Unusual Roosting Partners of Timor Sparrows Padda fuscata by Christy Sky, Disney's Animal Kingdom Introduction ave you ever wondered what birds do at night? Do H they simply find their favorite roosting spot for the night and sleep peacefully till dawn? Do they roost by themselves or always next to their mate? Well, one keeper's observa­ tions at dusk prompted another keep­ er to find out just who was roosting with whom. Late one evening in February a very peculiar observation was noted. In the Asian Aviary at Disney's Animal Emerald Dove and Emerald chick with three Timors Kingdom two WOlnpoo Fruit Doves, Ptilinopus magnificus were observed to have a Timor Sparrow, Paddafus­ Semau and Rote (Goodwin, 1982). keets Trichoglossus goldiei, Argus cata tucked under each wing, as if the They are usually found in open grassy Pheasants Argusianus argus} Fairy WOlnpoos were "brooding" the areas and around cultivated fields and Bluebirds Irena puella, Indian Pygmy Tilnors. This was indeed a very sur­ are often seen in pairs or small groups Geese Coromandelianus nettapus, prising discovery and from that day foraging for various eeds and grasses. White-collared Kingfishers Halcyon forward, daily and nightly observations Insects do not appear to playa role in chloris, and White-headed Munias were recorded on who was snuggling their diet (Goodwin, 1982). Lonchura maja, to name a few. with whom. The Timor Sparrows were accli­ This behavior has been docu­ New Home lnated in a small enclosure for three mented in Java Sparrows, Lonchura Our imported Tilnor Sparrows days before they were released into the oryzivora in captivity by Derek arrived at Disney's Animal Kingdom aviary. Upon their release the Timors Goodwin (Goodwin, 1982). It has also in December 1998. After a regular 30- stayed together in a flock as they inves­ been theorized that the Tin10r Sparrow day quarantine period, where they tigated every nook and cranny of their is a color mutation of the Java Sparrow, under went routine physical examina­ new home. Nothing Significant was however, conversations with Luis tions, they were then moved to an noted in their first few weeks of accli­ Baptista suggest this is not the case; acclimation enclosure in the newly rnation. There was no aggression from that, in fact, they are two different opened Asian Aviary. The aviary is or towards other species in the aviary. species. However, both species exhibit approximately 140 X 50 X 40 feet with However, during the later part of the 'imilar roosting habits in captivity. a shallow pond on the east end and a afternoons the Timors would tend to Timor Sparrows are a rather large fountain representing a lotus flower in spend more time around the Emerald finch with similar patterns to the Java the center. The aviary is planted with Doves, following them as they foraged Sparrow but w ith distinctive color dif­ several large ficus trees, various throughout the aviary. ferences. The Timor Sparrow has species of balnboo, queen palms, white cheeks and underparts with the dom beya trees, grasses, as well as Surprising Discovery rest of the plumage being various many other varieties of plants. The Then on February II, 1999 n1uch shades ,of blackish brown, with a defi­ aviary is also home to over 40 mixed to our surprise, two Wompoo Fruit nite band across the chest to divide the species such as, Wompoo Fruit Doves Doves were observed with one Timor white underparts. They are found in Ptilinopus magntficus, Emerald Doves under each wing as they roosted at the Indonesian islands of Timor, Chalcophaps indica, Goldie's Lori- night. The following morning the same the afa WATCHBIRD 33 pair of Wompoos had one Timor observations, but you might be sur­ did not always have Timor Sparrows Sparrow in between them facing the prised what you find. During the next roosting with them. opposite direction while two other four months of recording data, 141 Timors were flying around .the wom­ observations were taken. Six different Roosting Tolerance poos. At this point we decided to start dove species were observed to have Some differences between the collecting observational data on this anywhere from one to three Timors tolerance levels of the doves toward surprising discovery. roosted around or under them. The the Timors became apparent about a After a few days of observations, four arboreal species were Jambu Fruit month into the study. Keepers began we began to realize that at night it was Dove, Emerald Dove, Wompoo Fruit to notice at dusk the Timors started easier to find the roosting spots of Dove, Temminck's Fruit Dove following Emerald Doves around. Timors than in the morning. At night Ptilinopus porphyrea, along with two They ate out of the same seed dish, the Timors would follow their roosting ground dwelling species, Sulawesi hopped on their backs to get around partner around at dusk until the "cho­ Quail-Dove Gallicolumha tristigmata them, constantly pecked at their feet sen dove" would roost for the night. and Bartlett's Bleeding-heart Dove and breast feathers and tried to snug­ In the morning, if the observations Gallicolumha criniger. gle up as close to them as possible. At were made after first light, the doves There were also several other some points it almost looked as Timor and Timors would have already sepa­ species of doves in the aviary that Sparrows were mobbing a single rate.d for the day. It became obvious were never observed to have Timors Emerald Dove. Everywhere the Emer­ that the roosting position at night snuggled up next to them. These ald Dove flew the Timors were inches sometimes changed and it was not included Nicobar Pigeons Caloenas hehind it. As soon as the dove landed always feasible to search for the new nicoharica, Papauan Mountain the Timors would try to snuggle in roosting spots in the morning. In the Pigeons Gymnophaps alhertisii, Green­ between its legs and under its wings. morning before light there were only naped Pheasant Pigeons Otidiphaps The Timors would constantly peck at a few areas of the aviary that provide nohilis nohilis, and a Green Imperial­ the doves feet and wing feathers until sufficient light to be able to see the Pigeon Ducula aenea. These species the dove raised its wings and let the Timors and doves. In collecting the are large, arboreal doves with the Timor roost under the wing or data we did not wish to disturb the exception of the Green-naped Pheas­ between its legs. roosting birds. Due to these conditions ant Pigeon, which is a large gr~und In April a pair of Emerald Doves we decided to take observations when dwelling dove. nested in a small holding area, which is we staff could, without causing too connected to the aviary and raised a much disturbance to the aviary. Who Roosts with Whom single chick. It was odd enough that Of the six species of doves that these doves chose to nest in a small Data Collection were observed with Timors, there cage instead of the aviary, but the The data collected was very basic. were definitely certain species Timors never came into the holding A keeper would record what type of observed more frequently than others. area to roost or be near the incubating bird, how many Timors, which direc­ For instance, almost every time an doves. However as soon as the chick tion they were faCing compared to the observation was made of an Emerald fledged and came out of holding into dove, time, and location of the behav­ Dove there would be at least two the aviary, the little fledgling was intro­ ior. These data were collected from Timor Sparrows roosting one under duced into the world of Timor snug­ February 11 to May 29, 1999. This each wing; and upon occasion, one gling. The very same night the chick length of time was chosen to try and get Timor would also be roosted between fledged, the Timors were observed fly­ as much temperature variation in the the doves legs, for a total of three ing around, landing on top of and try­ aviary as possible. It rarely freezes in Timors under one dove! ing to roost underneath the young central Florida but it does get down into The Wompoo Fruit Doves were Emerald chick. On several occasions to lower 30s occasionally, warming up another apparent favorite species for we observed the adults feeding the to the 50s and 60s by midafternoon. the Timors, and they always seemed to chick. Amazingly, while the adults were During the time of data collecting, the have Timors around them at night. The feeding the chick three Timor Sparrows temperatures ranged from the upper Jambu Fruit Doves were observed were flying and landing on the parents 30s to lower 90s. No changes of roost­ many times with Timors but not nearly and the chick as the feeding took place. ing behavior of the Timors were noted. as often as were the Emerald Doves or When the chick finally settled down to They appeared to roost under doves in Wompoo Fruit Doves. The Sulawesi roost next to its parents a Timor flew cold weather as well as warm weather. Quail-Dove, Barlett's Bleeding-heart down and jumped on the chick's back There are also heated ledges in the Dove and the Temminck's Fruit Dove and slid down in between the parents aviary that the Timors could be seen were a lot harder to find due to their and the chick to roost for the night. The perched on during cooler mornings.