Healthy Diet, Healthy Bird " ... An excellent book... packed with solid information." The Redhead - -Bird Talk .....(a) complete and current guide Part-time Parasite of the Potholes to bird nutrition... easily understood and followed." (Aythya americana) -American Cage-Bird Magazine Order today! $9.95 plus $2.50 shipping byJosef H. Lindholm, III David J. Henzler, D.V.M. Keeper II, Birds P.O. Box 5534, Dept. WB, Fort Worth Zoological Gardens Augusta, ME 04332 (ME residents add sales tax) Store Owners: Ask about quantity discounts. While my fellow bird staff were males here only by his bands, not enthusiastically commenting on the otherwise giving any evidence of his listing of their charges, I scanned this age at present. delightful collection ofinformation ­ Monica's inventory indicated a cer­ Bird when I stopped short - at the date tain "]. Schedel" as the source of this Pet and Supplies "23/12/64", the day of arrival ofone bird. From her computerized ISIS/ Retailers - of the zoo's nine Redheads (Aythya ARKS data system, she confirmed americana). The bird was estimated that this was indeed Dr. Joseph J. did you know that one ofthe to have hatched in 1961. Schedel, who, at his Portage Farms, most prestigious bird publications, I believe the oldest documented near Elmore, Ohio, maintained, from The Watchbird member of the Duck, Goose, and the '50s into the '70s, a major collec­ is available for resale Swan family Anatidae, was a Cape tion of waterfowl, under the supervi­ in your store? Shelduck (Tadorna cana), that died sion of Melvin Block, who was also Call or write for infonnation: at Leersum, Holland, at the collection Curator of Birds at Toledo Zoo. Dr. American Federation of Avicu1ture of P. DUijzend, in June, 1975, haVing Schedel was the first person in p.o. Box 56218 been imported from Pretoria in 1928 the U.S. to breed Cosocoroba Swans Phoenix, AZ 85079-6218 (Harvey, 1975). Jean Delacour's outside of a public zoo (Griswold, (602) 484-0931 famous ene (Branta sandvicensis), 1973). He donated two pairs of hatched at the Dutch collection Redheads to the Fort Worth Zoo, of F.E. Blaauw, in 1898, "vanished" December 23,1964. in 1940, presumably eaten by the The first captive breeding of Tell the advertiser you saw his ad Nazis who occupied Delacour's Aythya americana appears to have in the WATCHBIRO! estate at Cleres (Delacour, 1954). been by 1899, by Wilton Lockwood, Our Redhead, 27 years at Fort of South Orleans, Massachussetts Worth, thus has a way to go before (Greenwall & Sturgeon, 1988), OUR 42ND BIRDMART exceeding the family record. For followed by Frederic Gallatin, of EVERYBODY'S waterfowl in general, though, its age oroton, Connecticut, sometime is astounding. Terres (1980) gives 12 before 1909 (Beebe & Crandall, years, determined from bands, as the 1909). BIRD MART maximum known age of a wild Red­ Jean Delacour (1959) suggests that head. Of our hundreds of specimens, the" superficial similarity" of the June 28,1992 there are three birds that are cer­ Redhead to the European Pochard L.A. County Fairplex Bldg. #4 tainly older. Our female Harpy Eagle, (Athya!e1"ina), was the reason for its Pomona, California longer at Fort Worth Zoo than any late introduction to European or Brit­ 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. other animal, arrived here as an adult ish aviculture. Though some were Admission: $3, Youths 5-15: $1 October 1, 1955. One of our 14 Car­ acqUired by the London Zoo in 1902, The Bird Mart has become the ribbean Flamingos was purchased in the first Redheads bred outside of marketplace for buyers and sellers. August of 1963 and was presumed to their native North America hatched BIRDS. CAGES • FEEDERS. NESTBOXES be two years old. A Chilean Flamingo at the collection of Hugh Wormald, VITAMINS • SEED • PERCHES. GIFT ITEMS sold by the New York Zoological in England, the parent birds haVing a division of been hand-reared, and sent from the J. Williams Financial Services Inc. Park in 1986 was presumed to be 24 P.O. Box 1112, La Canada, CA 91 011 years old at that time. Another in the U.S. in 1922 (Delacour, 1959). Mr. same group was estimated, in 1986, Wormald appears to be the first abso­ (818) 790-7876 to be 22. Our old Redhead (our next lutely documented propagator of the The Original, The #1 Bird Mart oldest hatched in 1985), is a male, Common Teal (Anas c. crecca), in and can be told from the five other 1913, and the first person to breed 26 April/May 1992 the Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca 41. Elizabeth Glassco informed me carolinensis) outside of North that research is being conducted at ~ Hummingbirds America, likewise, in 1924 (Dela­ Front Royal on the tendency of ~;. COllf, 1956). Redheads to lay their eggs in the Lories·Tanagers There are 12 members of the genus nests of their larger close relative, the ~) Rare Finches Aythya, the White-eyes, Pochards, Canvasback (Aythya valisineria). and Scaup, distributed world-wide (Front Royal bred 52 canvasbacks Park Birds (with the exception of Mainland that same period, and held 53 on Tropical Africa, where several spe­ June 30, 1991, International Species " Singing Birds , other birds upon request • cies only winter, but none breed, and Information System, 1991). Also have high South America). The genus Netta There is only one purely parasitic quality nectar diets! AUlea ';.-'_" contains the three other Pochards; duck; the Black-headed Duck (Heter­ Dick Schroeder Don Wells the Red-crested Pochard of Eurasia, onetta atricapilla) ofSouth America. (619) 73to~~~~~eJ~~~~71-8330 the Southern Pochard of Africa and This bird not only lays its eggs in the South America, and the South Ameri­ nests of other duck species, but has can Rosey-billed Pochard. Concern­ been known to parasitize coots, ing the Redhead, Jean Delacour gulls, Ibises, Rails, and Snail Kites as (1959) wrote, "This species is most well (Todd, 1979). This is certainly a satisfactory in confinement; in fact it far cry from such brood-parasites as is the easiest of all Pochards to man­ Whydahs, and various cowbirds and age. Several pairs, or even a number Cuckoos, exqUisitely adapted to spe­ of females and fewer males will live cialize in particular species ofbirds. • OutsideFeederSyslem • 5 YearWarrantv. Bird Proof Door Latch • Unique Lower Apron and Disposal Tray System and breed perfectly well in quite a The normal clutch size of a • Four Cage Sizes Accommodate Con rues, Cockatiels, Amazons, CockalOO~ Macaws and More small pen with a tiny pool." On Redhead appears to be seven or eight • Three Non- Toxic Cage Colors: White, Gray, Almond breeder's price lists in the U.S., eggs, but this is not certain Qohns­ CALl NOW FOR FREE CATALOG AND INFORMATION ON Redheads are very modestly priced, gard, 1978), as nests may often con­ THE FINEST BIRD CAGES AND ACCESSORIES AVAlIABLEI costing little more than Wood Ducks tain startlingly large numbers of eggs 1-800-336- BIRD or1-619-438-4442 and American Black Ducks, usually - the result of "dump-nesting" by 2270 Camino Vida Roble • Suites I & J• Carlsbad, CA 92009 the least expensive waterfowl, and other Redhead females. Johnsgard FAX (619) 438-6636 about the same as Mandarins, Red­ (978) notes that as many as 50 per­ crested and Rosey-billed Pochards, cent of females on the breeding and Northern Pintails. This translates grounds do not attempt to nest. They to a pair generally costing less than a appear to be particular about sites AVICULTURAL retail Gouldian Finch. with thick emergent vegetation, 20" SOCIETY OF The Redhead was present in to 40" high, and far less frequently QUEENSLAND 51 U.S. public institutions on June nest on dry land Qohnsgard, 1978). Welcomes new members 30, 1991, thus one of the more Female Redheads, finding their nests An Australian Society catering to all birds both in captivity and in the wild. We publish a bi-monthly broadly represented American Zoo full of "dumped" eggs, frequently magazine on all aspects of aviculture and conser­ waterfowl (International Species desert them. Johnsgard (978) states; vation. Anyone interested in membership please Information System, 1991). Of the , 'Nesting success is eVidently quite contact, Ray Garwood, 19 Fahey's Road, Albany Creek, 4035 Queensland, Australia. Annual 155 male, 146 female, and seven low among Redheads, and the hatch­ subscription: S22 (A) airmail, or S16 (A) surface. unsexed birds collectively held by ing success ofparasitically laid eggs is Please remit monies or bank drafts in Australian these establishments, 85 percent particularly low". At the same time, currancy. were certainly captive-bred and two in some localities, up to 50 percent percent were known to be wild­ of Redhead ducklings hatched may caught. Of these collections, the be reared by Canvasbacks! Qohns­ following held more than five speci­ gard, 1978). mens; Fort Worth and Salisbury, At Fort Worth Zoo, Brad Hazelton The Avicultural Society Maryland, both with six; St. Louis, was puzzled by the number of dead­ of America, Inc., the Arizon-Sonora Desert Museum in-shell Redhead eggs this last season. Welcomes new members. near Tucson, and the National Zoolo­ Brad pulled a nest of eight May 29, gical Park, each with seven; St. Paul, 1991. Two hatched June 24. Three Minnesota, and Tyler, Texas, both were infertile and four died in the holding ten; the Detroit Zoological shell. Seven eggs were pulled for arti­ Park, with 12;Denver, with 14; Balti­ ficial incubation June 21. Two of more, with 19; and the Conservation these hatched July 17, and the rest were infertile. Finally, both eggs Center of the National Zoological FoundeJ 1971 Park, Front Royal, Virginia, with 102. pulled June 29, died in the shell. From July, 1990, through June, Once hatched, the four ducklings We publish a monthly bulletin on all 1991, four of these collections bred were no problem to rear, thriving on aspects of aviculture. For member­ Redheads: the Arizona-Sonora Desert a diet of Purina-brand"Startena", let­ ship information please contact: Museum, which hatched ten; Balti­ tuce, and hard-boiled egg, not stand­ Helen Hanson, (714) 780-4102, ASA, Inc., P.O. Box 5516, Riverside, CA more, where five hatched; Grand ing out in any way, according to Brad 92517. Yearly dues $20. Foreign Rapids, Michigan, which reared one; and Lisa Weedn, from the Marbled members please add $5 to cover post­ and the National Zoo's Front Royal Teal, Chestnut Teal, Ringed Teal, age (U.S. funds only). Conservation Center, which hatched Radjah Shelduck and other species

afa WATCHI31RD 27 they grew up with. There is no way sheltered miniature lakes. A 1988 United States and Canada, wintering to determine if our old Schedel male draught apIJears to have horribly only as far south as southern Mexico had any part in this reproduction. accelerated what years of agricultural and the Carribean (Terres, 1980), Fort Worth's other adult Redheads developement had effected for more with 80 percent wintering along the came from two different breeders, in than a century. A 1988 survey of 330 Gulf Coast from Florida to Yucatan 1987, and were hatched in 1985, potholes in the Canadian prairie Oohnsgard, 1978). 1986, and 1987. found seven holding water (McKib­ Female Redheads have an unu­ Paul Johnsgard (1978) observes; ben, 1989). Worsening the situation sually long period of moult-induced "The low average nesting success of are the effects of Carp (Todd, 1979), flightlessness follOWing the hatching female Redheads, their high vunera­ introduced by the U.S. Government of their young, which Johnsgard bility to hunting, and the concentra­ in the 1870s, and spread throughout (1978), believes is "probably respon­ tion of the breeding populations in 298 ofthe then-existing 301 Congres­ sible for the high proportion of areas subject both to marshland sional Districts by 1883 (Laycock females shot in the fall". William T. drainage and periodic Botulism out­ 1966). Quite aside from their all-too­ Hornaday, (1927) first director ofthe breaks makes the long-term outlook well-known displacement of native New York Zoological Park and a pio­ for this species extremely pessimis­ fishes, Carp devastate entire commu­ neering American conservationist, tic". Ninety percent ofthe Redhead's nities of plants upon which so n1any hailed Redheads (in his Guidebook to diet is aquatic vegetation, and they aquatic birds delJend. Frank Todd the Bronx Zoo) as "prime favorites dive deep, often to ten feet (Ternes, (1979) states: "The overall popula­ with the sportsman and epicure". I 1980), to get it. This, and their prefer­ tion (of the Redhead) has probably have known only two people who ence for nesting in thick emergent declined as much or more than knew Dr. Hornaday (who died in plants, causes them to be particularly almost any other duck in North 1937). Dr. Charley Schroeder, the dependent on the' 'pothole" lakes of America". This is especially horrify­ late, much-beloved Director­ North America's prairies, the" pock­ ing when one considers the decline. Emeritus ofthe San Diego Zoo, never marks" left by the retreat of the glac­ of a species we still consider abun­ would say much. Jean Delacour, in iers from the Great Plains at the end dant; Pintails in America have his final, 95th year told me that, for ofthe last Ice Age (McKibben, 1989). dropped froll1 more than 10 million . all his achievments, Hornaday could Potholes are now one of the most birds in 1956 to 2.5 million in 1988, be "quite impossible!... afterall, he threatened environments in North while Mallards have dropped by half was a taxidermist.. .it was hard to find America. Bill McKibben (1989) on (Steinhart, 1989). And unlike good people then...but he built the pages 82 and 83, in a disturbing and Mallards, Pintails, Shovelers, and zoo!" It was well known to his deliberately confrontational article in Gadwalls, with their Eurasian popu­ friends that Captain Delacour, great The New Yorker, starkly portrays the lations as well, Aythya americana. collector, breeder, and taxonomist of effects of the drastic decline of these true to its name, breeds only in the ducks as he was, was also quite fond

Redheads atthe Fort Worth Zoo, the male on the left.

28 April/May 1992 The HAGEN AVICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (HARI) located in Rigaud, Quebec was established in 1985 to study the captive breeding and maintenance of companion birds. At present, the breeding colony houses 150 pairs of 40 various parrot species. The birds are housed in separate, double door rooms incorporating the latest techniques in environmental control. • Insulated walls and ceilings are totally waterproofed with PVC plastic sheeting. • Sloped poly-urethane concrete floors are drained to an environmentally secure in-house septic system. • Down draft ventilation is connected to a high tech air-to-air heat exchanger and Mark Hagen is Research multiple fan system which provides fresh warm air. Director at HARI. He has a Master of Agriculture • 400 watt sodium and fluorescent lights with timers provide photoperiodic from the University of manipulation. Guelph and specializes • Green House misting system provides continuous humidity control and a rain­ in Psittacine Aviculture. like effect which the birds love. His continued Research includes Nutrition, • Large eight and ten foot suspended flights and gravity feeders provide privacy Incubation and other and minimal human disturbance. Psittacine Aviculture Research fields include disease control, pair bonding, nutrition and the influence of temperature, research projects. humidity and light cycles on breeding. Progress has been rapid in the area of feeding research at HARJ. Hagen's new VME seed line (Vitamin and Mineral Enriched) incorporates the rna t effective supplementation for smaller bird species. HARI research determined that vitamin and mineral enrichment of dehulled seed kernels was more effective than other industry methods, such as coloring the outside hull or simply mixing seeds with poultry type pellets, which are often rejected by the birds. PRIME, a unique vitamin/mineral and limiting amino acid supplement which includes beneficial bacteria and digestive enzymes, was also developed by HARI. The formula is designed for birds on a soft food or seed diet, ensuring that all essential nutrients are made available in the diet. The TROPICAN line of formulated, fruit flavored extruded foods for parrots is the direct result of intensive nutrition research at HARI. The TROPICA line includes both a High Performance formula for breeding birds, moulting or periods of stress and the Life-Time formula for normal maintenance conditions. Both PRIME and TROPICA have been fed to HARI's own colony of birds since 1985 with excellent results. Hari has raised many of the larger parrots and is presently supplying pet stores with tame babies.

~~HAGE ®

U.S.A.: ROLF c. HAGEN (U.S.A.) CORP. Mansfield, Ma 02048 CANADA: ROLF C. HAGEN INC. Montreal, Que. H4R 1E8 U.K.: ROLF C. HAGEN (U.K.) LTD. Castleford, W. Yorkshiure, WF10 5QH of eating them, both wild and domes­ lous. It remains for really powerful World (vol.!) Country Life, London. tic. So he does note, in his monu­ ---.(1956. The Waterfowl of the world legislation to be agreed upon. Cana­ (yoU!) Country Life, London. mental work on the Anatidae (Dela­ dian agriculture continues to elimi­ ---.(1959). The Wateljowl of the world COllf, 1959), that the Redhead" is nate potholes, with the approval of (Vol.III) Countl)' Life. London. appreciated as a table bird in North its government. In the meantime, the Greenwell, G.A. & WB. Sturgeon, Jr. (1988) America". Redhead still numbers in the hun­ First breeding ofwild wateljowl in North Commercial hunting for the meat America. International Wild Waterfowl dreds of thousands, but one need Association, Inc. market, which destroyed the Passen­ only remember the Passenger Griswold, j.A. (1973). The Coscoroba (Coscor­ ger Pigeon and the Heath Hen and Pigeon, now believed to have had the oba coscoroba) International Zoo Year­ reduced the Eskimo Curlew to the largest population of any terrestrial book XIII: 38-40. brink of extinction, was outlawed, wild bird. Harvey, M. 1975) News and Views. Avicul­ turalMagazine LXXXI:231-233. due in considerable part to Willam We are thus fortunate that a Hornaday, W.T. (1927) Popular offidalgUide Hornaday, early in this century. The healthy, captive population of - New YOI'k Zoological Park (Completely taking of Redheads by sportsmen is Redheads exists in this country, to I'evised and enlarged). New York Zoologi­ carefully monitored and, in many judge from their low prices in lists cal Society. places, prohibited (Terres, 1980). It International Species Information System and advertisements. At the same (1991) ISIS birdabstract,june 30, 1991. must not be forgotten, ofcourse, that' time, I hope Fort Worth's ancient johnsgard, P.A. (1978). Ducks, Geese, and the money of duck hunters both Redhead reaches his 37th year at our Swans ofthe World. University ofNebraska through U.S. Government duck zoo in a world where potholes and Press, Lincoln & London. stamps, and organizations, most prairie marshes are no longer in Laycock, G. (19660). The alien animals The Natural History Press, Garden City, New notably Ducks Unlimited, has pre­ retreat, and perhaps reclaiming their York. served a great deal of habitat. Peter places ofold. McKibben, W. 1989) Reflections (The end of Steinhart (1989) reminds us that I am most grateful to Elizabeth nature). The New YOI'ker Sept. 11, 1989: ,'duck hunters were among the only Glassco, for making her extensive 47-105. people contributing to wetland con­ library of waterfowl books available Steinhart, P. (1989). Portrait of a deepening crises. National Wildlife. XXVII (No.6): servation until a few years ago". to the Fort Worth Zoo staff. 4-13. There has been much news of late, Todd, I'.S. 1979). Waterfowl- Ducks, Geese & concerning efforts by the United References Swans of the World. Sea World Press/ States Government to implement a Beebe, W. & L.S. Crandall (1909 Wild birds Harcourt Brace jovanovich, New York & truly effective wetlands conservation bred in captivity in the Eastern United London. States. (New York) Zoological Society Bul­ Terres, j.K. (1980). The Audubon Society and restoration program, some ofthe letin No. 36:580-583. Encyclopedia OfNorth Amel'ican birds. controversy bordering on the ridicu- Delacour, j.T. (1954) The Wateljowl of the Alfred A. Knopf, New York.•

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