Breeding of Curl-crested Aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii) in Zoo Ohrada.
Curl-crested
Aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaesii) belongs to a species that is rarely bred
and exhibited in zoological gardens, even other representatives of this kind
are not normally exhibited or form a part of the general avifauna. The first
kind of the Pteroglossus that was brought in from the wild was in 1807 and
that was to the zoological garden in London it was P. torquatus (Collared
Aracari).
Even though Aracari P.beauharnaesii has already
been known for some time from different descriptions and stuffed bird samples,
the actual live bird first appeared in captivity only in 1960 and that was
in the Bronx Zoo, in the United States, (Ruthers & Norris, 1984). Other
imports of this kind were only sporadic. At present time it is bred only in
few zoological gardens - San Diego/USA California/, Cambron/Belgium/ (Isis/Arks,
1995), and in Czech Republic only in the Ohrada Zoo in Hluboka nad Vltavou
and also in the Zoo in Dvůr Králové nad Labem.
Classification,
occurrence and the biological kind
The P.beauharnaesii is systematically sorted into r. Pteroglossus (which in
all includes 10 kinds) families Ramphastidae (Toucans) and Piciformes kind.The
area covered by this kind goes as far as the Amazon region of Peru, west Brazil
and northern Boliva. The birds has its home in the humid forests and grassy
regions with sporadic greenery in the lowlands up to 600 m. above sea level.
The spacious niche for these toucan birds are the crowns of tall large trees
where they search for food and make their nests.
It is mainly fructo-vegetative kind, its main form of food is fruit and different
kind of berries. Insect and other form of small vertebrae are only a supplement
to his diet, the need increases during the period of nesting. The bird is
mainly active during the day. During the night, he sleeps in cavities, during
his sleep he lifts his tail feathers directly upwards and rests them on his
back, which enables him to fit into very small openings. He nests in cavities
without any form of nesting material. His style of flight resembles the flight
of a woodpecker; his flight is short and clumsy. On the other hand, in the
tree crowns he moves quickly and ably, jumps, climbs and flies from branch
to branch. From time to time, he also flies to the ground to have a drink,
or swim or to gather some food. His vocal demonstration is restricted to hoarse
non melodic sound or whistling sound, for example stridulous warble while
he is feeding his fledglings. If he is excited, he gives out short sharp shrieks.
In comparison with the more known kind of P.torquatus, he is less aggressive
(Rundel, 1976).
With his colouring, he belongs to the nicest kind of aracari. The most known
morphological mark of this kind (to which he owes his name) is the curliness
of his feathers on the forehead and on the crown of his head. Black shiny
feathers remind you of a viscose fibre, twisted by the pull across a sharp
edge. The length of his body ranges from 40 - 45 cm, the length of a beak
of an adult can reach up to 10 cm. Sexual dimorphism nearly doesn't exists,
only one female from our three breeding pairs can be distinguished from others
by slighter figure and with a smaller beak.
History
of breeding in the world
History of breeding of Pteroglossus dates back to 1974, where zoo in Los Angeles
brought out a subspecies of Collared Aracari (P.t. erythorpygius) (Rundel,
1976).
Curl-crested Aracari nested for the first time in Los Angelees in 1974, but
all of the 6 eggs laid in 3 nests were unfertilized. An aviary of the same
type (six sided, with a diameter of 5 m) was shared with a pair of Partridge
(Francolinus sp.). The nesting cavity had a diameter of 15 cm. this was hollowed
into a tree stump which was attached to a top of a tree trunk only 120 cm
from the floor. Other descendant of this breed, especially of P.aracari (Black-necked
Aracari) was successfully bred in a Venezuelan zoo in Barquisimetu in 1988.
The
breed of Curl-crested Aracari in Zoo Ohrada
The zoo Ohrada bought its first pair of arassaru in 1994, and year later another
pair, which was consisted of one adult male and immature female bird. The
third and so far the last pair was brought into our zoo on the 21st April,
1996, this pair consisted of a adult male and a young female who at the time
of import into CR. Showed signs of immaturity. All bought birds come from
catchments and their sex was identified by endoscope.
Conditions
of breeding
The first two pairs have been separately placed into box shaped aviaries these
were housed in the over-wintering accommodation, (the size of these boxes
were 145x180 cm., with a height of 280 cm.). The internal facilities were
only purposeful: tree trunk with branches for climbing and a nesting box in
a trunk, made out of piece of lime tree (with a diameter of 30 cm.). The birds
regularly nested in the cavities of the tree. The floor of the aviary was
covered with a layer of river sand. Food was offered in stone bowls placed
on perch. The birds had normal drinking containers but also a large bowl was
provided to give them the possibility of swimming. The lighting system was
approximately 12 hourly, (light from 7 - 19 h.) and the temperature moved
from 15° to 23° C. During March 1996, the mating with both pairs was not particularly
expressive, treading was not seen and nesting did not take place.
The third pair after purchase was placed in a separate aviary in the basement
of the workshop area due to insufficient place in the other aviaries. The
aviary (floor area of 200 x 330 cm, with a height of 215 cm) had no possibility
to fly outside. The wooden structure of the aviary was covered with normal
rabbit wire the floor was covered with a layer of river sand. The inside facilities
were basic, oak tree trunk with branches, feeding grid and a bowl for swimming.
For the nesting box we again used the lime tree trunk with a diameter of 30
cm, and a height of 55 cm. The opening into the nest was 7 cm wide, it was
positioned about 40 cm from the base and 175 cm above ground. The roof of
the nesting box was removable and access to the opening was made easier by
a set of "steps" made from strong nails, fixed to both sides. The
nest was lined with soft lime tinder wood shavings, but the birds threw most
of the material out of the nest on to the floor. Due to the absent heat and
lighting source, the heating and lighting regime followed natural conditions
from April to September 1996.
Feeding
The previous owner offered the birds a very simple diet of sliced apples and
special granules for Mynas (Gracula). After their arrival in our zoo, we varied
their diet. The base of their diet consists of chopped fruit, either home
grown or imported, the birds prefer sweet soft fruits - like bananas, cherries,
peaches etc. This is then supplemented with small amount of granules for Mynas
from Witte Molen co. From time to time, we add a bit of grated carrots or
chopped lettuce. During the nesting period, we also offer them sprouted wheat.
Protein part of their diet is provided with a small amount of cooked minced
beef, egg mixture, some insects, and during the feeding of the fledglings
even one-day-old mice. From September 1996 we also enriched their diet with
vitamin EX-A, this is a complete additive of biologically active substances,
designed for exotic birds. We offered this on a daily basis, as per instructions,
and only once a month we substituted this with a concentrated multivitamin
Supervit D. Aracari are fed once a day, in the morning.
Nesting
We did not observe the first courting and mating actions, but an increased
interest in the nesting box was seen approximately from the middle of June.
From the 24.6.1996 both birds spent most of their time inside the nesting
cavity. Not to disturb the birds too much, we left their activity to a natural
course.
On the 19.7.1996 the keeper heard the first sound of the fledglings. We reduced
our activities in the aviary to an absolute minimum, only to feed and water
the birds, and cleaning was carried out only twice a week. In the beginning,
the amount of food did not need to be increased, but we enriched it with one-day
old mice and for a short time even some crickets. Chopped up locusts have
been offered to them during the whole season, but because of the minuteness
of the food, the pieces of sharp shanks were not removed. Aracari accepted
this food happily, the same way as they enjoyed other insects and mice. The
female spent most of her time on the nest, while the male stood guard near
the entrance to the cavity, and when disturbed he gave out sharp screeching
noises. The behaviour of the birds was not aggressive during this time, only
when the aviary was approached the female left the nest for a period. Mainly
the female fed the fledglings, she collected the food immediately after it
was offered, and during which time she preferred the protein part of food
offered. From time to time even the male brought food into the nesting cavity.
The young fledglings made tuneless croaking noises, these increased in intensity
during feeding time. They also made noises after feeding and when one of the
parents entered the nest, later on they reacted to their voices.
No extra heat was supplied into the aviary during the nesting time, only at
night the window was closed. Closer observation was difficult, because soon
as the keeper appeared, the birds noticed him and interrupted their activity
and waited to see what will happen. They did not react to other disruptions
(at that time there was some reconstruction going on).
We found two well-developed fledglings after the first check on the 12.8.
The nesting cavity was completely clean and dry, there were no remains of
eggshells, and even all the nesting material was gone, this was carried out
by the parents. We replaced the wood shavings and tinder up to about 10 cm
high. We were not able to find out the original number of eggs because of
the state the nest. Both the fledglings had been fed and sat at the bottom
of the nest with their heads upwards. Their skin had a grey-pink colour after
25 days. Their hand and elbow wings started to develop, also tail feathers
and head feathers started to grow. Across the back two narrow rows of dark
feathers appeared. Their eyes were opened. The beak was yellow-grey; the length
of the beak was approximately equal to the distance from its base to nape
of its head. We did not weigh or measure the young fledglings, one of them
appeared slightly smaller then his sibling.
The second check took place on the 27.8. the remainder of the nesting material
(parents started to carry it out immediately after the nesting box was replaced,
after the first check) was wet, but the young fledglings were all right. From
this day, we checked the nesting box two to three times a week and replaced
the bedding as necessary.
The bigger fledgling was
seen in the opening to the nesting cavity the first week in September. On
the 6.9. the smaller fledgling was found on the ground with visual breathing
problems, even after application of antibiotics with an injection, this bird
died the following day. Dissection showed signs of circulation problem with
dilation of the heart, and large blood congestion in the lungs. No parasites
in the blood, nor bacterial infection was found in the body, only catarrhal
inflammation in the intestine but without parasitic infection.
Strong invasion of unknown components was found in the trachea and also histological
signs of focal tracheitis there were also signs of inflammation in other body
organs. There were no similar signs with other individuals. Because of this,
heat source was installed within the vicinity of the nesting box. From the
first sign of temperature drop outside at the beginning of September, the
temperature within the aviary was held at a constant of 19° - 22°C. From the
9.9. the remaining young bird spent most of its time outside the nesting box,
but over night, he spent his time in the nest together with its parents. On
the 10.9. the birds were treated with Baycox (a product which acts against
coccidioal ) the young bird was given extra product Nilverm (which is against
nematodas)
At the beginning, the young bird was being fed by his parents on branches
near its nesting box, but approximately in the middle of September, the young
Aracari flew regularly to the bird table and was feeding himself. During this
time, the source of suitable and freely available insects became sparse due
to the cool weather, therefore the protein part of the diet was mainly substituted
with cooked meet and floured maggots. However, the young increased its intake
of fruit to the detriment of preferred insects and mice.
On the 9.10, we separated
the self-sufficient young bird from its parents, at the age of 13 weeks, into
the area adjacent to its parental aviary. During the first few days, the parents
tried to feed the young through the netting but after awhile they calmed down.
The birds over-wintered in an average temperature of 16°C, the light was switched
on from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The parental pair stayed together in the same aviary until the 21.12.1996,
at that time the pair had to be separated due to mutual attacks, this led
into dangerous skirmishes. During the excited flight, the birds locked together
and continued their skirmish on the ground. The female remained in the original
aviary and the male was placed to adjacent area, they were separated only
by wire fencing. The young bird that was in the same room with its parents
up to now, was removed to another building.
We enabled the pair of
birds to join again on the 19.2.1997. The female remained in the cavity from
the end of February, the male was seen from time to time while he was removing
wood shavings from the cavity. On the 8.3. the male was intensively chasing
the female this again led to their separation. Day after this incident we
placed a dense covering from pine branches and again introduced the birds
to each other. The female either remained in the nesting cavity or used the
facility of the dense pine branches. We removed the male again at the end
of March, because of his aggressive behaviour towards the female, and the
female took part in a week stimulation treatment (Combinal E, mice). The mating
took place on the 7.4. During the months of April and May, the female spent
most of her time in the nesting box, from time to time the male bird joined
her even for the whole day, in the nesting box.
Between the 22 and 27.5 the male bird was noticed, that after food was offered,
he flew into the nesting box with food in his beak, sometimes even when the
female was sitting outside the nest he would fly in with food. On the morning
of the 27.5 the female became nervous, left the nesting cavity, and stayed
the grater part of the day outside, whereas the male kept flying into the
nest. Unfortunately, after checking the nest on the 28.5 it was found to be
empty.
In the following period, both birds seemed to behave normally and no mating
was seen to take place, nor increased interest in the nesting cavity. The
female used the nesting cavity from time to time and probably used it as a
safe hideaway from the male.
Random check on the 17.7
unexpectedly showed 1 fledgling and 3 pure white coloured eggs, their shape
and size was similar to pigeon eggs. Up to a point, the male also participated
on sitting on the eggs, he remained in the cavity while the female took a
short flight outside. After discovery of the young, we immediately increased
the amount of offered maggots, crickets and locusts, while it was not necessary
to increase the total amount of food offered. During the second check, on
the 24.7. we found three young bare pink fledglings. One egg remained whole.
The young fledglings hatched gradually, which was proven by their varied sizes
and development. The female sat from the beginning of egg collection. The
beaks of the young fledglings did not show any signs to the family of toucans.
The male proved himself a model and caring father. Immediately to food was
offered he fed the young birds (he changed with the female) for majority of
the time he was guarding the nest. On the other hand, the female, after the
food was offered, fed herself first and only after a while, she started to
bring the food to the young. The male who was not restrained by the sitting
on the nest, flew immediately with the food to the nest. The male seemed calmest
while the whole family was sitting in the nest, and it appears that his supply
of food to the nest was over excessive, when during the checks we regularly
found live-floured maggots at the bottom of the nesting cavity. Even so, on
the 29.7. we found only two young fledglings and no eggs. The young birds
were still blind, and bare (with slight signs of tail feathers) their nostrils
were small and on each heel, they had signs of nine sharp thorny cirri. Their
growing beak did not leave anyone without doubt that they came from a family
of toucans.
During the nesting period, we chose to check the nest once a week; during
this time, we refilled the nesting material. Contrary to the natural nesting
conditions within the cavity of a tree, in a nesting box the natural absorption
of excrements and their natural disposal with harmless microorganism does
not work. These microorganisms can be found normally within a living tree.
6.8. the eyes of the fledglings started to open and slight signs of flight
feathers appeared. When feeding the young with few day old young mice, the
female takes them into the nest whole, while the male is able to hold them
with his leg on a branch and pull off small pieces with his beak.
11.8. the young birds were slightly dirty, so we decided to change the bedding
twice a week. The young aracari could see and on their head, they have visible
ear openings, their growing beak was quite noticeable. 15.8. on this day,
the tips of red feathers appeared on the neck and chest of the birds, on the
lower part of the abdomen yellow feathers. The amount of food consumed during
this period increased. 18.8. the tips of the flight feathers on the wings
and tail cut through their covers. The spurs lost their sharpness, but they
were still markedly developed.
29.8. one of the young
was seen in the opening of the nesting cavity. 5.9. it left the nesting cavity
and day later even the other young bird left the nest, both of them were fully
feathered and could fly. Now the male was mainly responsible for the feeding
of the young birds but it did not take long and the young birds learnt to
fly to the feeding table and to feed themselves. They were still happy to
use the parental care, and when offered food by the parents they started begging
by giving out intensive hoarse sounds. The young birds favourite past time
was to nibble the bark from branches or to collect insects from the floor.
Once the young birds left the nest, the male carried on feeding them, but
then started to chase the female who was not able to feed herself and had
to hide her self in the nest. Therefore on the 14.9. we removed the male from
the aviary. The female calmed down but by now the young birds hardly paid
any notice to her. On the other hand, the male that was only in the next aviary,
which separated them only by wire fencing, was agitated and tried to feed
the young birds across the wire netting.
The end of September brought
some favourable weather conditions, which we used to let the young birds fly
out in the new external aviary. The outdoor aviary used mainly the young who
sunned themselves and watched the surrounding. The female and male did not
fly outside, and willingly stayed inside the room. Both the young and the
female stayed together in the same aviary until the beginning of January 1998.
From available information, there isn't a zoo that has been able to breed an Curl-crested Aracari until 1996 nor did any other breeding stations publish information regarding success in breeding young of this particular species. Our worldwide success in breeding Curl-crested Aracari pleases us, especially because we were able to reproduce this bird by natural means.
