Institution: Woodland
Park Zoo
Contact person: Greg
Toffic
Phone number: 206-684-4836
Email address: [email protected]
1.� Please list sexes and species of bee-eaters currently held at your institution.
����������� 2.1 Carmines
2.� Note method and company used to sex your birds.
����������� Purchased as known sex.� We have not subsequently confirmed this.
3. Describe how your birds are banded and discuss any band problems you have had.
Aluminum butt-end bands.� No problems
other than they are not easy to see at times.
4.� Please describe your bee-eater diet, including use of beehives, other live food, coloring agents offered.
The birds are fed a diet consisting of a dry mix with meat (based on a
dry mix diet from Brookfield Zoo), mealworms, waxworms, and crickets.� These supplements are added:� Necton Tonic 1 and� Betatene, a 2.5% water dispersable betacarotene powder.� A bee hive is located within 100 ft. of the
winter holding space, so the bee-eaters obtain bees opportunistically.� On exhibit, the bee-eaters regularly are seen
catching and eating bees and wasps.
5.� Please describe your bee-eater exhibits and holding spaces in detail � dimensions, inside or outside, water areas, species exhibited together, etc.
Winter holding: Indoor welded wire flight measuring 8� X 8� X 9� high,
with concrete floor.� Adjacent outdoor
holding flight 8� X 25� X 8�high, with soil substrate and small overhang (roof
eave)
Exhibit (late spring �til early fall): Mixed species walkthrough of irregular
dimensions, approx.� 30� X 40� with
peaked top 8� at perimeter and 25� at apex.� Natural soil substrate, planted with shrubs and grasses, with concrete
pool.� Housed with a colony of about
20 to 30 half-masked weavers, 2 cattle egret, 2-3 pair small waterfowl (varies,
presently hottentots and white-faced whistling ducks), 12-15 speckled mousebirds,
and previously 2 violet-backed starlings.
6.� Describe any reproductive activity observed and time of year of occurrence.
����������� None
7.� Describe parent-rearing behaviors and procedures when young are present (incubation periods, diet offered, frequency of feeding by adults, fledging information), and/or artificial incubation and hand-rearing information.
����������� N/A
8.� Have you seen any aggressive behaviors in your birds and in what context?� Any other interesting social behaviors observed?
����������� Virtually none.� Birds are quite compatible
9.� Please discuss any acclimation and/or medical problems you have had with your birds.
Birds have acclimated very well, but we are conservative with temperature,
moving birds from display to winter holding in early fall.� Few medical problems with any birds that arrived
in good health.� One male is presently
being treated for dyspnea.��
10.� Feel free to add anything else you consider pertinent to bee-eater husbandry.
Please return to Marcia
Arland at [email protected] or
FAX #: (718) 733-7300
Or mail to:
Department of Ornithology
WCS/Bronx Zoo
2300 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10460