals and is good with them, her abiding passion is plants and this,
of course, coincides with another of my lifelong interests.
Wattana joined me here in England in 1992. In marked contrast to the
staff at the British Embassy in Bangkok, those at the Thai Embassy in London
could not have been more pleasant and helpful and we were married there
under Thai law in March 1993 and under English law in Chelmsford the
following month. Wattana and I have been blissfully happy ever since. Not
only does she encourage me in my pursuits, but helps by blowing stinking,
addled eggs and chopping up mice and rats to feed to baby owls.
What is the future of owl keeping and breeding in the UK? Sadly, my
current view is one of uncertain pessimism. To guarantee the long-term
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prosperity of all species that are currently represented in UK collections,
we need a great deal more aviary space and dedicated keepers. Currently,
we have approximately 40 species and subspecies which, in theory, it should
be possible to establish. To keep each form going long-term would need the
provision of at least 50 aviaries for each and to allow for housing young
stock and non-breeding birds, 100 aviaries per species or subspecies would
probably be more realistic. I very much doubt that amount of space is
available, in fact I believe the amount of space is declining. As zoos
experience increasing financial constraints, some close and others, quite
understandably, are forced to rationalise their collections. Similarly, the
private sector is also experiencing its share of difficulties and interest is
declining.
If we cannot achieve total independence by maintaining large gene pools
of each form, it will be necessary to occasionally inject wild blood into
smaller and, by definition, more inbred populations. This hardly seems
feasible when, for very good reason, importing wild-caught owls is becoming
increasingly difficult. Indeed, from many countries, it is already virtually
impossible. Yet a viable alternative looks equally improbable. The sad fact
remains, that every time a species of owl approaches the threshold of being
permanently established, it is written off as commonplace, interest wanes,
young stock becomes nearly impossible to place, breeders become
discouraged and the population plunges down a spiral of decline.
Fortunately, we have three organisations - The World Owl Trust (WOT),
The Owl Taxonomic Advisory Group (OTAG) and the International Owl
Society (IOS) - to represent and help owl keepers. They have done good
work and I am sure will continue to do so. However, they have not proved
nearly as dynamic as I had hoped. All three organisations should be
concentrating on averting future crises, which may otherwise overtake us.
The situation is by no means hopeless, but I would like to see more clarity
of purpose displayed by the grandees of our absorbing interest.
Bernard Sayer’s Autobiographical Profile was published originally in
Tyto, the magazine of the International Owl Society (IOS), and is reproduced
here by kind permission of the IOS. In addition to his owls and lories,
Bernard now keeps a few pairs of pheasants, parakeets, curassows and
softbills.
161
BREEDING THE GOLDEN-BREASTED BUNTING
by Jim Jerrard
When visiting the Stafford Show autumn sales day in 2004, I noticed
that a dealer had some Golden-breasted Buntings Emberiza flaviventris , a
species I had not seen for some years. There were six birds in all, split into
pairs. I had a chat with the dealer about sexing them and asked about the
history of the birds, but all he could tell me was that they were African
buntings and that he had heard a couple of them singing. All six looked in
very good condition and had perfect feathering. So, after a walk around the
hall, with the buntings still on my mind, I went back and bought all six in
the hope that there was at least one pair amongst them from which I could
attempt to breed in 2005.
On arriving back home, I kept the birds caged in the same pairs as they
had been at the show. I gave them a solution of colloidal silver, millet seed
and a few mealworms. The next morning all six birds looked fine.
At the start of 2005, I separated the birds and housed them in single
cages and waited to see what would happen in the spring. Not much happened
until late April, when the birds started to call - it was a musical call which I
took to be their song. My heart sank as I thought I had six males. Then in
mid-May one the the birds started to develop a proper song and its colours
started to change to a deeper hue - its head markings turned blacker and its
breast became more golden. At the same time one of the other birds started
to call continually, so, believing they were a male and a female, I placed
them together in a flight measuring 6ft x 3ft x 6ft (approx. 1.8m x 0.9m x
1.8m). As I was undecided about the other four birds, I placed them all
together in a flight of the same dimensions.
In mid-June the female of the pair started to carry nest material and
while the male sang to her and displayed, she built a deep nest out of sisal
and hay in a canary nest bowl about 6ft (1.8m) above the ground. The first
egg appeared on June 22nd and there was another the next day. The day that
the first egg was laid I never saw the male or female go anywhere near the
nest, but the female started to sit as soon as the second egg was laid. One
chick hatched on July 3rd and the other egg was clear. The chick, which I
ringed (banded) when it was seven days old, did well, being fed by both
parents, and was reared successfully.
On July 1 8th the female laid again and began to sit after the second egg
was laid. On inspecting the nest and eggs on day five, I found there was a
third egg in the nest. Two chicks hatched on July 30th, but sadly both died
at five days old. The third egg was clear. The pair did not nest again.
The four birds I put together proved to be three males and one female.
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JERRARD - GOLDEN-BREASTED BUNTING
In mid-June as I sat watching the four birds, I noticed one was carrying nest
material, so I separated it and one of the remaining three and caged them.
The female made a nest in an open nest-box, which I had stuffed with hay.
She made a deep depression in the middle, which she lined with sisal and
dog hair. On June 29th she laid the first egg and began sitting after laying
the second egg the next day. Both eggs hatched on July 1 Oth but when the
chicks were three days old they were thrown out of the nest.
On July 1 6th the female laid again and again began sitting the next day
after she laid the second egg. This clutch of eggs hatched on July 28th. My
friend Sean Fitzpatrick ringed the chicks for me when they were seven days
old. They left the nest on August 6th at nine days old.
By the time the chicks were 18 days old on August 15th, the female had
laid again. There were three eggs in this clutch and the female started to sit
after she had laid the second egg. On August 26th two of the eggs hatched
Adult male (left) and female (right).
and the next day, August 27th, the third egg hatched, but this chick did not
survive. When the remaining two chicks were seven days old, they were
ringed by Sean Fitzpatrick. They left the nest on September 5th, when they
were nine days old. Both chicks later became self-supporting and all five
were reared successfully. They were all ringed with IOA rings size D.
The adults eat millet and grass seed. The five chicks were reared on
JERRARD - GOLDEN-BREASTED BUNTING
163
About 15 days old.
buffalo worms, fruit flies, small crickets and a few waxworm grubs. When
they got to about 14 days old I noticed that the parents started to crack millet
seed and feed it to them. Eggfood was ignored.
The young were dull replicas of their parents. They lacked the golden
breast, instead the upper breast was grey/brown with dark streaking and the
lower breast was a dirty cream colour, with the flanks and vent area off-
white (see photo above).
The eggs were white with speckles around the larger end and reminded
me very much of the eggs of the Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis. The
incubation period was 10-11 days and the young fledged at nine days old.
If any members keep this bunting I would like to hear from them.
164
BREEDING THE PURPLE GLOSSY STARLING
Lamprotornis purpureus
by Anneka Smith and Jim Schofield
We were given our first Purple Glossy Starling, together with two Blue¬
eared Glossy Starlings L. chalybaeus and a Red-tailed Laughingthrush
Garrulax milnei, in the summer of 2003. These were housed with a group
of Japanese Quail Coturnix japonica and a pair of Golden Pheasants
Chrysolophus pictus in an aviary 8ft x 14ft x 6ft 6in high (approx. 2.5m x
4.2m x 2m high). Both ends of the aviary, the back and two-thirds of the
roof lengthways are solid, the rest of the roof and the front are covered with
V2in (1 3mm) wire netting. The aviary has an apex roof, which enables birds
to roost sheltered from wind, rain and overhead predators. The floor is
covered with wire netting to exclude burrowing vermin, and on top of it is a
deep layer of bark chips for drainage, aesthetics, and to encourage foraging
behaviour. There is a small apple tree in the aviary and tree branches are
provided for perching. Two nest-boxes, one lOin x lOin x 1ft high (approx.
25.5cm x 25.5cm x 30.5cm high) with a lVdn (32mm) diameter hole, and
the other 8in x 8in x lOin high (approx. 20.5cm x 20.5cm x 25.5cm high)
with a P/sin (28mm) hole, are screwed to the back and end of the aviary
respectively, at opposite ends.
In the spring of 2004, the starlings became very vocal, with an enormous
repertoire of calls, then unexpectedly one of the Blue-eared Glossy Starlings
killed the other. The remaining two starlings (the Purple and the Blue¬
eared) began shredding palm leaves, which along with straw and feathers,
they deposited in the larger of the two nest-boxes. Within a few days, the
box was one-third full, with a definite bowl-shape having been made in one
of the back comers. At that stage, we increased the supply of mealworms,
and the starlings continued to build, even plucking feathers from the quail
for the purpose. Two green eggs were laid on consecutive days, but within
a week had disappeared without trace.
Two weeks passed, during which one of a recently purchased pair of
White-headed Black Bulbuls Hypsipetes madagascariensis was killed by
the Blue-eared Glossy Starling, so the surviving bulbul and the
laughingthmsh were moved elsewhere. At that stage we had the opportunity
to exchange the misbehaving Blue-eared for a second Purple Glossy Starling,
a larger bird than our original one, with a comparatively massive head and
bill. Although it did not call as often or as loud as the male Blue-eared had
done, we were fairly certain the new bird was a male. We kept it caged for
a few days to check its health and to give the two birds the chance to call to
each other. During that period three eggs were laid in the same nest-box,
SMITH & SCHOFIELD - PURPLE GLOSSY STARLING
165
confirming that the starling in the aviary was a female. Doubtful as to the
fertility of the eggs, we nevertheless further delayed introducing the new
bird. After 13 days incubation, two of the eggs hatched and the chicks
survived for two and a half weeks on a diet of mini mealworms, spiders,
wax worms and small black crickets. At the time of their death they appeared
(allowing for their juvenile plumage) to show characteristics of both species.
Following the introduction of the new male, there was no further nesting
attempt that year.
On June 2nd 2005, having returned from university for the summer, we
took over the care of our small collection, which in our absence had been
cared for by Anneka’s parents. We started to feed the birds a lot of livefood
and on June 6th, both starlings started building in the same box as the previous
year. Feathers, shredded palm leaves and straw occupied the bottom one-
third of the box, in a comer of which a neat cup had been made. The first
egg was laid on June 1 2th and three others followed, each laid on consecutive
days. The female incubated the eggs from dusk to dawn. She was never
seen to enter or leave the nest-box during the day and the male was never
observed entering the nest-box at all during incubation.
We continued to provide about 40 mealworms a day as well as the usual
softbill food and fruit, which included strawberries, grapes and apple. On
June 29th all four eggs hatched. Hoping that the young would not die of
malnutrition, we provided as much livefood as we could find in the garden
and always ensured there were mealworms left in the dish after each feed.
We supplemented the mealworms with spiders, ants, ant pupae, woodlice
and even the odd centipede. The use of mini mealworms was stopped after
the parents showed a definite preference for feeding the young standard
sized mealworms. These were fed to the young in large quantities, while
only a few woodlice were taken into the nest-box. All food was carefully
prepared by the parents, who first squashed the livefood along its length,
back and forth a couple of times with their beaks, and often also hit it against
a rock or perch.
A phone call to Avicultural Society Council Member Stewart Pyper
provided some much appreciated advice and encouragement.
Having checked the nest each day, we realised that two of the chicks
were significantly smaller than the other two. One was away from the nest
and seemed dead. The other was the same size and not gaping. We removed
both of them from the nest-box and placed the dead-looking chick in an
incubator and the other one in a heated box. The dead-looking chick
recovered to the extent that it started “cheeping” and gaping. We tried feeding
both chicks with a mixture based on one advised by Meaden (1979). It
consisted of softbill food, crushed mealworms and lettuce. Placing the chicks
under a heat lamp in yoghurt pots lined with kitchen towel, we were hopeful
166
SMITH & SCHOFIELD - PURPLE GLOSSY STARLING
Chicks at 14 days old.
we had caught them in time. The weaker chick swallowed a little food and
the stronger of the two grabbed food off the end of a teaspoon. However,
the following morning the weaker chick was dead and the other had vomited.
It ate very little more and died during the course of the day.
Rather disheartened, we concentrated on the remaining two chicks. At
eight days old they had almost doubled in size from that of two days
previously. Their eyes had just started to open and they no longer replied to
our whistles when we put mealworms in the dish. We added a wider variety
of livefood to the menu. This included a few waxworms each day, which
were usually fed to the chicks before the mealworms. Mini crickets were
snatched rapidly by the parents before the crickets could leap out of the
aviary to freedom. We also decided to add vitamin and mineral supplements
to both the water and food. The mealworms were kept on a diet of Weetabix
breakfast cereal, along with carrot, lettuce, bread, softbill food and hard-
boiled egg to ensure a decent nutritional content.
On July 17th, at 1 8 days old, the chicks started to lean their heads out of
the nest-box and call for food. By the 21st, the parents were encouraging
them to reach out of the box. They would feed a few mealworms to them
and then sit back and call the young. On July 22nd, the larger chick left the
box. It flew erratically at first, crashing into the wire mesh and looking
uncertain on a perch. However, it was never seen on the floor. The following
day, the second chick left the nest.
They had glossy green wings, but dull black heads and bodies. Their
eyes were also black, in contrast to the striking yellow and black eyes of the
SMITH & SCHOFIELD - PURPLE GLOSSY STARLING
167
Eighteen days.
adults. Both parents continued to feed the young, passing them mealworms
from the dish to where they sat. At about five weeks old, after the adults had
rebuilt their nest and laid a further three eggs, the chicks started experimenting
with feeding themselves. They were eating livefood and softbill food by
the time this clutch of eggs was due to hatch on August 19th.
Incubation followed the same pattern as before, but this time the eggs
failed the hatch and were eventually found discarded on the floor of the
aviary. When broken open, they appeared to have been infertile. We thought
this was the end of our starling adventure for 2005, so when we returned
from holiday on September 10th, we were surprised to find two warm eggs
in the nest-box. These hatched on September 1 8th, but the chicks survived
only a few days. While the parents had been preparing livefood for the new
chicks, the older offspring had been rapidly devouring what mealworms
were left in the container. These two young Purple Glossy Starlings are
now in a separate aviary, from which they sometimes call back and forth to
their parents, but continue to feed themselves and develop well. Meanwhile,
the Golden Pheasants, which had been removed from the aviary when the
male starling started dive-bombing them, have now been returned to the
aviary, and peace reigns once more.
Reference
Meaden, F. 1979. A Manual of European Birdkeeping. Blandford Press, Poole.
168
CHESTER ZOO’S SICHUAN BIODIVERSITY
CONSERVATION PROGRAMME: SUPPORT FOR
BROADLEAF FOREST ENDEMIC BIRDS
by Roger Wilkinson, Simon Dowell and Dai Bo
Chester Zoo works in partnership with a number of scientific and
conservation organisations in China and works collaboratively with the
Sichuan Forestry Department on projects that include or focus on threatened
birds. This is a major component of Chester Zoo’s larger China Conservation
Programme which also includes work with the Yellow-throated
Laughingthrushes Garrulax galbanus in Wyuan and Simao (Wilkinson et
al. 2004), technical exchanges with Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base,
Chengdu Zoo and Beijing Zoo and support for scientists associated with
Sichuan University.
Southern Sichuan Biodiversity Conservation
The current broadleaf forest conservation programme is a partnership
between the North of England Zoological Society - Chester Zoo, the Sichuan
Forestry Department (SFD) and the Liverpool John Moores University
(JMU). This evolved from a project initiated by Dr Simon Dowell of JMU
and Dia Bo of SFD that focused on the endangered endemic Sichuan Partridge
Arborophilus rufipectus. Dr Dowell was then chair of the IUCN/BirdLife
Intemational/WPA Partridge, Quail and Francolin Specialist Group and the
Sichuan Partridge project was initially supported by the World Pheasant
Association (WPA). The present project is supported by the North of England
Zoological Society with additional funding support from Mr James Goodhart.
The Chinese subtropical forests endemic bird area (EBA) that includes
the range of the Sichuan Partridge is also home to five restricted range
endemic passerines. These are the Omei Shan Liocichla Liocichla omeiensis ,
Red- winged Laughingthrush G. formosus , Gold-fronted Fulvetta Alcippe
variegaticeps, Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus and Emei Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus emeiensis. The Omei Shan Liocichla, Gold-fronted Fulvetta
and Silver Oriole are all listed as Vulnerable (BirdLife International, 2000).
The Red-winged Laughingthrush was previously listed as Near-threatened
(IUCN, 1996) but is now considered to be of least concern. The Omei Shan
Liocichla and Red-winged Laughingthrush have been held in a number of
European zoos and are included in the EAZA Passerine TAG Regional
Collection Plan. Both of these attractive passerines have been held at Chester
Zoo and together with the Red Panda Ailurus fulgens offer bridges to link
these ambassadors in our zoo collection with field conservation and research.
Chester Zoo has been supporting biodiversity conservation in southern
WILKINSON, DOWELL & BO - SICHUAN CONSERVATION PROGRAMME 169
Sichuan since 2001. Roger Wilkinson and Simon Dowell made visits in
early August 2002, May 2004 and in May 2005, accompanied by Dai Bo
who manages the programme in Sichuan (Dowell & Wilkinson, 2004, 2005).
These visits included formal and informal management meetings with
forestry staff at all levels and for all reserves, trekking with staff in these
reserves and participating in faunal surveys. Two reserves which we have
particularly focused on are the Laojunshan Nature Reserve and the Mamize
Forest Reserve. As a direct result of the visit to the southern Sichuan sites in
2004 we have extended this support to also include the newly protected
Heizhugou Nature Reserve.
Laojunshan Nature Reserve, Pingshan County, Sichuan
This is an area of broadleaf hill forest that includes a temple site frequently
visited by pilgrims. Both the Omei Shan Liocichla and Red-winged
Laughingthrush are frequently encountered in the reserve which is also an
important area for the Sichuan Partridge. The density of Sichuan Partridges
in Laojunshan Reserve, which was previously estimated at ca. three pairs
for every 2sq km (approx. 3Asq. mile) of suitable habitat, is as high there as
anywhere else within its limited range.
Chester Zoo’s financial support has allowed training for all reserve staff
in basic biodiversity management including animal and plant identification.
The Director has received training in land use management and other senior
staff members have been trained in GIS and ranger skills. This has been
hand in hand with the provision of essential infrastructure including office
furniture and a computer for the reserve office, two motorcycles to facilitate
the rangers’ access to remote areas of the reserve, waterproof clothing,
cameras and binoculars for field staff and most recently the complete
refurbishment of a former forestry farm building as a field station. This
field station known as the Xintianzui Conservation Centre now provides
offices and accommodation for field staff.
This support has enabled this former local nature reserve to be upgraded
to a provincial level reserve and as a direct result of this project the reserve
will be extended to include surviving tracts of forest that will double its size
to over 70sq km (27sq miles). The Director of the reserve has recently
prepared a management plan which will be used in an application to further
upgrade the reserve to national status. If successful this may open up funding
sources from central government previously unavailable to this reserve.
Birds observed by us at Laojunshan included Crimson-breasted
Woodpecker Dendrocopus cathpharius , White-throated Laughingthrush G.
albogularis , Red-tailed Minla Minla ignotincta , Golden-breasted Fulvetta
A. chrysotis and Black-headed Sibia Heterophasia capistrata. The
‘Spectacled Warblers’ Seicercus spp. have been recently the subjects of
170 WILKINSON, DOWELL & BO - SICHUAN CONSERVATION PROGRAMME
Roger Wilkinson
Laojunshan Forest Reserve.
taxonomic revision and it remains to be confirmed which of this complex
occur in the reserve. During our visit in 2005 we found from counts of
calling birds that both the area occupied by and the density the Sichuan
Partridge had increased since our earlier visits and believe this to be a direct
result of improved management and protection in the reserve. The forest
also has good numbers of the endemic Dove Tree Davidia involucrata which
can be enjoyed in flower in May.
Recently this reserve has received visits by local and adventurous
foreign birders. Anyone considering a visit is advised to first contact one of
WILKINSON, DOWELL & BO - SICHUAN CONSERVATION PROGRAMME 1 7 1
Dia Bo, Roger Wilkinson and Simon Dowell with members of staff at
Laojunshan Forest Reserve.
the authors, as arrangements for access must be made through Dai Bo at the
Sichuan Forestry Department, who can facilitate such visits.
Mamize Nature Reserve, Leibo County, Sichuan
This diverse and extensive reserve covering over 380sq km (145sq miles)
and ranging in altitude from l,300m-3,800m (approx. 4,265ft- 12,500ft)
includes a wide range of habitats and species. Broadleaf forests at lower
elevations give way to conifer forests that in turn are replaced by bamboo
and rhododendron thickets with juniper scrub and alpine meadows at higher
altitudes.
Roger Wilkinson
Omei Shan Liocichla.
172 WILKINSON, DOWELL & BO - SICHUAN CONSERVATION PROGRAMME
Chester Zoo funding for Mamize has supported staff training and
infrastructure improvements similar to those outlined above for Laojunshan.
This year we agreed additional community support through the purchase of
two thoroughbred bulls to help improve local cattle. These bulls will be
owned by the nature reserve and used as stud bulls in return for the cattle
owners’ agreement not to graze their stock inside the nature reserve. The
local people in the area belong to the colourful Yi minority. Although they
are relatively poor, their hospitality impressed us on each of our visits, when
we were most warmly welcomed with local food, locally brewed beers and
spirit and, in the evenings, traditional singing and dancing.
Faunal and floral surveys have revealed the reserve to not only be diverse
in terms of its birds but also to contain 51 vertebrates and 18 flowering
plants listed as protected by the Chinese Government. These include the
Giant Panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca , Red Panda and Takin Budorcus
taxicolor. This has already resulted in the reserve being upgraded from
local to provincial status. A management plan has been completed and we
are confident that the reserve will be upgraded to national level with
significant funding becoming available on account of it holding Giant Pandas.
On our first visit in 2002 we found Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax
pyrrhocorax, Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula and Upland Pipit Anthus
sylvanus on the upper alpine slopes. Farther down the mountains we heard
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant and amongst many other birds saw both Chinese
Babax Babax lanceolatus and the Black-faced Laughingthrush G. affinus.
Around our base camp in Gudui township commonly seen birds included
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea , Black-billed Magpie Pica pica , Common
Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus and Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus
auroreus.
The weather was generally good for our visit in May 2004 although on
one night in the reserve there was rain with snow on the highest ridges and
mountains. Over 60 bird species were seen including two fine male Lady
Amherst’s Pheasants Chrysolophus amherstiae, White-bellied Redstart
Hodgsonius phaenicuroides, Chestnut-headed Tesia Tesia castaneocoronata
(then a new record for the reserve), Grey-hooded Parrotbill Paradoxornis
zappeyi , Dark-breasted Rosefinch C. nipalensis , Spot-winged Rosefinch C.
rhodopeplus and Grey-headed (Bevan’s) Bullfinch Pyrrhula erythaca. A
wide variety of flowering plants were seen and photographed including
several species of Rhododendron and Azalea.
In 2005 again we frequently heard and had excellent sightings of Lady
Amherst’s Pheasant and as in previous years saw Spotted Nutcracker
Nucifraga carocatactes, Red-winged Laughingthrush and Elliot’s G. elliotii.
For warbler enthusiasts Mamize is heaven with a confusing variety of both
leaf and bush warblers. Notable amongst these are the Ashy-throated Leaf
Warbler P. maculipennis and Aberrant Bush Warbler Cettia flavolivacea. A
WILKINSON, DOWELL & BO - SICHUAN CONSERVATION PROGRAMME 173
super male Rufous-bellied Niltava Niltava sundara proved ample
compensation for the inconvenience of collecting leeches on our boots and
trousers.
Heizhugou Nature Reserve, E’bian County, Sichuan
Heizhugou Nature Reserve is a recently protected provincial status
reserve covering ca. 630sq km (approx. 233sq miles) and bordering
Dafending Giant Panda Reserve. This reserve supports populations of a
number of key species of endemic passerines including Omei Shan Liocichla,
Red-winged Laughingthrush and Emei Leaf Warbler. The Sichuan Partridge
has also been recorded in the reserve and it is believed that both Giant and
Red Panda may be present but confirmation is required. An area of the
reserve has already been developed for ecotourism in association with a spa
resort in the main river valley. Following our visit in 2004, Chester Zoo
funding to this developing nature reserve has supported training for one of
the field officers and the purchase of a number of essential items such as
binoculars and field guides for bird identification.
Ertan Reserve, Panzihua area, southern Sichuan
Although not one that we currently support, we visited this reserve in
2004 following reports of the occurrence there of the Sichuan Partridge -
some 300km ( 1 86 miles) south of its known range. Our visit confirmed our
suspicion that it may have been mistaken for the very similar Common Hill
Partridge A. torqueola , previously unknown in this reserve and with our
record representing an extension of its known range. The forest is very
different from that in the other reserves we visited further north, with conifers
on the middle slopes and most of the broadleaf trees at higher levels. Birds
we saw there included White-bellied Woodpecker Dryocopus javensis,
Yunnan Nuthatch Sitta yunnanensis, Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush
Monticola rufiventris and the Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis banyumas.
Further support
For selected reserves, plans for further support will be facilitated through
a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was agreed in May 2005
between the North of England Zoological Society - Chester Zoo and the
Sichuan Forestry Department, Chengdu, for continuing support through to
2007. Objectives for this programme include the development and linking
of a network of broadleaf forest reserves that will secure the future of the
endemic birds together with that of other fauna and flora. We plan to achieve
this through reserve support including staff training together with assistance
for local communities through developing the sustainable use of forest
products and supporting community education.
174 WILKINSON, DOWELL & BO - SICHUAN CONSERVATION PROGRAMME
Simon Dowell
Grey-headed or Bevan’s Bullfinch.
References
BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife
International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK.
BirdLife International. 2003. Saving Asia ’s threatened birds: a guide for government and civil
society. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
Dowell, S. and Wilkinson, R. 2004. Sichuan Forest Conservation Project - Visit Report May
2004. (Unpublished report available from authors).
Dowell, S. and Wilkinson, R. 2005. Chester Zoo/Sichuan Forest Department Sichuan Forest
Biodiversity Project. Summary Report on visit to the field area, May 2005. (Unpublished
report available from the authors).
IUCN. 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
IUCN. 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. IUCN Species Survival
Commission. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Wilkinson, R, Gardner, L., He Fen-qi and Wirth, R. 2004. A highly threatened bird - Chinese
Yellow-throated Laughing Thrushes in China and in Zoos. International Zoo News Vol.51/8
(No.337):456-469.
Dr Roger Wilkinson is Head of Conservation & Science, North of England
Zoological Society, Chester Zoo, Chester CH2 ILH, UK.
Dr Simon Dowell is Director of Biological & Earth Sciences, Liverpool
John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK.
Daio Bo manages the field programme from the Wildlife Conservation
Division, Sichuan Forestry Department No. 15, Section 1st of Renminbeilu
Street, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Peoples Republic of China.
175
NOTES ON THE BENGAL EAGLE OWL
by Philip Schofield
The Bengal Eagle Owl Bubo bengalensis is now accorded specific status,
having formerly been regarded as a subspecies of the Great Eagle Owl B.
bubo . It is also known as the Rock Eagle Owl, reflecting some of its likely
habitat in the wild state. Y ealland (1971) referred to it nesting “under rocks
or overhanging ledges” and of a partly grown young bird having wandered
some way from the nest in the shade of a bush. Although a large owl, the
Bengal is about a third smaller than the average Great Eagle Owl and is
coloured various shades of brown, with darker streaking on the breast and
paler marbling on the wings, particularly prominent on the male of my pair.
The markings are sufficiently variable for the four birds currently in my
possession to be easily distinguished from each other. Adult birds have a
deep orange iris, which is yellow in the young. Two young birds in my
possession, at 1 2 and eight months of age respectively, have eyes almost as
dark as those of their parents.
Although imported as early as 1919, the first breeding in the UK of this
owl appears to have been at Linton Zoo in 1973. I believe unrelated birds
have been imported since then, so it is to be hoped that our captive stocks
are not unduly inbred. My friend and fellow Avicultural Society Council
Member Vaughn Sargent acquired a pair in the early 1980s, of which one
bird is still alive and breeding, paired to a new mate following the death of
its original partner. Many young Bengal Eagle Owls have been reared over
the years in Vaughn’s aviaries, mostly by the parents, although some have
been hand-reared when potential purchasers required tame, handleable birds.
(Apparently, if young owls are left with their parents for the first three weeks
and then hand-reared, they are sufficiently tame to be handled and even
flown free after appropriate training. Taken from their parents any earlier,
they can become unduly fixated on people, potentially aggressive when
sexually mature, and unable to recognise another owl as a potential mate).
One of these hand-reared birds was returned to Vaughn early in 2004, due to
a change in her owner’s circumstances. As she had not been handled for
some time, she had become aloof and somewhat defensive towards people.
I first saw this bird incubating infertile eggs on the floor of the aviary she
was sharing with Vaughn’s aged male Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca, hatched
at Jersey Zoo in the 1970s, and long retired from breeding.
Vaughn offered me the female Bengal Eagle Owl and, having hovered
for some time on the brink of keeping owls, I accepted it. I also agreed to
temporarily house the male Snowy Owl, and installed them in their new
aviary on May 2nd 2004. This aviary is hexagonal, each side being 6ft
176
SCHOFIELD - BENGAL EAGLE OWL
(1.8m) in length, giving a width of more than 12ft (3.6m) and adequate
flying space. The back and adjoining two sides are of solid wood, the front
three sides are covered with wire netting. The aviary is 8ft (2.4m) high,
with a ledge some 1 ft 6in (46cm) wide running along the back. The ledge is
covered with a 2in (5cm) deep layer of wood-based pelleted cat litter (to act
as a nesting substrate and absorb moisture from excreta and uneaten food)
and has a solid roof, which projects sufficiently to keep off driving rain.
The rest of the roof is open wire; this has the disadvantage of possible
infection from wild birds overhead, but has the advantage of allowing the
ground to be naturally cleaned by the weather. The owls are also able to sit
out in the rain if they want to. They also have an uninterrupted view of the
sky and seem to derive a lot of interest from watching birds flying over. The
ledge has a 4in (12cm) lip along the front, to retain the litter, eggs and owlets.
Along the top of the lip, which is planed timber, I have nailed a straight
branch of Elder Sambucus niger, to provide a more comfortable perch. Two
sections of telegraph pole and a metal beer barrel provide alternative perching,
none of which is more than 3ft (approx, lm) from the ground. There is
therefore the maximum unimpeded flying space for the size of the aviary
and the owls get some flapping exercise in reaching the ledge. A converted
dustbin lid is set into the floor; faced with coarse concrete, it makes an ideal
bathing point. Uneaten food, accumulated pellets and other debris are
removed from the natural earth floor as necessary, and the top layer of soil
is replaced with fresh leaf mould from the local woods.
On being released into the aviary, the Bengal Eagle Owl flew up to the
ledge and the Snowy Owl perched on one of the sections of telegraph pole.
Thereafter, the Snowy Owl was always to be found on one of the sections of
telegraph pole or on the ground, but never up on the ledge. The Bengal
Eagle Owl, by contrast, used the entire flying space and was altogether a
more active and interesting aviary subject from the beginning. The aviary
floor has been landscaped with a gradient from the back to the front and a
variety of rocks and logs used to retain the soil. Ten assorted conifers, none
of them more than 3ft (approx, lm) high, and a small Hebe were planted in
the aviary, which had been built around a small Elder and a Horse Chestnut
Aesculus hippocastaneum. Eighteen months later, only the Hebe survives,
all the other plants having succumbed to a lack of water and pruning by the
owls. There is considerable shrub and tree cover on both sides and overhead,
as the aviary is set into a shrubbery. The aviary faces onto an open lawn,
and the owls appear to take an interest in passers-by - human and otherwise.
I had not thought any further ahead than housing and studying these two
owls. However, the supposedly geriatric Snowy Owl turned out to be in
breeding condition and from the second day of residence hooted around the
clock. A series of telephone calls failed to locate a female, but Cricket St
SCHOFIELD - BENGAL EAGLE OWL
177
Thomas Wildlife Park offered me a Bengal Eagle Owl. Other than that the
species had bred at the park in the past, they were unable to provide any
history of the bird, which I was pleased to have in exchange for some
waterfowl. It is slightly smaller than my original bird. I collected it on May
4th and all three owls lived together amicably for a few weeks. Late in
September, I started to hear owls hooting and a certain amount of clucking
that accompanies nest-scraping on the part of the male. These owls have so
far been less vocal than Vaughn’s pair; his male seems to cluck and nest-
scrape as a response to passing humans. The Snowy Owl, while not appearing
to be harassed by the other owls, went into decline, and was returned to
Vaughn, where he made a swift recovery and continues in rude health.
I was increasingly convinced that the other two were a true pair, and on
October 24th 2004 one of them was sitting flat on the ledge, in what looked
like an incubating posture. Not wanting to upset the birds in their first
breeding attempt, I kept out of the aviary and it was not until November
29th that I was able to see, from outside the aviary, an egg under the wing of
the sitting bird. The following day egg shell was visible on the ledge next to
the bird which has proved to be the female. From then on, food consumption
increased, and what started off as little “twittering sounds” coming from the
nest, got louder every day. Still trying to keep disturbances to a minimum,
it was not until January 7th 2005, that a baby owl was seen. My notes for
January 22nd record that “one of two baby owls” was seen perched on the
lip of the nesting ledge. The following day one of them was on the floor and
feeding itself, even though it was only half-grown and was more fluff than
anything else. When I went in to investigate, with a view to restoring the
owlet to the safety of the ledge, the male hit me hard on the back, and I
retreated hastily. This was the only time either of the pair has connected
with me, although they will both “clop” their beaks and fluff out their feathers
if I approach them as they sit on the ledge. They then usually get out of my
way, except when on eggs or young. The errant owlet spent that night and
the next on the floor, but was back on the ledge with its sibling on January
24th, leaving me wondering whether it flew there or, more likely, climbed
up the wire.
I had been warned that this owl is often double-brooded, and on January
26th the female was again sat tight on the ledge, as if she had laid again.
The two young birds were not seen off the nesting ledge again until January
29th, when late in the afternoon both were pottering around on the ground
and one was again seen feeding independently. The smaller of the two
young (which had one well developed ear tuft) spent all of the next day on
the ground or on the perches with its father, while the other (which had no
ear tufts) sat on the ledge next to its incubating mother. On February 4th,
one was seen to fly effortlessly from the ground to one of the perching
178
SCHOFIELD - BENGAL EAGLE OWL
posts. It was the first time either of them had been seen to fly. The next day
one was seen to fly up to the ledge. At this stage, their tails were not full
grown, they still had a lot of body fluff, and only one decent ear tuft between
them.
With the first brood, it had been 39 days from first appearing to incubate,
to eggshell being seen; Simmons (1976) gave an incubation period of 35
days. The first baby “twitterings” from what turned out to be the single
young bird of the second brood were heard on March 3rd. On March 23rd,
a flattened eggshell appeared on the aviary floor, and an attempt to see into
the nest revealed one baby just visible under its mother, and one cracked
egg-
My notes for March 26th record the two young of the first brood as
looking just like their father (a paler bird than his mate), although less richly
coloured and somewhat larger. The two were seen to preen each other’s
faces and wings. On March 26th the latest owlet was about the size of a
pigeon Columba livia, and sitting next to its mother for the first time, rather
than underneath her. Four days later a broken eggshell was thrown out of
the nest. It was all that remained of the damaged egg seen earlier. One of
the youngsters was seen to eye a passing mouse in a speculative fashion,
and to pounce on the hose used to refill the bath. On April 27th, the latest
baby was on the floor, and sat on the beer barrel the following day. The day
after that, it was playing like a kitten with a primary moulted by one of its
parents. It did not regain the ledge until May 3rd. By May 17th, although
still retaining a lot of fluff, it was seen flying as well as the others.
In early September I parted with one of the young owls to someone who
wanted a female; I tried to select the biggest, but heard later that it had been
DNA-sexed, which showed it was a male. On reflection, it may not have
been the biggest bird. It is one thing to be able to tell five birds apart from
outside the aviary, when they are all sitting calmly in a row, and quite another
to pick out the required individual when armed with a net and when they are
all flapping around one’s head in a fairly confined space. Less food was
consumed for a week or so after the departure of the young bird, which I
believe was one of the first two. However, food consumption soon went up
again. There was also much hooting and scraping and by September 25th
the adult pair had two eggs on the ledge, closely brooded as before by the
female, with two grown young still in the aviary and no sign of aggression.
Indeed, one of the young birds, I believe the March-hatched one, started to
share incubation with her mother. This was the larger of the two remaining
young, which it now seems fairly obvious are of opposite sexes.
Five eggs were eventually laid, presumably at least one of them by the
young bird which was less than a year old. The two females incubated side
by side for some four weeks, after which the young bird lost interest. One
SCHOFIELD - BENGAL EAGLE OWL
179
eggs was always away from the nest after this. It was at the other end of the
nesting ledge and was eventually removed and proved infertile. Soon
afterwards, one of the four eggs was found broken on the aviary floor. On
the morning of November 22nd, the adult female was off the nest and showing
no interest in returning, so I removed the remaining three eggs, which had
either stopped developing at an early stage or were infertile. I suspect the
former, which would be expected when two birds share the same nest; usually
in such cases the eggs get chilled in rotation (between the two incubating
birds) and do not hatch. The eggs incidentally are chalky white when fresh,
about the size of a chicken egg, but rather more rounded in shape. Until I
can find suitable homes for the two young, it seems unlikely that their parents
will produce any more.
When not feeding young, my owls seem satisfied with four day-old chicks
each per day. They are given a rat each about once a month, which provides
them with a rather more challenging meal. The day-old chicks are swallowed
whole, whereas the rats have to be ripped apart; they always leave the tail
and rear end. I must emphasise that these are domestic rats and that wild
rats are never given to them. I have, however, given them mice caught in
the garden, when no poison has been laid. These appear to be relished.
Larger food items, e.g. pheasant, rabbit, pigeon and half-grown chickens,
need to be cut into sections and so long as they are prepared in this way, are
all taken. An adult rabbit, killed on the road, which was presented whole,
was ignored as apparently it was not recognised as food.
Y ealland (1971) referred to pellets in nests in the wild containing mammal
remains only, while Page (1920) related a secondhand story of one shot
while in possession of a large frog. It is likely that they will eat whatever
they can catch. Given that most birds will take cuttlefish bone, I gave one to
the owls, who played with it and chewed bits off until it was gone, so they
now always have one available. Oystershell grit is also provided, but I have
never seen it taken.
While I would not want to discount Simmons’ observation of dust¬
bathing, it is possible that nest-scraping was mistaken for dust-bathing. My
owls have not been seen to dust-bathe, although the dry soil under the nesting
ledge would be ideal for this. They bathe in water almost daily and in fact
are never seem to drink without also bathing. Simmons referred to play
behaviour. I have had damage to 2 in (approx. 5cm) chicken wire that recalls
what a parrot might do. One night recently a large hole was chewed in the
roof netting, and hasty repairs were made with more suitable netting, while
four pairs of eyes innocently watched me. They will also pull up, dig up,
and otherwise damage vegetation. A most attractive flowering Clematis
growing up the front of the aviary lost half of its growth through an owl
biting through one of its two stems near the ground.
180
SCHOFIELD - BENGAL EAGLE OWL
The owls have become used to our dog and ignore her unless she
approaches too closely, when they will fluff out their feathers and “clop”
their beaks in defence. When they have young in the nest, the male flies at
the wire to drive the dog away. Strange dogs attract proportionally more
aggression. As for cats, we have hardly ever seen one since the owls arrived.
The original pair at Linton Zoo nested on the ground; I have been told
that owls do this only if a more tempting elevated site is not available. 1 also
note from the same article that two of the first brood reared young when less
than a year old when paired to unrelated stock.
While not wanting to make sweeping statements based on less than two
years’ experience, these owls appear to have many virtues as aviary subjects,
being handsome, always on view, not unduly noisy, hardy in our climate,
and free breeders. What more could one ask?
References
Page, W. T. 1920. The Bengal Eagle-Owl. Bird Notes Vol.III, Series IIL40-41.
Parry-Jones, J. 1998. Understanding Owls. David & Charles, Newton Abbot & London.
Sayers, B. 1981. Notes on Captive Owls. Avicultural Magazine 87,4:248-255.
Simmons, K. 1976. Breeding the Bengal Eagle Owl. Avicultural Magazine 82,3:136-138.
Yealland, J. 1971. A Visit to North-Western India. Avicultural Magazine 77,4: 136-145.
* * *
PHILIPPINE EAGLE OWL HATCHED
In International Zoo News Vol.52, No. 8, pp.48 1-482 (2005), it was
reported that at the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation’s Biodiversity
Conservation Centre (NFEFI-BCC), one of two pairs of Philippine Eagle
Owls Bubo philippensis, had succeeded at the third attempt in hatching a
chick. On each of the first two attempts, earlier in the year, the female
incubated a single egg but abandoned it after a month. On October 13th a
further egg was discovered in the nest, then on November 20th when the
female left the nest to take a bath, the keeper observed a chick in the nest. It
was thought to be no more than three days old and that the incubation period
had been about 39 days. If it was reared successfully, it seems that it will
have been the first time this species has been bred in captivity.
181
BOOK REVIEWS
INTERNATIONAL ZOO YEARBOOK
Launched in 1 960 by The Zoological Society of London, the International
Zoo Yearbook is an international forum for the exchange of information
amongst zoos. It is also a source of information for others interested in the
goings-on in the zoo world and some of the information can be relevant to
private aviculturists (as well as those working in public collections).
The latest Yearbook, Y olume 39, opens with a Guest Essay entitled The
future of zoos and aquarium: conservation and care. The Yearbook is then
divided into three sections. Section I, entitled Zoo Animal Nutrition, contains
1 1 articles describing various aspects of nutrition for zoo animals. Most
relevant to members are likely to be the analysis of the maintenance diet
offered to lories and lorikeets at Loro Parque Fundacion and the quantitive
review of the diet of the Purple-bellied Parrot Triclaria malachitacea at
Loro Parque Fundacion. The final article in Section 1 is about the need to
standardize nutritional information within captive management or husbandry
manuals. The format recommended by NAG (Nutritional Advisory Group
of the AZA (American Zoo and Aquarium Association)) is given as a model
for husbandry guidelines. I was particularly interested to see reference to
Husbandry guidelines for the Bali mynah (Leucopsar rothschildi) species
survival plan published by the AZA, and to learn that this manual is
continually reviewed, with updated material available online via the Bali
mynah husbandry manual on the AZA Avian Scientific Advisory Group
website: www.riverbanks.org/subsite/aig/baliopen.htm
In Section 2, The Developing Zoo World, there are two articles likely to
be of particular interest to members, the first is about breeding and hand¬
rearing the Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori at the Smithsonian’s National
Zoological Park, Washington, DC and the second describes what is called
the daily activity budget of captive and released Scarlet Macaws Ara macao
at Playa San Josecito Release Site, Costa Rica. The authors observed the
activity of mostly captive-bred and hand-reared macaws that were being
prepared for release and collected data after their release to use as the first
steps towards developing a protocol for assessing the release potential of
individual birds.
Section 3, the Reference Section, contains a list of Zoos and Aquariums
of the World (updated to 2004), a list of national and regional associations
and a list of international studbooks with data from 2001 and 2002. These
three documents are also on the searchable CD-ROM enclosed with the
Yearbook .
The International Zoo Yearbook Volume 39, Managing Editor Fiona A.
182
BOOK REVIEWS
Fisken, Editorial Assistant Joy Miller, contains 395 pages of text, diagrams
and photographs. It is priced £71.00 (€116.00 or US$145.00) plus p&p.
The list of Zoos and Aquariums of the World is available as an offprint/ with
the CD-ROM, price £20.00 (€32.00 or US$38.00) plus p&p. A number of
earlier volumes remain available. Enquiries should be addressed to The
Zoological Society of London, Dept. IZY, Regent’s Park, London NW 1 4RY,
UK. Fax: +44 (0)20 7449 64 1 1 /website: www.zsl.org/info/publications/e-
mail:yearbook@zsl.org
Malcolm Ellis
CARDINALS, GROSBEAKS, BUNTINGS AND SISKINS
International travel provides an opportunity for many hours of
uninterrupted reading. Whenever I travel I usually select two books, one
for the outbound trip and the other for the homebound journey. During a
recent trip to Italy though I took just one book - Breeding American Songbirds
by Rob van der Hulst, published last year in the Netherlands. I took the
English language version of this 319 page book, which has also been
published in a number of other languages.
The book is broken down into two parts. The first part covers husbandry
and discusses housing, breeding and feeding. The second part covers the
American songbirds - cardinals, grosbeaks, buntings and siskins - upon which
the book concentrates. Each species is meticulously described. Van der
Hulst gives the name of each bird in English, French, Dutch and German,
he gives the etymology of the scientific name, describes the bird’s habitat
and there is a colour map that identifies the bird’s range, showing the areas
that may be used for wintering and its summer or breeding grounds. The
book is richly illustrated - even the maps are in full colour - there are no
black and white illustrations. Included are photos of nestlings, juveniles
and adults.
The text is a gem for aviculturists who keep these birds. I also recommend
it to keepers of other such songbirds from elsewhere in the world. The
detail and information is extensive; few modem books written by aviculturists
principally for the avicultural market are so encompassing. Unfortunately
the North American species are virtually unknown in aviculture here in North
America where, with few exceptions, it is illegal to keep native birds. This
means that most North American aviculturists will not bother to obtain a
copy of this book. My recommendation is that if you are serious about bird
keeping, you should get a copy of this book, irrespective of whether or not
you have access to the species described. The information on aviaries, for
example, can also be relevant to breeders of finches and other groups of
birds.
BOOK REVIEWS
183
The author, Rob van der Hulst, has more than 25 years’ experience of
breeding American songbirds. His achievements include being the first in
the Netherlands to breed the Rose breasted Grosbeak and the Blue Grosbeak.
His extensive experience gives him a special insight and allows him to
write about this group of birds which alas is, for the reason described above,
rather neglected in North American aviculture. Only the Red Siskin is reared
with any regularity in the USA and Canada.
Breeding American Songbirds by Rob van der Hulst, 319 pages, illustrated
throughout in full colour, is published by Drukkerj Het Centrum, Utrecht,
the Netherlands.
Deri an A. L. Silva Moraton
* * *
NEW HUSBANDRY GUIDELINES FOR FLAMINGOS
After several years of international collaboration, a new set of guidelines
for the successful maintenance of flamingos in captivity has been published
by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and the European
Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), in cooperation with the Wildfowl
& Wetlands Trust (WWT).
The new guidelines represent recommendations of husbandry techniques
given the scientific data currently available and the successful experiences
of their members. Guidelines for the renovation of existing facilities and
the construction of new exhibits is included. The extensive bibliography
contains over 2,600 references of scientific and other articles regarding
flamingos.
The Editors, Christopher Brown, AZA Ciconiiformes TAG, Dallas Zoo
and Cathy King, EAZA Ciconiiformes/Phoenicopteriformes EEP, Rotterdam
Zoo say the “while much data has been compiled for these guidelines, there
is still much to be learned about the husbandry of flamingos. It is our intention
that these guidelines be the catalyst for scientific inquiry into the management
of flamingos in captivity.”
Those wishing to know more about these husbandry guidelines should
contact Dr Christopher Brown, Curator of Birds, Dallas Zoo, Texas, USA
(E-mail : CDBROWN @mail . ci . dallas.tx.us) .
184
NEWS AND VIEWS
INTERNATIONAL PARROT CONVENTION
The VI International Parrot Convention will be held from September
27th-September 30th 2006 at Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife. To learn more
you can visit the website: www.loroparque-fundacion.org or e-mail:
dir.general@loroparque-fundacion.org
* * *
BRED IN THE UK FOR THE FIRST TIME
It was reported in Cage & Aviary Birds , November 10th 2005, p.5, that
Scheepmaker’s Crowned Pigeon Goura scheepmakeri has been bred at the
Cotswold Wildlife Park, near Burford, Oxfordshire, and that this is the first
breeding of this species in the UK. The pair consists of two captive-bred
birds that arrived in November 2004 from Cologne Zoo, Germany.
Scheepmaker, after whom this species is named, was a Dutch civil servant
and collector in New Guinea who was active around 1875.
* * *
NEWS FROM TWO COLLECTIONS IN TEXAS
Two Ivory-billed Aracaris Pteroglossus flavirostris have been hand-reared
by Josef Lindholm at the Dallas World Aquarium. They are the first hatched
outside of South America. The arrival of eight Groove-billed Toucanets
Aulacorhynchus sulcatus has brought the number of ramphastids in the
collection up to 24 taxa. A Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock Rupicola rupicola
built a nest and spent a great deal of time on it, but has yet to lay any eggs.
Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks R. peruviana laid eggs, but failed to build a
nest.
The 17th chick has been hatched and reared by a pair of King Vultures
Sarcoramphus papa at Cameron Park Zoo, Waco. Like the previous 1 6 (the
first in 1983 is now living in Mickey Ollsen’s Wildlife World Zoo), its parents
are Vivian (aged at least five years old when she arrived on January 5th
1967 from Bill Chase in Miami) and Vernon (received on loan August 13th
1 982 from Baton Rouge Zoo). It was the first egg hatched by the pair since
being moved to a new exhibit in 2000. The pair share the exhibit with
Collie’s Magpie Jays Calocitta colliei, Inca Terns Larosterna inca , Scarlet
Ibis Eudocimus ruber , White-faced Whistling Ducks Dendrocygna viduata,
Sun Conures Aratinga solstitialis , Blue-headed Conures A. acuticaudata
and Patagonian Conures Cyanoliseus patagonus , plus various Central and
South American mammals.
NEWS & VIEWS
185
BEST BREEDING SEASON EVER
During the winter of 2004-2005, Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary lost
two of its older Red-billed Choughs Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, leaving just
three breeding pairs. Unfortunately, this also meant that the birds of two
long-term pairs lost their respective mates, so had to be paired with new
partners. One pair was housed at the coastal aviary at Zennor - where three
chicks had been produced in 2004, and this upset resulted in no chicks being
hatched there this year.
However, the ‘wild food’ strategy developed at this aviary by Paul Carter
(see Avicultural Magazine Vol.110, No. 3, p.107 (2004)) led to the best
breeding season ever in the aviaries at the park. At one point six chicks
were being reared on the various bugs collected by park staff and those
brought in by members of the public. After a week though it was noticed
that one pair was not feeding its young as often as the other pair, and indeed
eventually this pair abandoned its young. The reason for this may have
been that they were a new pairing and lacked the appropriate parental skills
- it sometimes takes two or three breeding seasons for Red-billed Choughs
to acquire these skills.
A chatter of Choughs at Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary.
The youngest chick was too weak to be saved, but the second chick,
which was two days older, was taken to be hand-reared. This meant that for
four weeks Ray Hales had the unenviable task of putting in the same hours
as a wild chough parent - starting feeding the chick at 5.00am and not
finishing until 8.00pm. Under Ray’s care the young bird developed rapidly.
Within a couple of weeks it was killing insects for itself and was taken on
regular trips into the garden where it would probe under small stones and
leaves in search of food. It also developed an ear-piecing call.
The other pair continued to raise its four young and eventually all
appeared on the ledge outside the nest. Three weeks after they had fledged
186
NEWS & VIEWS
it was decided to move the whole family into one of the large flight aviaries,
so that the youngsters could develop their wing muscles. The hand-reared
bird was gradually introduced into a second aviary, along with three females
from 2004 and a female from 2003.
The park at Hayle, Cornwall, now has two large aviaries for choughs.
Each has a range of microhabitats designed to encourage the birds to probe
and search for food as they would in the wild. With five Red-billed Chough
in one aviary and 1 0 in the other, Ray, the staff and visitors have come to
appreciate that a - chatter - the collective noun for choughs, is very apt
indeed.
* * *
EXHIBITED FOR THE FIRST TIME AT COLOGNE ZOO
In Aktuelles Aus Der Vogelwelt Vol.19, No. 5, p.148 (May 2005), Dr
Herbert Schifter explained that having written in the March issue about the
Fairy or Little Penguins Eudyptula minor novaehollandiae of Granite Island
(an offshore island in Encounter Bay, South Australia, on which some 2,000
Copyright Christopher Brack
Head Keeper Marcel Boulez, with Fairy Penguins at Antwerp
Zoo, September 1986.
NEWS & VIEWS
187
penguins live and breed) and stated that this the smallest representative of
the penguin family was rarely exhibited outside Australia, the Annual Report
for 2004 from Cologne Zoo, Germany, had been published and included the
Theresia Schifter
Fairy Penguins at Melbourne Zoo
news that this zoo on the Rhine had received for the first time nine Fairy
Penguins that had all been bred in the colony at Melbourne Zoo. Dr Schifter
had seen the colony during a visit to Australia in November 2004.
At Cologne Zoo they are exhibited in the former King Penguin enclosure.
This enclosure, which is air-conditioned, had been vacant for many years
because it is no longer considered large enough for other than this small
species.
Dr Schifter’ s note in Aktuelles Aus Der Vogelwelt was translated from
German to English by Christopher Brack, who remembers seeing Fairy
Penguins for the first time in Antwerp Zoo back in the 1980s, when he took
the photo on p. 186.
To the above, Dr Schifter has added that this penguin was received twice
by London Zoo in the 19th century. He quoted the Report of the Council of
the Zoological Society for the Year 1897 , pp. 39-40, published in 1 898, which
on the subject of notable additions to the menagerie in 1897, noted: “Two
Blue Penguins (. Eudyptula minor), from New Zealand, purchased May 21 st.
Only one example of this elegant little penguin had been previously received
by the Society.” Unfortunately, Dr Schifter has not yet been able to find out
which year the first example was received. Dr Schifter added that during
the 20th century this penguin was kept in Brookfield Zoo, Chicago and in
Berlin Zoo in 1963.
188
NEWS & VIEWS
SAVING GURNEY’S PITTA
BirdLife International is appealing for help to save the lowland forest
habitat of the beautiful and enigmatic Gurney’s Pitta Pitta gurneyi, one of
Asia’s most endangered birds. Gurney’s Pitta lives in lowland forest in
Myanmar (Buraia) and neighbouring Thailand. This forest is being cleared
to make way for subsistence farming and for large scale palm oil and rubber
plantations. In addition, BirdLife International alleges that Gurney’s Pitta
is “still being captured for the caged-bird trade.” Is this really so - do any
members know of Gurney’s Pittas being offered for sale or being kept in
aviaries in Europe or North America - or is it just a localised trade?
A few years ago, with only an estimated nine pairs left in Thailand, it
was thought that Gurney’s Pitta was heading for extinction. Then in 2003,
an amazing discovery was made in the lowland forests of Myanmar - a
thriving population of Gurney’s Pittas that was subsequently estimated to
number several hundred pairs.
Most of the rediscovered pittas are living in forest just beyond the
boundaries of the proposed Lenya National Park. So, BirdLife International
and BANCA (the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association of
Myanmar) are working with the Ministry of Forestry and the Government
of Myanmar to have the boundaries of the proposed national park extended
to include the forest in which the pittas are living. Within the boundaries of
the national park they will enjoy a higher level of protection (as will other
wildlife in the forest) and it will capitalise on a wonderful conservation
opportunity.
Let us hope that most if not all of the pitta’s forest habitat can be included
within the national park. Another hopeful sign is that Gurney’s Pitta seems
to favour secondary regenerating forest, so BirdLife International hope that
once the core population has been stablised within the protected areas, the
pittas will be able to spread and occupy land that has been replanted with
native lowland forest trees.
If you would like to support the work to save Gurney’s Pitta, you can
send a donation to BirdLife International, at World Bird Club Appeal,
BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge
CB3 ONA, UK.
* * *
BIRD OF PARADISE BRED AT TOLEDO
Following a 17-day incubation period, a Lesser Bird of Paradise
Paradiseae minor was hatched at Toledo Zoo, Ohio. The female built the
nest and incubated the egg normally, but the chick was hand-reared. It is the
first Lesser Bird of Paradise to be bred at this zoo, which is only the third
US zoo to breed this species. Currently there are 2 1 Lesser Birds of Paradise
in five institutions in the USA.
189
Contributors to Volume 111 - 2005
Bath, Colin
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park
& Living Coasts Breeding Review - 2004 105
Brickell, Neville
Notes of the Great Sparrow Passer montitensis 75
The Blue-spotted Wood Dove Turtur afer in field and aviary 26
Brock, Alan and Beverley
Breeding the Zanzibar Red Bishop in a mixed collection 49
Durkin, Tony
The breeding of the Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba 53
Ellis, John
African Bird Safari -
London Zoo 5 s new walk-through aviary 1 02
Goodwin, Derek
Some personal observations on bird books 78
Gregson, Jo
The Grey- winged Trumpeter Psophia crepitans 1 07
Breeding the Grey Gull Larus modestus 126
Hill, Brian A.G.
The Azure- winged Magpie Cyanopica cy anus’.
anthropomorphic and climatic factors in its distribution 6
Jerrard, Jim
Breeding the Golden-breasted Bunting 1 6 1
Kuhar, C.W., Hernandez, L.M., Amos-Mongiello, K.
Preliminary findings on reproduction
of captive Marabou Storks Leptoptilos crumeniferus 56
Lindsay, Nick
The Vulture Recovery Programme 36
Low, Rosemary
Notes on a short visit to Peninsular Malaysia 109
Mohan, Lalit and Dhiman, Sat Pal
Stress management - an important factor in the effective
breeding of the Cheer Pheasant Catreus wallachii 83
190
Contributors to Volume 111 - 2005 (cont’d)
Restall, Robin
Bird keeping in the tropics 132
Breeding the Sooty Grassquit Tiaris fuliginosa,
with some observations on comparative behaviour 64
Breeding the Y ellow-bellied Seedeater Sporophila nigricollis 1 4
The relationship between a Carrion Crow and a Magpie 39
Rinke, Dieter
The Cuckoo-Roller Leptosomus discolor 121
Sayers, Bernard
An Autobiographical Profile 147
Schifter, Herbert
Could this have been another Gray’s Lory? 123
Records of the breeding of the Guira Cuckoo Guira guira
between 1987-2004 in four German and Swiss zoos 145
The White-headed Mousebird Colius leucocephalus
and its breeding in captivity 30
Schofield, Philip
The society’s visit to Busbridge Lakes 42
Notes on the Bengal Eagle Owl 175
Scott, Colin
Breeding the Red-and-Yellow Barbet
Trachyphonus e. erythrocephalus 21
Silva Moraton, Derian A. L.
Brotogeris parakeets and other feral parrots in southern Florida 3
Smith, Anneka and Schofield, Jim
Breeding the Purple Glossy Starling Lamprotornis purpureus 1 64
Trollope, Jeffrey
Breeding the Desert Finch Rhodopechys obseleta 97
Wilkinson, Roger
Bird News from Chester Zoo - 2004 129
Wilkinson, Roger, Dowell, Simon and Bo, Dai
Chester Zoo’s Sichuan Biodiversity Conservation Programme:
Support for broadleaf forest endemic birds 1 68
191
Index to Volume 111 - 2005
The Avicultural Society, Officers and Council, from April 2005 1
Barbet, Red and Y ellow, breeding 2 1
Bird books, some personal observations 78
Bird keeping, in the tropics 132
Bishop, Zanzibar Red, breeding in a mixed collection 49
Book Reviews
A Guide to... Black Cockatoos as Pets and Aviary Birds 138
A Guide to...Gouldian Finches and their Mutations 136
Amazon Parrots: Aviculture, Trade and Conservation 135
Breeding American Songbirds 1 82
Field Guide to the Birds of Western Africa 44
International Zoo Y earbook, V olume 39 181
Broiogeris parakeets, and other feral parrots in southern Florida 3
Bubo bengalensis, notes on 175
Bunting, Golden-breasted, breeding 1 6 1
Catreus wallachii , stress management, important factor in breeding 83
Cepphus columba , breeding at Living Coasts 53
Colius leucocephalus, its breeding in captivty 30
Conservation Programme, Chester Zoo, Sichuan, China 168
Corvus cor one, relationship with Pica pica 39
Council Meeting, report of 2
Crow, Carrion, relationship with a Magpie 39
Cuckoo, Guira, breeding records in four German and Swiss zoos 145
Cuckoo-Roller, notes on 121
Cyanopica cyanus, factors in its distribution 6
Dove, Blue-spotted Wood, in field and aviary 26
DVD Review
Birdkeeping the South African Way: The Finches of Africa 45
Emberiza flaviventris, breeding 161
Euplectes nigroventris, breeding in a mixed collection 49
Finch, Desert, breeding 97
Grassquit, Sooty, breeding, comparative behaviour 64
Guillemot, Pigeon, breeding at Living Coasts 53
Guira guira , breeding records in four German and Swiss zoos 145
Gull, Grey, breeding 132
Lamprotornis purpureus, breeding 1 64
Earns modes tus, breeding 126
Leptoptilos crumenifeus, preliminary findings on reproduction 56
Leptosomus discolor , notes on 121
Lory, Gray’s, considered to have been a hybrid 123
192
Index to Volume 111 - 2005 (cont’d)
Magpie, Azure-winged, factors in its distribution 6
Mapgie, relationship between it and a Carrion Crow 39
Mousebird, White-headed, its breeding in captivity 30
News & Views 46,9 1 , 1 40, 184
Owl, Eagle, Bengal, notes on 175
Parakeets, Brotogeris, and other feral parrots in southern Florida 3
Passer montitensis , notes on 75
Peninsular Malaysia, notes on a short visit 109
Pica pica , relationship with a Carrion Crow Corvus corone 39
Pheasant, Cheer, stress management, important factor in breeding 83
Profile, Autobiographical, of Bernard Sayers 147
P sophia crepitans, notes on 107
Rhodopechys obsoleta , breeding 97
Seedeater, Y ellow-bellied, breeding 1 4
Social Meeting, visit to Busbridge Lakes 42
Sparrow, Great, notes on 75
Sporophila nigricollis , breeding 14
Starling, Purple Glossy, breeding 164
Stork, Marabou, preliminary findings on reproduction 56
Tiaris fuliginosa, breeding, comparative behaviour 64
Trachyphonus e. erythrocephalus , breeding 21
Trichoglossus coccineifrons , considered to have been a hybrid 123
Trumpeter, Grey- winged, notes on, including breeding 107
Turtur afer , in field and aviary 26
Vulture, Recovery Programme 36
Zoo, Chester, Bird News, 2004 129
Zoo, London, new walk-through aviary 1 02
Zoo, Paignton, Environmental Park & Living Coasts,
Breeding Review, 2004 105
AVICULTURAL MAGAZINE BACK ISSUES
The society has a large stock of back issues mostly from 1935 onwards
but there are also some earlier issues still available. They are priced £3.00
each (including p&p). Please check availability before placing an order.
Overseas members may be able to pay by credit card through a Paypal
invoice, but this service is not available in all countries. All enquiries should
be addressed to: P. Boulden, Hon. Secretary/Treasurer, Avicultural Society,
Arcadia, The Mounts, East Allington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7JQ, UK or E-
mail:admin@avisoc. co.uk
FRANK MEADEN
Frank Meaden died on December 9th 2005. In the 1960s, Frank and the
late Dr Colin Harrison founded the ASPEBA (Association for the Study and
Propagation of European Birds in Aviaries), which continued to meet until
as recently as 2003. Frank’s book, A Manual of European Bird Keeping
(Blandford, 1979), later re-named Keeping British Birds , was reprinted
recently by Hampshire Breeders and Books. He also wrote many articles, a
number of which were published in th eAvicultural Magazine. Frank Meaden
was credited with the first breeding in the UK of many British/European
birds, as well as others including the Long-tailed Rosefmch Uragus sibiricus
and the Three-banded species Carpodacus trifasciatus.
KEN SEMPLE
Ken Semple also died in December 2005. Ken, who with his wife, Ivy,
attended the social meeting at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in
September, had, over the years, kept many different kinds of birds, including
native British birds and hybrids, Zebra Finches and other Australian finches,
Bengalese, parrots and various softbills. He was credited with the first
breeding in the UK of the Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor. His account
of this breeding was published in the Avicultural Magazine Vol. 77, 5:166-
167(1971).
* * *
SOCIAL EVENTS 2006
Members and their guests have been invited to visit the Chairman
Christopher Marler’s collection at Weston Underwood, Olney, Bucks. The
visit will be on Saturday, May 13th 2006, when the AGM will also be held.
The President’s Garden Party will take place on Saturday, July 15th. The
society hopes to visit Whipsnade Wild Animal Park on September 9th, 16th
or 23rd.
3 9088 01174 2285
CONTENTS
Records of the breeding of the Guira Cuckoo Guira guira between
1987-2004 in four German and Swiss zoos
by Herbert Schifter . 145
An autobiographical profile
by Bernard Sayers . 147
Breeding the Golden-breasted Bunting
by Jim Jerrard . 161
Breeding the Purple Glossy Starling Lamprotornis purpureus
by Anneka Smith and Jim Schofield . 164
Chester Zoo’s Sichuan Biodiversity Conservation Programme:
Support for broadleaf forest endemic birds
by Roger Wilkinson, Simon Dowell and Dai Bo . 168
Notes on the Bengal Eagle Owl
by Philip Schofield . 175
Book Reviews
Breeding American Songbirds . 181
International Zoo Yearbook . 182
News & Views . 184
Contributors to Volume 1 1 1 - 2005 . 189
Index to Volume 1 1 1 - 2005 . 191
Published by the Avicultural Society, England.
Produced by Data Publishing Service, Cheddar.
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