|
|
First Breeding of Blue-Winged Kookaburra
(Dacelo leachii) at Houston Zoo, Inc.
By Charlona Ingram, Senior Keeper
Bird Department, Houston Zoo, Inc.
Houston, TX ~ April, 2008
Introduction
The Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) is a slightly smaller, more colorful cousin of the more well-known Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). Found in open woodland and wooded savanna in Northern Australia and Southern New Guinea, it is considered common over most of its range. Although common in Australia, the Blue-winged Kookaburra is not well-represented in North American Zoos and can only be found at three institutions, including Houston Zoo, Inc. (HZI).
The Bird Department at HZI currently houses one breeding pair of Blue-winged Kookaburra in an off-exhibit area and one juvenile male on exhibit. Our pair was imported in June 2003 from France by Miami MetroZoo. They were housed at Miami Metro in their Wings of Asia exhibit until the Kookaburras began harassing the smaller birds in the Aviary. The HZI Bird Department received the pair on breeding loan in October 2005.
Housing
The Kookaburras were placed in the off-exhibit area in their own enclosure in hopes of breeding them. Their 1” x 1” wire enclosure is 20’ long x 6’ wide x 8’ tall [6.09m x 1.82m x 2.43m]. The substrate is pea gravel and the enclosure is planted with two tall ficus trees. Two large logs are provided on the ground for pulverizing the Kookaburras’ prey. The adult Kookaburra diet consists of hopper-size mice, anoles, and chicks.
Once comfortable in their new home, the birds exhibited territorial and bonding behaviors. Several times per day, they called loudly back and forth to each other. They also killed any small animal that happened to get into their enclosure, including frogs, toads, large beetles and lizards. Some prey items were eaten and some were left on the ground.
Blue-winged Kookaburras are sexually dimorphic. The female is larger and has a longer, rufous tail, while the male’s tail feathers are purplish/blue. We could also tell our pair apart by temperament. The male is much more territorial. He may stand his ground and attempt to “stare you down.” If this fails, he has been known to fly at the keepers and hit them in the back of the head. In the wild, this behavior can be used to pith other animals.
Breeding
In the wild, Blue-winged Kookaburras nest in trees or excavated termite mounds. In late January 2006, we provided two wooden nest boxes. One nest box (12” wide x 18” tall x 12” deep/30.48cm x 45.7cm x 30.38cm) was hung vertically at the back of the enclosure. A second box (12” wide x 12” tall x 18” deep/30.48cm x 30.48cm x 45.7cm) was placed horizontally by the door of the enclosure. Both boxes were packed with pine shavings. Both birds showed interest right away by perching on the boxes and hopping in and out. On 4 February, the male began excavating the box by the door of the enclosure in earnest. Pine shavings were scattered under the box, and he would spend hours inside the box, knocking on the walls and floor. Finally, there was only a thin layer of shavings in the box, pulverized mostly into dust.
In March, 2006, the male began offering food to the female. Both birds spent a large amount of time in the box. If the box was approached, the female would shoot out and fly away. However, the male would sit in the box opening and defend the nest. Keepers started to wear a hard safari hat when cleaning the enclosure. We also put up large palm fronds around the nest box for more privacy. The palms were placed around the box to block the view into the keeper hallway and into the adjacent enclosure.
The first egg was found 30 March, with the second egg on 1April. Published clutch size for this species is two eggs; however, we found a third egg on 7 April. The third egg was weighed and measured: 42.16 cm long x 34.13 cm wide [16.6” x 13.43”.] and weighing 25.7g [0.09oz.]. The oblong eggs were white in color.
Incubation
The Blue-winged Kookaburra incubation range is 25-26 days. Both of our birds took turns sitting in the box; however, the male seemed to do most of the incubating. He could be seen sitting with his head in the nest box opening most of the day. He also continued to pound on the inside of the box throughout incubation.
Chick at 7 days old
(Photo by Chris Holmes)
On 20 April, the eggs were candled. One of the embryos was dead, but the other two eggs showed strong veining. On 24 April, we candled the eggs again. One of them was...
Want to read the rest of this article? Become a member of AAZK and get 12 issues of Animal Keepers' Forum each year featuring lots of animal husbandry, enrichment and training information.
|
