Being from Australia where Birds of Paradise are absent except for the Daintree. I have become intrigued by the beauty of these birds since first seeing them at the Bronx Zoo. I was wondering if it is possible to keep these birds in mixed specie aviaries and if so could they be held with other species of birds of paradise?
Birds of Paradise
- Thread starter Kevin G
- Start date
Chester Zoo keeps red bird of paradise with pheasant pigeon and possibly other species.
Jurong Bird Park in Singapore has a good collection of bird of paradise, but I don't recall seeing other species held with them.
I saw (one?) male greater bird-of-paradise in the large walk-through Papua Aviary at the Bali Bird Park a few weeks ago
several birds-of-paradise from genus Paradisaea (think it was Greater and Red but not completely sure about the last) and Twelve-wired BoP have been kept in Vogelpark Walsrodes big Indonesian rainforest hall with many other species like pheasants (Great Argus and Crestless Fireback), Crested Partridge, pigeons and doves (fruit, imperial, crowned, ground, nicobar, pheasant), pittas (Giant and I think also Hooded or Banded), babblers (Chestnut-backed Scimitar and Large Wren), starlings (Grosbeak and some Sturnus species), thrushes (Orange-headed, Chestnut-backed and Javan Cochoa), bulbuls (a few Pycnonotus species), orioles (Black-hooded and Black-naped), Asian Fairy Bluebird, Papua Lorikeet, White-breasted Woodswallow and more. Don't know if they still keep any of the BoP in their big rainforest hall but I don't think any of them bred there (some bred in off-show volieres) and there was some problems with Greater BoP predating nests of other small birds that bred in the hall. They also had King BoP in the rainforest hall but it was kept in a special cage with a few other small birds: if I remember right some trogon (Diard's or Red-naped) and small babblers (minlas or something like that).
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Birdman7487
Well-Known Member
miami keeps raggiana from what ive seen in their wings of asia
Did Walsrode actually have Javan Cochoa? I thought they had Javan Whistling Thrush. The cochoa is rare and absolutely beautiful - San Diego and Miami had some a few years ago but all disappeared.
They had several of the cochoa. At least 2 and I think more. They also had the whistling thrush. They have had many rarely seen Javan and Sumatran species like Spotted Crocias, White-bibbed Babbler, Black-banded Barbet, Flame-fronted Barbet, Black-winged Starling, Sumatran Trogon, Salvadori's Pheasant, Bronze-tailed Peacock Pheasant, Horsfield's Hill Partridge, Orange-spotted Bulbul, Coppersmith Barbet of the Java race, Giant Pitta of the race from Sumatra and Java, Sunda Minivet, at least one of the Orange-headed Thrush was a Java race, and I think the Crested Jay and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch were the Java race. I don't know which they still have. The big Indonesia rainforest hall opened in 2000 and they got most around that time (when they also got some rarely kept New Guinea birds like the paradise birds) but some of the species have only been kept in smaller aviaries. With the cochoa there has been some breeding success in captivity and they are apparently not that difficult to get to breed because some even bred in mixed species rainforest halls. I don't know why they disappeared. Perhaps inbreeding because of very small number of founders or the breeding was to slow (small brood size) to be self sustaining.
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come to think of it I believe Walsrode at some point have had their Superb BoP, Lesser BoP and Magnificent Riflebird in the Indonesia rainforest hall. I wasn't sure but speculated in earlier post that Red BoP had been kept in the hall and a check of my old papers confirm it. With Greater BoP and Twelve-wired BoP that's as many as 6 species freely in the big rainforest hall.
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Thanks for the info. I've been fascinated by them ever since San Diego got some over a decade ago. No one seems to know much about them, they're rarely seen in the wild, and they all disappeared in captivity. I first saw them in San Diego in 2003 and again in 2004 - I even watched them building a nest and feeding each other - and then they were all gone by a few years ago. I believe the last bird was at Miami, which I saw in 2006. I know they bred at San Diego, not sure about Miami.
In regards to the earlier question re: birds of paradise, yes, I have seen them in multiple mixed-species aviaries.
San Diego had Raggiana BOP in the Owens Rainforest Aviary along with countless other birds: various pigeons and doves, starlings, lories and lorikeets, White-breasted Woodswallow, Dollarbird, Black-faced Cuckooshrike, Helmeted Friarbird, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Crimson-breasted Oriole, mynahs, babblers, laughing thrushes, etc. Same for Miami and their Wings of Asia aviary (Raggiana with practically the same species as Owens Aviary)
San Diego also had their Glossy-mantled Manucode in the Parker Aviary with pigeons, doves, woodpeckers, Eclectus, Argus, etc.
Bronx also has their B's OP (Lesser and Red) with Golden-headed Quetzal, Great Argus, Pheasant Pigeon, etc.
There is nothing quite like seeing a fully-feathered male Raggiana flying around in an open-air aviary. I will never forget the first time I saw that at San Diego!
Central Park Zoo has Red BOP in walk-through aviary. They also house Superb BOP with Beautiful Sunbird & Crested Partridge.
Until summer 2009, Bronx Zoo' Twelve-wired BOP can be found in exhibit along with Golden-headed Quetzal, Malayan Peacock-pheasant, Great Argus & Bali Starling. They replaced it with Red BOP than now Lesser BOP.
Smithsonian Zoo used to keep their Magnificent BOP in walkthrough aviary with Western Crowned-pigeon and turaco.
Until summer 2009, Bronx Zoo' Twelve-wired BOP can be found in exhibit along with Golden-headed Quetzal, Malayan Peacock-pheasant, Great Argus & Bali Starling. They replaced it with Red BOP than now Lesser BOP.
Smithsonian Zoo used to keep their Magnificent BOP in walkthrough aviary with Western Crowned-pigeon and turaco.
This is a fascinating thread! I am aware of the various US and European collections having exhibited birds of paradise long term (and more recently institutions like Jurong and Al-Wabra in Asia). Alas, to my mind longevity still remains the main issue ... 
What interests me most how maximum breeding success may be achieved. Various management settings and breeding techniques seem to have been in operation here and sundry. What in your experience has been the best way to manage and breed birds of paradise in general as well as down to individual species (I would suppose manucodes are more inclined to do well in mixed multi-species exhibits than say the Wilson's and Raggiana birds of paradise).
What interests me most how maximum breeding success may be achieved. Various management settings and breeding techniques seem to have been in operation here and sundry. What in your experience has been the best way to manage and breed birds of paradise in general as well as down to individual species (I would suppose manucodes are more inclined to do well in mixed multi-species exhibits than say the Wilson's and Raggiana birds of paradise).
Trumpet Manucodes in Berlin during 2000s displayed many times. They were in small mixed-species aviary with few plants, not good for breeding.
Frankfurt said to display "rather many species" during times of Bernhard Grzimek. Some of them displayed in free-flight hall together with Andean Cocks-of-the-rock.
With BOPS, known problems are very small founding stock and iron storage disease. Also, few zoos ever given them spacious and single species aviaries. With these, Chester and Walsrode bred them several times. Maybe if some more zoos decide to give more effort to birds and there is a chance to establish several BOPs in captivity?.
Frankfurt said to display "rather many species" during times of Bernhard Grzimek. Some of them displayed in free-flight hall together with Andean Cocks-of-the-rock.
With BOPS, known problems are very small founding stock and iron storage disease. Also, few zoos ever given them spacious and single species aviaries. With these, Chester and Walsrode bred them several times. Maybe if some more zoos decide to give more effort to birds and there is a chance to establish several BOPs in captivity?.