Chester Zoo More news at Chester

Status
Not open for further replies.
bongorob said:
Chester has hatched a chick from their Writhed Hornbills. This is a UK first breeding. Moving the pair to a new aviarty seems to have done the trick.
Click to expand...

I suppose we are talking Aceros leucocephalus here (which more regularly is called white-headed hornbill? NOP Veldhoven has another pair and both Paignton and Paphos Bird Park maintain singleton birds (in an ideal world the Paphos bird would be relocated to Paignton and set up a third pairing for the birds .....)!

I will check what Phillipino zoo has bred the species. ;)
 
Aceros leucocephalus has been bred at both Miami Metro Zoo (pub. 1991) and Audubon Zoo (pub. 2000). In the Phillipines at least BII has bred the species regularly and exports captive-bred birds.

Potentially, there are other captive sites. Will look into the matter. :cool:
 
jelle said:
Aceros leucocephalus has been bred at both Miami Metro Zoo (pub. 1991) and Audubon Zoo (pub. 2000). In the Phillipines at least BII has bred the species regularly and exports captive-bred birds.
Click to expand...

Chester's birds were bred in an American zoo, according to the sign on the aviary, although it does not specify which.
 
Writhedhornbill said:
I think it's Miami Metro zoo, but I'm not sure (I read somewhere that their female is on loan in Europe-Chester?)
Click to expand...
It is Miami that they came from,i hate to say this but i believe that the 2 birds are directly related i would love to be proved wrong but i don`t think i am.
 
jelle said:
I suppose we are talking Aceros leucocephalus here (which more regularly is called white-headed hornbill?
Click to expand...

Actually why is it called the writhe-billed hornbill? Writhe means to wriggle or squirm in pain so I can't see how it got this name...:confused:
 
It does have the corrugations on it's bill. They are slightly at an angle. They could be what gives the bird it's writhed name....
 
ISIS Abstracts

Chester is now listed as having 2.2.3 penelopides panini panini (Visayan tarictic hornbills; they must have bred!)

Also 1.1 red billed curassow. What has happened with this species?
 
Writhedhornbill said:
ISIS Abstracts

Chester is now listed as having 2.2.3 penelopides panini panini (Visayan tarictic hornbills; they must have bred!)

Also 1.1 red billed curassow. What has happened with this species?
Click to expand...

That is absolutely fantastic news. I hope the birds at Alphen will follow suit soon. I hope that more of the species will be exported in the next few years, so EAZA zoos can contribute to in situ conservation of the highly endangered hornbill fauna of the Phillipines. It would be equally fine if more rare species of hornbill could be exported to known EAZA hornbill breeding zoos for similar efforts.

I suppose we can name which ones we would like to see? :)
 
Chester is now up to:
65 Mesic four striped grass mice (Rhabdomys dilectus)
169 mount kulal spiny mice (Acomys ssp)
929 turkish spiny mice (Acomys Cilicius)
706 neumann's grass rat (Arvicanthis neumanni)
195 african dormice (Graphiurus murinus)
21 Timor sparrows (Padda fuscata)!

Great news as all of these species (bar the turkish spiny mice) have only been in the collection a few years, and only small groups were brought in to begin with.
 
Even better Mr Hornbill, the amount of food consumed by the white-headed hornbills (40 rats per day) suggests that they have 3-5 chicks in the box. No one really knows because the monitor has broken down.
 
Writhedhornbill said:
Chester is now up to:
21 Timor sparrows (Padda fuscata)!

Great news as all of these species (bar the turkish spiny mice) have only been in the collection a few years, and only small groups were brought in to begin with.
Click to expand...

I'm impressed with the total for Timor Sparrows- last September there were still only the original birds(7?) in the 'Realm' aviary

Maybe the Turkish Spiny Mice should be on sale in the Gift Shop....;)
 
Also the Tarictic chicks are coming out of the nestbox tomorrow, with help from a keeper. The female seems unable to break out on her own. Today the male was calling to her all the time.

Thw Wrinkled Hornbills have 2 eggs, the previous clutch were infertile.

The Tropical Realm pair of Tarictis are being moved to the aviary by the crocodiles, it is thought the upper level aviary is too small for them. The great Indian Hornbill currently kept there is going to the bird house, and eventually out of the zoo. All the lower floor aviaries are to be used exclusively for hornbills.
 
Last edited:
Pertinax said:
Maybe the Turkish Spiny Mice should be on sale in the Gift Shop....;)
Click to expand...

They could have buy one get one free.

And don't forget

76 Roulroul
72 Pekin Robin or red-billed Leiothrix
170 Java Sparrow
43 Emerald Starling

No wonder they're planning a bigger zoo
 
Last edited:
Bongorob, any news about the singleton Indian Hornbills in the Tropical Realm (old gorilla enclosure aviary) and Elephant House? Why is there not 1.1 in either aviary anymore and are there plans to remedy this?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top