Hornbills 3: Tarictic Hornbill



With an estimated world population of only 1800 birds, the Visayan Tarictic Hornbill Penolopides panini is probably one of the rarest hornbills in the world. Already one subspecies, P.panini ticaensis from the island of Ticao is extinct as a result of deforestation, despite being describes as “abundant” in 1905, which makes it the first known extinction in historic times of any hornbill taxon. Complicating the picture is that the species formerly included at least five other closely related species which have since been split. Unfortunately, before this was realised some had been crossed in the captive population, resulting in hybrids which were useless from a conservation point of view.

Quest for the wild canary 10: Other non-passerines

Laurel Pigeon

Of the remaining non-passerines to be covered, the most important are the pigeons. Six species breed on the islands, of which two are endemic. We managed to see the two endemic pigeons, Laurel Pigeon Columba junoniae and Bolle’s Pigeon C.bolii, on La Gomera, after some searching in the laurasilva forest.

Review of the year part 2: In-situ projects

As well as the various education and captive breeding programs run from Bristol, the zoo is also involved in several in-country projects all over the world, usually as part of a consortium with other zoos and conservation organisations. Here are some of the projects we are involved in, and links to where you can find out more.


Cameroon

orphaned chimps at AAA

The bushmeat trade in Africa is one of the major threats to Africa’s wildlife. Contrary to what is commonly believed, this is not a subsistence-level practise, rather in many cases a supply of expensive wild meat to the cities for high-end purchasers. As a result of the hunting of primates especially, a large number of orphans result. These tend to be kept for a while and then eaten later, but with improved law enforcement many are now confiscated and go to various rescue centres. Since 1997 Bristol has been working with the charity Ape Action Africa, providing veterinary support, education training, and publicity for support and care, with possible eventual rehabilitation, at the Mefou National Park. There are already a small number of regular visitors, and the potential for increasing eco-tourism is certainly there.

Review of the year part 1 - Bristol 2012

We are nearly at the end of 2012 so we will finish off the year with some of the new highlights from the last twelve months, starting with Bristol Zoo in this post and finishing off with some round the world news next week

January

Newborn stingray

Babies have been born to two new stingrays which arrived at Bristol Zoo last summer.

Nine ocellated freshwater stingray pups were born last week after two new females were introduced to the Zoo’s male stingray last year.

The new females, sisters named Catalina & Genevieve, arrived at Bristol Zoo from

Weston Seaquarium and have wasted little time in breeding. Catalina has produced six pups and three pups are from Genevieve.

Pigeons of Bristol 7: Turtle Doves

In the Camargue Aviary as you enter Bristol Zoo your attention is first drawn to our flock of Greater Flamingos and Little Egrets. Many do not notice a very beautiful dove we also hold in this exhibit, the European Turtle-Dove.


These migratory relatives of the well-known Collared Dove, which breeds in the Zoo grounds, are unfortunately in serious decline as a resident in the UK, having suffered a loss of 69% in the last 30 years, probably mainly as a result of changes in agriculture, although it has probably also suffered from changes to the wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. The current estimate may be as low as 44,000 pairs in the UK.

Pigeons of Bristol 6: A confusion of Fruit Doves

Scattered throughout South East Asia, Indonesia, and many Pacific islands are members of a huge group of small-to-medium sized, and usually very colourful, pigeons, generally referred to as Fruit-Doves of the genus Ptilinopus. We have two species at Bristol, the Black-naped Fruit-Dove P. melanospila (above) and the Beautiful Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus pulchellus (below). There are nearly 200 different subspecies described, with probably more awaiting description, and with an unknown number of extinct forms, especially on Pacific islands.


Unfortunately, as a result of the huge diversity of species, there has been little effort to establish breeding programmes for many of the forms currently held in the world’s zoos. Most of those held are widespread species without major threats at present, but there are numerous island endemics which are in a precarious condition and research on their husbandry and ecology is badly needed.

Pigeons of Bristol 5: Count the Ducula

Throughout the rainforests of South East Asia, Australasia, and the Pacific anywhere there is a reasonable expanse of rainforest you are likely to find in the trees a large pigeon, commonly called an Imperial-Pigeon, of the genus Ducula. Currently at Bristol we have two species, the Chestnut-naped Imperial-Pigeon D.aenea shown below and the Pied Imperial-Pigeon D.bicolor at the head of this post.

These are the most likely to be seen in any zoo which holds Imperial-Pigeons, but the ISIS listing currently shows 12 other species in various zoos, mostly only a few individuals at a single collection, although the Nutmeg or Torres Strait Pigeon, with 154 worldwide, is also to be seen and aside from the two species at Bristol probably the only one with a viable captive population. In the wild however Imperial-Pigeons are very diverse, with over 100 different species or subspecies described.

Pigeons of Bristol 4: Almost a Dodo

One of the most distinctive pigeons to be seen in the Forest of Birds here at Bristol is our group of Nicobar Pigeons, Caloenas nicobarica. This is a very distinctive bird, with a greenish iridescence (especially on adult birds) and long feathers on the neck which give rise to its alternative name of Maned Pigeon.

It is an island specialist, breeding in colonies on fairly small off shore islets and flying to larger islands to feed on the ground. The diet is seeds, fruit, and probably some invertebrates. It is fairly tolerant of human activities, and will visit fields to feed on grain. Unlike most pigeons, it has a single large stone in its gizzard which it uses to grind up food items.

Pigeons of Bristol 3: Crowned Pigeons

In the Forest of Birds here at Bristol we have a pair of the most spectacular (and since the demise of the Dodo, largest) of all the pigeon family, Victoria Crowned Pigeons Goura victoriae. One of three species of Goura that may be seen in zoos worldwide, Crowned Pigeons originate from New Guinea. All three species overlap in parts of their ranges, and hybridize both in the wild and in captivity, so whether they should be classed as subspecies or full species rather depends on the taxonomist concerned. The three forms are however quite distinctive in appearance, so are probably best treated as separate species, and are managed separately in studbooks. The other two species are the Blue or Western Crowned Pigeon G. cristata, which comes from western New Guinea and related islands, and Scheepmakers Crowned Pigeon G. scheepmakeri, from along the south coast of New Guinea. The Victoria Crowned Pigeon mirrors the distribution of Scheepmakers pigeon in northern New Guinea.

Pigeons of Bristol 2: Pheasant?Pigeon?

One of the peculiarities of the bird life of the Australasian region is that it has, aside from two species of quail (which are migrants and therefore easily colonise new habitats), no native members of the Galliformes (the pheasants, quail and their allies). Instead, native groups such as the megapodes, button-quails, ratites, and even some songbirds like the Lyrebird, fill the ecological niche occupied by pheasants and grouse in other parts of the world. In the rain forests of New Guinea and the neighbouring islands these are joined by several species of pigeon, which have adopted a terrestrial lifestyle and a pheasant-like diet. In the last post I wrote about the Gallicolumba ground doves, this week I would like to introduce perhaps the most highly specialised of the surviving members of the pigeon family, the Pheasant Pigeon Otidiphaps nobilis.