Birds in the. Monkey House. (Avicultural experiences in the World of Primates)

Transcription

1 Birds in the Mnkey Huse (Aviulturl experienes in the Wrld f Primtes) It hppens withut fil t lest three times week, nd smetimes severl times dy; I will be strddling the gurd-ril, setting ut little pns f sked dg fd, hpped fruit nd finh seed severl feet frm the 28 ft deep mt tht seprtes lf grills frm their humn dmirers. One f the ltter will sk me, "Yu men they me ll the wy up here t get tht fd?" "Exuse me?" I reply. "Them mnkeys - they me up here t et tht?" "This is birdfd..." "Oh! There's birds in here?" Yes. There re birds in here. At lest 75 speimens f 18 speies. I nnt be mre preise, despite the best effrts f myself, ur Curtr, ur Assistnt Curtr, my supervising Keeper III, nd my relief Keeper I, vriusly rmed with binulrs, lgsheets, pens nd penils, in mbintins theref, r s individuls. All the birds re bnded, nd mst with pretty "dy-glw" plsti rings. This is ften, hwever, nt n pprent ft, while ne is ttempting t determine extly whih seven fthe 17 Orngeheeked Wxbills relesed in this building ver yer g re the nes just nw jstling eh ther ver spry f millet. The sme dilemm pplies t the Afrin Silverbills f whih 22 were liberted, nd even the Blk-winged Bishps, nly seven intrdued here, but whse shyness mstly preludes ler lk t their bnds. The heptgnl glss rf f the Wrld f Primtes (W..P.) twers 38 feet bve the mted plteu where grills rm, n enlses 8,400 squre feet f trpicl verdre dminted by three wterflls, reirulting 26 ]nul)' / Februl)' 1994 byjseflindhlm, 11/ Keeper II, Birds Frt Wrth Zlgil Prk Frt Wrth, Texs between them mre thn 5,500 gllns f wter every hur, dy nd night. This inessnt rr is perpetul reminder tht the Wrld f Primtes ws nt designed fr birds. The plns fr this building were drfted, nd nstrutin preeded, untrubled by Bird Deprtment ptiently witing fr new Bird Huse t reple the interntinlly fmus (Hhn, 1976; Jnes, 1968) if smll ne tht burnt in Deemberf In 1991, hwever, less thn yer befre the pening f the Wrld f Primtes, Christpher Brwn beme Curtr f Birds nd deided t ne tht eight yers withut n indr exhibit f birds t the Frt Wrth Z were quite enugh. Of urse, plns ntinue pe fr Bird Huse we expet t be the epitme fgd husbndry, beuty nd intelligent presenttin, but, fr nw, the "W..P." keeps us in prtie - nd ur publi hs the pprtunity t quint themselves with sme mrvelus birds. The breth-tking rry f trpil plnts tht pervde the Wrld f Primtes might seem, n the fe f it, t prvide perfet nditins fr birds. As it hppens, they impse limittins n wht my be kept, nd its ptentil fr suessful prpgtin. As will be seen, the lush "living wll" rising twrds the eiling frm the brder f the visitr's pth presents speil prblems. As is nly t be expeted, the hrtiulturl stff is fierely prtetive f its plnts, situtin mplited by the ft tht there re tw whlly seprte rews: members f the Frt Wrth Zlgil Prk's Deprtment f Envirnmentl Plnning, nd emplyees f ntrted firm tht therwise mnges the plnts in industril prks, mlls, nd ther mmeril settings. Bth tems re ultimtely under the supervisin f Kenny Sims, ur lngsuffering Diretr f Envirnmentl Plnning. Kenny hd lredy put gret del f effrt nd expense int reting trpil frest in the building when he disvered tht the Bird Peple were ging t turn things lse in the middle f it ll, nd initilly regrded ur tivities with degree fgurded suspiin. T mllify the nerns f ur plnt stff, the initil nessin ws mde, t the effet tht nthing muh lrger thn Glden-brested Strling wuld be liberted in the "W..P." (When ur then-diretr, Elvie Turner, uthrized the inlusin f birds, he stipulted tht his fvrite speies, the Glden-brest, be mng the elet.) The lrgest birds in this building re pir f Httentt Tel (Ans httentt) nd Crwned Lpwing (Vnellus rntus), whih, thugh ll full-winged, usully nfine themselves t the shre f the reek tht vers the bttm f the mt. Otherwise, the "big" birds re Glden-brested r Ryl Strling (Csmpsrus regius), the mst ppulr bird with the mjrity f "W..P." visitrs, ]vn Blk-winged Strling (Sturnus m. melnpterus), the ne bird in this exhibit whih ls lived in the ld bird huse, hthing there in 1983, the yer it burnt, pir f Firy Bluebirds (Iren puell), nd n Est Kenyn D'Arnud's Brbet (Trhyphnus drnudii behmi), hthed t the Denver Z, fr whih we hve fund n unrelted stk f tht prtiulr subspeies. (The inlusin f Asin birds in building dminted by grills is justified by the presene f n Orngutn fmily, displyed behind glss, lng the visitr's pth, nd mre Orngs nd lternting White-hnded nd White-heeked Gibbns in mted enlsures utside,) It is in the exhibitin f smller birds tht we hve left the mre trveled pths f indr flight-ge mngement. Chris Brwn's deisin t lrgely stk the Wrld f Primtes with Estrildid nd Pleid finhes hs nt nly mde things very interesting fr the keepers f tht exhibit, but hs ls hd fr-rehing effets elsewhere in the Bird Deprtment. It ws disurging t find just hw thrughly wht seemed t be enrmus numbers f finhes uld disp-

2 per int the greenery f the Wrld f Primtes nd nt be seen. T nsiderble extent, this remins the se t mid-dy, nd when it is verst. Befre nn nd fter 3:00 p.m. re lwys the best times t see birds in the "W..P." We hve, hwever, ntrived methd f mking finhes visible tht ls hieves the hppy gls f lessening the vlume f inevitble seed hulls nd giving ur publi n pprtunity t bserve nturl behvir. The Frt Wrth Z nd surrunding Frest Prk re blessed with gret stnds f Se r Gergi Cne (Arnd dnex), whse stut stems, tpped with plume-like seedheds nd festned with lng, brd, pinted leves, my reh height f 20 feet. After sme tril nd errr, I sueeded in tthing lrge numbers f millet sprys lng these stems by the simple expedient f using pper tpe (r fiber msking tpe if I rn ut). Brwn pper tpe is preferble, s spes re left when spent sprys re remved, nd new nes n simply be reinserted, thugh, when the wether isn't freezing, the stlks themselves re hnged firly ften t preserve the impressin fliving plnts. The millet is usully psitined s it hngs ut ver the mt, eliminting the prblem f hff. It must be stressed tht Glden-brested Buntings (Emberiz f!viventris) pper unble t feed frm these ntrptins, nd depend n seed prvided in pns, while Twinspts nd Melbs, thugh ble t et frm sprys, pper t prefer pns s well. With these exeptins, millet tped t Arnd stlks wrks beutifully, nd the sight f lump f sprys bbbing up nd dwn under the shifting weight f hnging rry f Wxbills, Wevers, nd Whydhs is ne tht uses even the dily re-givers t stp in their trks. Getting the Strlings nd Brbet dwn where peple will ntie them is simple mtter when the keeper is present - I nfess t deriving entertinment frm strtling the grillengrssed publi int ntiing my birds by "mterilizing" Ryl Strling, lmst under their nses, thrugh tssing severl melwrms, wxwrms, r mggts nt n rtifiil bulder. (Then gin, there re lwys ertin individuls, usully smll bys, wh find the livefd mre fsinting thn its intended benefiiries.) Thugh the Firy Bluebirds will sinlly light n the rkwrk, they muh prefer their insets sttered n their sftfd the pns f whih re pled in lrger pns f seed, in tum seured in metl stnds, designed by ur Curtr nd mde in-huse, pinted drk green, s they dn't stnd ut midst the Buginvilles nd Brmelids. One speies tht remins elusive is the Jpnese White-eye (Zsterps jpni). Thugh it is quite pssible we still hve ll eight, imprted frm Chin, relesed in this building in August f 1992, we see, mmentrily, tw r three, drting t nd wy frm the fd pns, r thrugh the flige, furtively. Needless t sy, ler lk t their bnds is rre privilege. Zsterps re evidently best displyed in mre intimte exhibits. I hd hped we wuld duplite, nd fr surpss, the suess f the Chester Z in Englnd, where "numerus" Red-ered (Blkrumped) Wxbills nd Red-heeked Crdn Bleus, s well s Pin-tiled Whydh rised by the Red-ers, were hthed nd rered in its lrge plnted Trpil Huse immeditely fter its "rgni" pestiide, whih, despite its very bvius presene when freshly pplied, ppers t be hrmless t vertebrtes). And ll trees, shmbs, nd bushes were similrly hnred. (Quite understndble, when ne is infrmed tht the mnetry vlue f plnts in this building runs t six figures). Then, in the interest f publi mpsure, it needs be tht ded frnds re regulrly stripped frm the Pndnus trees, lest they smite the heds f unwry grill-wthers. (As n effrt t preserve the useful nesting sites prvided by the bses f these dmittedly rpier-like, pinty-edged, frmidble-lking bjets, I presented Mnty-Pythnesque demnstrtin where I sught (in vin) t inflit dmge upn my persn with ne f them, hping t shw tht the lethl ptentil f dessited Srew "Plm" frnd is equivlent t tht f piee f pking tissue - but, f urse, t n vil. It is simply nt eptble t hit visitrs n the hed with nything t ll.) Hwever, hving ensured the ntinued well-being f their plnts, nd prevented dnger-frm-n-high, ur pening (Cupe, 1965). And here the sister rts nd sienes f viulture nd hrtiulture fund themselves t rss purpses. We begn relesing birds in lte Februry, 1992, nd by mid-mrh, severl weeks befre the publi pening, we'd liberted the dzen Ornge-heeked Wxbills, seven St. Helens, five Blk-heeked Wxbills, eight Red-heeked Crdn Bleus, nd ther finhes we hd reeived frm imprters tht Jnury. Shrtly, interesting things begn t hppen. The mle Crdns t ne mmened buning rund in typil strw disply, nd sn pirs were tuking mteril int the bses f Srew "Plm" (Pndnus) leves. Pin-tiled nd Fisher's Whydhs pid lse ttentin. By trining my binulrs n the glss eiling, I ws ble t bserve the prgress f nest built by Blk-heeked Wxbills t the tp f the "living wll" f Phildendrns, Pryer Plnts, Cldiums, vrius ferns, nd ther hthuse plnts. Then me the grdeners. N, they uldn't leve prtins f the wll unwtered. And yes, they hd t regulrly spry every squre inh with lternting tretments f fertilizer nd smelly, milky hrysntum il (n Greenwings Buffn's Hyinths Militrys Blue nd Glds Srlets Redfrnts All BIRDS ARE CLOSED BANDED nd VETERINARIAN CHECKED UNRElATED PAIRS AVAilABLE S nne Abrmsn 't! P.O. Bx Frt Brgg. CA f WATCHBIRD 27

3 Surrunded by mted exhibits nd visitr's brdwlk, the Wrld fprimtes is prminent z lndmrk. The three mle Pin-tiled Whydhs (Vidu mrur) hve nt 'wreked the hv they n1ight hve in sn1ller enlsure. (1) C/).r= J.i:J (5.r= CL Afrin Silverbills (Lnhur ntns) 'were thefirst Estrildidjtnhes t suessjitlly reprdue in this building. (1)' C/).r= J A typilperspetive in the Wrld fprimtes..i:j (5 hrtiulturl stffs hve perted where pssible, t prvide lternte nesting sites. When the building pened in April 1992, there were nt, side frm the Srew "Plms," ll tht mny trees (s ppsed t vines, grundver nd suh speimen plnts s Dieffenbhi). In the sueeding mnths, Kenny Sim's tem, led by the perpetully unflppble Jseph Grivy, hs brught in sizble Fius benjimn, gretly inresing the tul munt f hbi28 Jnuty / Februty 1994 tt vilble t the birds. And espe- & illy fr the Bird Deprtment, they've reted n intrite netwrk f stut wild grpevine stnlng rss the pth ver wht pper t be sizble ded trees, but re tully nly brnhes, ut high up in the gret ks, frm whih Frest Prk reeives its nme, s rutine prt f "tree mintenne." Nt nly hs the "junglely" One f grup fmle Red-billed Fire Finhes (Lgnstit senegl) presented tmsphere been niely enhned, t the Frt Wrth Z by the U.S. Fish nd but we nw hve numerus ples fr Wildlife Servie. One fthese pired-up ff wiker bskets (pinted brwn), exhibit hs sired severl ffspring in 1993.

4 Q) Q) (/) (/).. -, -,.D P;.D Gettingfinhes seen, Alng with the St, Helen nd Orngeheeked Wxbills is n Est Afrin Yellw-ntmped Seedeter (Serinus trgulris reihenwi), lse reltive fthe nry, Frt Wrth Z's single wild-ught speimen hs dne very well in this exhibit, nd the quisitin fptive-bred spet'mens is bet'nr investirted, The Crimsn Seedrker (Pirenestes snguineus) hs reputtin fr deliy, but the Frt Wrth Z's single mle mintins rbust gd helth in the Wrld fprimtes, It hs s fr prved impssible t btin nyfemles. nd underlying sphgnull1 nd hin link insted. Perversely, the mst determined pir f wxbills is me psed f St. Helen nd n Ornge heek, firmly bnded. Knwing full 0... well the ptentil fr hybridiztin mng the "red-ered" Estrilds, hving hsen St. Helens (E, strild) s the 010st frest-fvring speies, we vided quiring Blk-rumped (r Red-ered) (E, trgldytes) nd Crimsn-rumped (E. rhdpyg) Wxbills. We hd, hwever, presumed tht the libertin f seven St. Helens nd 17 Ornge-heeks (in tw instllments) wuld prelude The mstppulr birdfr visitrs t the rss-piring, n bvius mislulwrld fprin1tes is this Ryl Strling tin. The Crdns (Red-heeks nly, (Csmpsnts regius), s we knw the thers hybridize) nwhih we re putting up in inresing tinue t prefer the Srew "Plms' As fr s I n tell, the Afrin Silvernumbers, nt nly in the vines, trees nd "ded trees," but ls ff the bill (Lnhur ntns), whih girders in the dizzying frmewrk f fledged Deell1ber ]0, 1993, fter I the eiling where, like the Phntm f hd lredy written mst f this rtithe Oper, ur ferless Supervising le, ws hthed in nest tuked Keeper III, Brd Hzeltn, smetimes wy in Srew "Plm." S fr, the Silverbills, ll bred nd dnted in lidventures. Whether the Wxbills, Crdns nd 1993 by Dlls finh-speilist Din Silverbills will tully use the nest Msier, hve shwn preferene fr bskets remins questin. Blk- nesting in the rkwrk nd the living heeked Wxbills slept in them t wll, but bve-nted yungster is nt night but never dded mteril (unlike nly the first Silverbill fledged here, their unterprts ff exhibit, wh but ls the first Estrildid finh rised mke intrite nests inside their bs- in the Wrld f Primtes. Afrin kets). St. Helens nd Ornge-heeks Silverbills were ne f thse speies ntinue t prefer the living wll, ne uld buy fr $3.98 pir in the ignring bskets hung in the middle f pre-newstle's dys f the erly '70s. it, Dd disppering int the plnts They re ls listed n CITES Appen- dix III, fr Ghn, whih, f urse, ll1ens nne hve been Oll1lnerilly imprted t this untry sine Otber 22, 1993, under the prvisin f the Wild Bird Cnservtin At f 1992 (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Servie, 1993). The ft tht they re ne f the mst esily-bred Afrin finhes hs nt, s fr, resulted in their being widely bred in the U.S. due t this tully quite hrming bird's lk f "brillint" lrs. Din Msier's (1994) rtile n this speies is the first t pper in the 21 vlulnes f AFA Wth bird, We ertinly hpe selfsustining ppultin will be estblished in the Wrld f Primtes, nd ntribute t ntinwide effrts t mintin Afrin Silverbills in Amerin viulture. A prlifi breeding lny f Afrin Silverbills my hpefully be f interest t ur Pin-tiled Whydhs (Vidu mrur), nther CITES Appendix III speies, like s mny f the 010st fmilir Afrin gebirds. Thugh the Pin-til ppers t prsitize nly Estrildid Wxbills in the wild (ne resn we intrdued s lnny Ornge-heeks), prsiti Whydhs in ptivity my be less disritninting (Lee, 1987). There re seven Pin-tils in the Wrld f Primtes, three ks nd fur hens, n unnturl rrngement s there shuld be t lest severl femles fr eh mle. Pin-tiled Whydhs hve lng-held reputtin fr extrelnely nsty behvir in virf WATCHBIRD 29

5 ies (Btes nd Busenbrk, 1963), nd tht reputtin my well hld tme fr mst viries fny usul size. My lte friend K.C. Lint, Curtr Emeritus fr Birds fr the Zlgil Siety f Sn Dieg, ssured me, hwever, tht in "relly big" viries this behvir ws nt prblem. In the wild, it is nturl behvir fr mle Pin-tils in breeding plumge t hse "ther smll birds" nd "dminte" feeding sttins (Newmn, 1984). Perhps this is prt f the urtship disply, pssibly "fitness demnstrtin," in the wrds f evlutinry bilgists. At ny rte, in the vst spe f the Wrld f Primtes, they hve never been bserved t mke physil ntt with ny bird. During the mjrity f the yer when ur mles re in their mgnifient full breeding plumge, ne is likely t dive-bmb Wxbills nd Crdns frging n the grund, r gthered n millet sprys. Usully, thugh, the Whydh hrdly ever gives pursuit. It seems s if the pint f the disply (if it is ne) is t stter the flk. Sine we lwys mintin number f feeding sttins, there is lwys smewhere else t g. It wuld seem tht ftl injuries r stress t Estrildids used by Pin-tils is n rtift fptivity. Despite spetulr eril "dgfights" nd brethtking pursuits, where they whiz thrugh the girders like the flying hndkerhiefs in mgi shw, their fur lng blk tilfethers streming behind them, the mles never hurt eh ther either. While the nrmus expnse f the Wrld f Primtes ppers t hve quelled the dngerus ptentil f Pin-tiled Whydhs, spe lne hs nt been the slutin t nther prblem used by ptive nditinsthe bnrml behvir f mle Suthern Msked Wevers (Pleus veltus), due t n rtifiilly lw rti f femles. As with the mjrity f Pleus wevers, the Suthern Msked Wever is highly plygynus, eh mle ttempting t ttrt hrem f femles. The trditin in the bird trde f selling everything in pirs bviusly retes n unnturl nditin. The Wdlnd Prk Z in Settle mnged smehw t irumvent this - perhps they did btin extr femles. At ny rte, breeding there mmened in 1982 nd, with the exeptin f 1986, hs urred there 30 Jnury / Februry 1994 every yer sine (Zlgil Siety f Lndn, ). Frm this lny, the Ntinl Zlgil Prk in Wshingtn, D.C. estblished ne f their wn. And in 1991, s the nuleus f its lletin f Afrin finhes, the Frt Wrth Z purhsed seven immture birds frm the Ntinl Z. They were the very first birds turned lse in the Wrld f Primtes, n Febmry 23, 1992, shrtly fter we determined they were fur mles nd three femles. Nt yet in fully dult breeding plumge, ne f the mles begn building its fsinting nest in Mrh, weeks befre the building's pening. Int the fll, ll the mles built ne nest fter the ther, tking three r s dys t nstmt eh ne frm pre-shredded strips f Arnd leves I prvided nd but 45 minutes t entirely destry it, sttering t the flr rin f little bits when n femles expressed interest. (This, I believe, is n entirely nturl behvir - ne n imgine disused nest hrbring snkes r ther predtrs - r simply ttking ther birds whse prximity nd mpetitin fr fd wuld nt be welme.) Suh ws the sinltin thrugh September. In Otber, I ntied uple f nests tht were still there fter mre thn week. Lte tht mnth, tw f the femles displyed sudden interest in melwrms - nd flew up t their nests immeditely fter eting. Shrp squeking nises were herd bve the din f the wterflls nd rwds. On Otber 23, I fished the sdden rpse f fledgling wever frm ne f the pls, nd nt lng fter, mle tre prt nest tht held well-develped hik, sending ll siling t the nrete fux-mud flr - with ftl nsequenes. I believe the mle's hrssment f hiks (nted ls t the Ntinl Z where the mle, being in smll exhibit, n be pulled), nd the premture destrutin f nest hlding ffspring re rtifts f ptivity used by there being mre mles thn femles. And nw we hve n femles t ll. In July 1992, ll three were nted missing t ne. One thery nerns njuntin f mrus pressure, psserine flking behvir, nd, pssibly, ne f the very rre situtins where nn-niml stff ding smething in the building prpped pen dr befre nyne uld th them. We re investigting reprts f the vilbility f sizble grup f femles, unrelted t the Wdlnd Prk stk. We re shrtly expeting the rrivl f 10 r s femle Blk-winged Bishps (Eupletes hrdeeus) t supplement the grup f, gin, fur mles nd three femles, the stry f whse rrivl I hve tld elsewhere (Lindhlm, 1993). Even with ur present uneven rti, hik fledged Nvember 6, 1993, hsing t pper the dy the Bird Interest Grup ftexs held meeting t Frt Wrth, s tht its debut ws witnessed by distinguished ssemblge f z prfessinls nd privte viulturists. While the Blk-winged Bishp hs nly rrely been bred previusly, we hpe, with the rrivl f the ntiipted dditinl femles, t be t lest s suessful with this wever s the Frnkfurt Z hs been with the wellknwn Red Bishp (E. jrnisnus). In n indr ge f quite rdinry dimensins (Mrvin Jnes, pers. mm.), 209 were fully rered frm 1967 thrugh 1989, send genertin breeding being indited frm 1977 nwrds, nd 1975 being the nly yer when hthlings did nt ur (Zlgil Siety f Lndn, ). We intend t breed sftbills in the Wrld fprimtes. After lng serh, Chris Brwn lted femle Blkwinged Strling (Sturnus melnpterus), generusly lned t us by the well-knwn Flrid viulturists M nd Cyndi Shrpe. With the mle hthed here in 1983, this is the nly pir in ny U.S. publi z. This is nt diffiult speies t breed. The first rerd ws t the Lndn Z in 1922 (Cles, 1987), nd the fllwing yer Jen Delur (923) bred it in rther smll viry with breeding pir f Crimsn-winged Prkeets. Its urrent lw sttus in Amerin viulture is due t lk f rdinted interest rther thn diffiulties in husbndry. Befre intrduing the newly quired femle, we will remve, despite his ppulrity with the publi, the Ryl Strling (we hve nther pir elsewhere, nd hd erly deided ginst breeding this tully semidesert speies in the "W..P." fter hering reprts f the svge behvir f breeding pirs f this therwise generlly mptible speies). While never bserved t ttk

6 ther birds, the Ryl Strling is in the hbit f lsely fllwing ny birds f similr size, suh s the Crwned Lpwing (whenever it flew) nd the Firy Bluebirds, fr severl dys fter intrdutin. It hs never pid ttentin t nything finh-sized - we hve nt bserved ny ggressin t ll frm the strlings, Firy Bluebirds r Brbet twrds ny f the finhes. The nly prblem is keeping enugh livefd in stk, espeilly when the Wxbills nd Crdns re, we hpe, eventully suessful t nesting. We will be breeding fruitflies, re experimenting with feeders with bffles, nd my try nd see if we n't keep the lrger birds entertined with "gint melwrms" nd wxwrms, s tht they might ignre dishes f fly lrve nd "mini-wrms." The questin will rise t the reder s t wht intertins ur between birds nd primtes in Primte Huse. Indrs, nly tw speies f the ltter (nt unting humns) re nt behind glss; the grills nd the Est Afrin Clbus Mnkeys. The Clbus, thugh lef-eters, ertinly tke n tive interest in ny birds tht might venture thrugh the "pin wire" f their pth-side enlsure, n dubt intrigued by the "ty" ptentil f ny they might th. In mre thn yer nd hlf, we hve hd ne ertin ftlity. Althugh birds smetimes enter the exhibit when it's empty, usully they keep helthy distne frm the mnkeys, likely regnizing the "predtr" ptentil f these t-sized rbrel retures with spetulr plume-like tils. On the whle, the grills py n ttentin t the birds tht shre their exhibit. One ften sees living rpet f Crdns nd Wxbills, puntuted with Whydh, Bishp r Firefinh, frging n the grund, severl feet wy frm reglly blivius pe. One bird did nt initilly llw itself t be ignred. Our Crwned Lpwing Plver ws hnd-rised t the Milwukee Z nd mrhes up t keepers t be fed (he nw stys entirely n the grills' side f the mt, hving shrtly lerned tht sreming hrdes f shl hildren re, s fr s he's nerned, mlevlent life frm). Initilly he mrhed right up t sitting grills nd ludly vlized, n dubt in hpe f melwrms. The mst respnse he ever gt ws when ne f ur dignified ld femles very utiusly rehed ut nd tuhed him with ne finger. He sn n dubt dismissed these retures s hpelessly dense nd stupid nd nw generlly spends his time by the strem where he belngs. The pir f Httentt Tel did prvide ne f ur femle grills with sme unfrtunte entertinment when she finlly disvered the nest they hd mde in plnter severl feet up the side f the nrete "mud-bnk." We hd been remving eggs fr inubtin nd repling them with "dummies" while the grill exhibit ws lened. Eventully, hwever, the nest ws disvered nd prvided few mments f puzzled musement. The Httentts will prbbly nest there gin, nd perhps the grill will hve by then frgtten this interesting experiene. The bird stff invlved with this mnumentl building tully spend prprtintely smll munt f their dy in it. Mst f the dily rutine f the "W..P. string" tkes ple ff exhibit. The estblishment, fter nine yers, f n indr exhibit f smll birds t Frt Wrth Z "justified" the existene f behind-senes breeding fility fr Afrin nd Asin finhes whih hs nw very muh tken n life f its wn. S fr we hve been suessful with Dybwski's nd Peter's Twinspts nd Red-billed Fire Finhes, nd with the mpletin this spring f tw utdr units designed nd nstruted by ur endlessly enthusisti SuperVising Keeper III, Brd Hzeltn, ur fility will be tripled, nd we re ertin t mke mjr ntributins t the estblishment in Amerin viulture f speies negleted until the pssge f the Wild Bird Cnservtin At. At the sme time, the hllenge f breeding birds in the Wrld f Primtes ntinues t be enjyed. It will be mst interesting t wth the evlutin f the lletin in this building ver the yers. The mst reent develpment is the impending relese f severl Gint Fruit Bts, r Flying Fxes (Pterpus gignteus), whih hppen t be ne f my fvrite nnvins. Where they will g nd wht they will d remins questin. But tht, in the wrds f Rudyrd Kipling, is nther stry... Almwledgements I m mst grteful t Rihrd Arhie, Diretr f Cnstrutin nd Mintenne, nd Phillip Grves, Mintenne Supervisr, Frt Wrth Zlgil Assitin, fr prviding me with dimensins nd sttistis fr the Wrld fprimtes. Referenes Cles, D. (987) First breeding rerds fr birds rered t independene under ntrlled nditins in the United Kingdm. (Published by the uthr). Cupe, M.F. (965) Ntes n sme f the birds bred t Chester Z during Ibid. LXXI, Delur, ].T. (923) Breeding f the Blkwinged Grkle (Grulipi melnpter). AlJiulturl Mgzine. (Series V)I, 175-1n Hhn, E. (967) Animl Grdens. Dubledy. Jnes, M.L. (968) Nrth Amerin Zlgil Grdens nd Prks. in Kirhshfer, R. (968) The wrld fzs, Lindhlm, ].H. (993) Fus n Afrin Finhes: TIle Fire-frnted Bishp (Eupletes didemtus). AFA WthbirdXX (N.4), Msier, D. (994) Afrin Silverbills. Ibid. XXI (N. 1),4-7. Newmn, K. (984) Newmn's birds fsuthern Afri. Mmilln Suth Afri. U.S. Fish nd Wildlife Servie (993) Fts: Wild Bird Cnservtin At f AFA WthbirdXX (N.5), 56. Zlgil Siety f Lndn ) Speies f birds bred in zs nd ther institutins Intemtinl Z Yerbk IX-XXXI. :.JUNGLE SAFARI My 28 - June 4, 1994 Esrted by Chrles Siegel, Curtr f Birds t the Dlls Z Explre Amzni with bilgist nd ' rnithlgist, Chrles Siegel. Wlk thrugh the treetps n the nly npy wlkwy in the Ameris! The 115 feet high wlkwy prvides spetulr bird's eye view f the frest. Dybrek nd night wlks ls ffer exellent bird! wildlife viewing.' Trvel n the Amzn nd Np Rivers, explre virgin rinfrest, fish fr pirnh, visit ntive villges nd see pink dlphins, mnkeys, slths, rhids, gint lilies nd muh mrel Add exti bird speies t yur life list, suh s; htzins, tuns, mws, prrts, hrned sremers, tngers, uk, pt, trgns, mnkins, tings, nd mny mre. Hve fun nd lern but trpil nture while stying in exti jungle ldges, in remte nture reserves, where gret wildlife viewing just mes nturlly! Only $1795 frm Mimi. (Lw st, dd-n irfres vilble.) t 23 prtipnts. Extensin t the Andes nd Mhu Pihu vilble! Cll Explrtins, In. fr free detiled brhure. hllimited '-...., f WATCHBIRD 31