An American Aviculturist Abroad Reports on Breeding The Houbara in the United Arab Emirates

by Bryant Tarr, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

t is 4:25 A.M. as I wake to the ancient Falconry and Houbara ecologicaUy sustainable use of wildlife. I sounds of Islam. The tonal qualities Falconry (the pursuit of wild quarry Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of of the caU to prayer echoing from the with a trained of prey) has a long Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa nearby mosque have not changed for and rich history in Arabia. The hunting bin Zayed AI Nahyan, brought NARC into fifteen hundred years. This ritual, which partner of choice for falconers here existence through Royal Decree in takes place at regular intervals through­ has always been the rugged and beau­ September 1989. While NARC's overaU out the day, lends a certain ambience tiful Saker Falcon, and the favored goals include gaining a broader eco­ and an unmistakable rhythm to life quarry the (although logical understanding of the UAE's here in Arabia. My neighborhood's desert hares and Stone Curlews are wildlife in general, and in particular, Mosque, like most today, features a hunted with falcons as welD. For tens one.of NARC's primary objectives is to modern amplification system. As luck of centuries a stable and sustainable rela­ increase the number of Houbara win­ would have it, this one has speakers tionship existed between falconers and tering within the Emirate ofAbu Dhabi. aimed directly at my bedroom win­ the Houbara wintering here. Bringing dow, lending an unmistakable decibel The motivation for this objective is game to the bag with a falcon is no easy level to life here as weU. I used to clearly to make more Houbara available task. For this reason over-hunting by fal­ wake to the caUs of cranes as an avi­ in the future for hunting by falconry. But culturist at the International Crane conry had never been a concern, least the greater scientific understand of Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, Wisconsin. of all for the wary Houbara which is well Houbara population ecology and cap­ I am still an aviculturist, but now at the adapted to escaping a falcon's attack. tive breeding/release techniques that are National Avian Research Center (NARC) Since the relatively recent flood of a prerequisite for success will, in the long in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The wealth from oil, however, falconers run, benefit the as a whole. There sweet sound of cranes is just a mem­ from Arab countries have been able to are many facets to the chaUenge which ory, five degrees below zero is just a pursue their passion for falconry with will incorporate programs such as wild memory too, and on days when the greatly improved efficiency. Suffice it bird studies, habitat improvements, mercury tops out here at 120° F., even to say that one can catch many more and establishment of protected areas...but a fantasy. Houbara with the benefit of dozens the aspect of most interest to Watchbird I am here largely because the Houbara of falcons, fuU-time bird trainers, cus­ readers is, of course, captive breeding. Bustard undulata is not. tomized aU-terrain hunting vehicles, At least not in the same numbers that GPS navigational equipment, trackers to occurred in the past. Houbara find game, telemetry to find lost falcons, are taxonomic cousins to the cranes sateUite telephones to link them aU Captivity Presents Unique (both are Gruiformes) and exist as together, and months of free time to Challenges three distinct : C. u. undu­ spend "hawking", than one can with a Breeding Houbara Bustards in cap­ lata in , C. u. macqueeni in couple of falcons and a trusty camel. Add tivity and releasing them to the wild is Asia, and C. u. Juerventurae in the modern firearms to this equation, along a fairly straightforward approach to . This shy and some­ with widespread habitat degradation, and the task at hand, and like most things what bizarre bird of steppes and deserts it is no surprise that Houbara popula­ avicultural, it is easier said than done! might go largely unnoticed if it were not tions have suffered a decline and that NARC inherited about 150 Houbara of such great significance to the falconers continued over-exploitation of Houbara from captive stocks already held in of Arabia. NARC is concentrating on is now a concern. the UAE. The majority ofthese birds were breeding the macqueeni subspecies wild-caught by falcons and recovered as part of an overaU strategy to bolster alive. These were kept for later use to the wild population of this bird that win­ The National train more inexperienced falcons, a ters in the Emirates, while continuing to Avian Research Center common practice in this region. promote its sustainable use as the The National Avian Research Center Unfortunately the birds had been kept favored quarry for falconers. is an organization dedicated to the in substandard conditions for long afa wATeHBIRD 57 of the problems raised by the lek type mating system. The key to their success lies in having hand-reared human­ imprinted breeding stock. As with many species bred in captivity, these birds will often direct their sexual attention to their human keepers. Imprinted males dis­ play for humans but can easily be coaxed to mate with a dummy female Houbara and the semen produced can be collected and inseminated into real females prior to egg laying. When I vis­ ited the Center in March 1995, to study artificial insemination techniques, there were 100 displaying male Houbara of two different subspecies simultane­ ously doing their hilarious jig. A dis­ playing male Houbara is indeed a Sight to behold, but 100 of them is beyond NARC aViculturist, Nigel jarrett, releasing wild-caught adult male Houbara Bustard in descriptionl Kazakhstan, May, 1995, after being fttted with satellite transmitter by NARC Ecology NARC aviculturists still mainly face the Department stafffor migration study. challenges posed by encouraging nat­ ural breeding, as most of our stock periocis of time, some were in poor phys­ sary task is eventually completed and are wild-caught and not suitable for AI. ical condition, and most were terri­ genetic material are passed on to the next We have done our utmost to prOVide fied of people. There were no records generation in a 2-4 egg clutch. Eggs are favorable conditions for these highly­ kept for any of these birds. To pro­ subsequently incubated, and the result­ strung birds and still have hopes of pro­ fessional aviculturists the situation was ing chicks reared, by the female alone. duction from them, even if limited. totally unacceptable and its legacy ?till This lek-like mating system presents Many different combinations of pen presents many difficulties. How old some interesting difficulties when sizes and sex ratios are being tested to are these birds' Where do they come applied to captive birds. For example, discover what set of conditions will from' Are they related? Before any will these birds form pairs if given the inspire breeding in these difficult birds. thoughts of large-scale breeding could opportunity' If not pairs, then what is Some groups of birds have access to begin the birds needed to be individ­ the correct sex-ratio for a group of shelter, some do not, some have dense ually marked, sexed. examined by vet­ captive Houbara' How big should their vegetation in the pens, some have erinarians, moved to better facilities, and pens be' How big should the groups in sparse vegetation, some even have air­ assessed as potential breeding stock. each pen be? Should there be mounds conditioned indoor/outdoor pens Cit In the Wild, Houbara breed on open for males to display on? If there is is very hot here, with temperatures steppes and utilize a type of lek mating more than one male/female in a pen will well over 1000 F. being the norm by mid­ system a bit like an expanded version one dominate the other' Will one stim­ late spring). Statistics from the NWRC of our prairie grouse species. Males ulate the other? Should you give females at Taif are not encouraging with regard occupy a displaying area, make a spec­ a choice of more than one male-and if to natural breeding of Houbara caught tacle of themselves (as only males can so, how do you do that and keep as wild adults-they have found that do) to declare themselves to other males separated' Inevitably these ques­ males will display, but only one such males anc:llor to attract females. In most tions lead to still more questions... if female has ever laid an egg in captiv­ avian lek systems males gather at a you think you know the answers please ity there. specific location (display grounds) and pick up the phone and call me, we are With this bit of reality in mind, NARC the female selects a mate, copulates with still working it out' has begun a joint project with the him, and continues on her way having NARC is not the only institution to Institute of Zoology in Kazakhstan to no further need of the male. With attempt to breed Houbara in captivity. study wild Houbara. as well as collect Houbara, displaying males are dis­ Most notably, The National Wildlife a limited number of eggs (under the persed over many kilometers and when Research Center (NWRC) near Taif, authority of local and CITES pennits) for they see a female in their area they chase Saudi Arabia, has done very well with the establishment of hand-reared founder her and attempt to copulate (she either Houbara and provides at least partial breeding stock. Kazakhstan is thought accepts the overture or runs/flies away). answers to some of the questions to be a likely breeding area of wild Perhaps the female purposely places her­ above. They have also discovered much Houbara migrating through the UAE. My self in the territory of desirable males, valuable information about the species colleagues and I spent nearly two or perhaps she just walks along look­ both in captivity and in the wild. months in the Taukum desert alongside ing for food and finds herself in a The NWRC relies almost entirely on Russian and Kazakh biologists observ­ male's territory; either way. the neces- artificial insemination (AI) to bypass many ing Houbara, attaching satellite trans- 58 July/August 1996 mitters (for migration studies), and Bustard afra, and Heuglin's difficult and catches for health checks searching for nests. Six nests were Bustard heuglinii, making life a or treatments are an adventure, to say located and these yielded sixteen chicks hit more interesting in the aviculture the least. It does, however, provide after all but one egg hatched. We fully department! NARC also maintains excellent semi-natural conditions for expect our captive breeding program to Houbara on a private island just off the our shyest birds, and may be most take-off exponentially when these coast of Abu Dhabi in what we conducive to natural breeding of wild­ chicks mature into imprinted adults Americans call the Persian Gulf (here it caught birds. This aviary may also he an better suited to artificial insemination is referred to as the Arabian GuID. excellent rearing area for parent-reared techniques. As it is in Texas, they like to do or pre-release birds in the future. things BIG over here. There is a single Most' 'of our Houbara are kept in Facilities open-topped Houbara pen on this smaller communicating pens ranging in In addition to the Sweihan Desert island, for example, that measures size from 13 ft. x 13 ft. to 33 ft. x 98 ft. Research Center-a purpose-built facil­ 600,000 square meters 035 acres). Each pen has pop-holes (small doors) ity complete with breeding aviaries, There is also a completely covered that connect it to adjoining pens. These quarantine center, veterinary hospital, pen at the AI Ain Zoo that is 600 meters doors can be opened should we wish and ecology and physiology labora­ long by 75 meters wide (about 10 to allow birds to have access to each tories-facilities became available to acres). These have since been subdivided other. The idea is that a male will dis­ NARC at the AI Ain Zoo; AI Ain city lies as there is little chance for effective man­ play and a neighboring female's hehav­ on the eastern Abu Dhabi border with agement of individual birds in such ior will indicate her desire to enter his Oman. The zoo had much to offer big spaces (imagine trying to catch a spe­ pen. The helpful aviculturist will open including room to build additional cific pheasant-sized bird in a 135-acre the pop-hole, and if the female Wishes, breeding pens and support facilities. An fully vegetated pen!). These huge pens she may go mate with the male. arrangement was made for NARC to were a logical first approach, however, Currently only about half of our males assume care of all bustards housed at to providing a setting that might be per­ display and only a few of our females the zoo. These include: Houbara Bustard ceived as "natural" to wild-caught cap­ lay.eggs; unfortunately, they don't Chlamydotis undulata, tive Houhara. The big pen at the zoo has always do this within a synchronised time kori, White-bellied Bustard been divided into four sections, but it frame. So we are faced with the chal­ Eupodotis senegalensis, Rufous-crest­ is still large enough that behavioral lenge oftrying to figure out who will dis­ ed Bustard Eupodotis m:!icristata, Black observations of birds are extremely play and who will lay (and when) so

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afa WATCHBIRD 59 that the appropriate hirds may he bird received a score and records were housed next-door to each other. This compiled in a datahase for analysis. Deadline is only the second season that hirds have The pattern we found confirmed been housed in the new facilities, so our suhjective evaluation. Those hirds Schedule there are few historical data to rely that most often scored high on this upon. scale (hirds that were tame enough to approach keepers and even eat out of Birds Grouped by Degree a keeper's hand) were the hirds that we September/October '96 ofTameness had housed in the smallest (13 ft. x 13 July 1 - editorial copy The hirds were moved from holding ft.) pens. It was reasoned that these hirds July 15 - display ADS pens to new hreeding pens inJanuary could hest tolerate close contact with of 1994 and we expected the first year humans, and that if we needed to do November/December '96 might he a complete wash-out as shy manipulations for artificial insemination, Sept. 1 - editorial copy Sept. 15 - display ADS birds like these often do not hreed so these would he the hirds least stressed soon after heing relocated. We found that hy the handling involved. The hirds scor­ January/February '97 individuals could he classified into ing in mid range (cautious hut not Nov. 1 - editorial copy groups hased on degree of tameness. scared) were housed in larger pens of Nov. 15 - display ADS Initially aviculturists suhjectively eval­ various dimensions. Some of the latter uated the relative tameness of individ­ house individuals with communicat­ March/April '97 ual hirds and used this "gut-feeling" to ing pop-holes, some house pairs, and Jan. 1 - editorial copy place hirds of similar disposition in Jan. 15 - display ADS other very large pens (246 ft. x 492 ft.) appropriate hreeding enclosures. In house groups consisting of up to three May/June '97 an effort to calm the hirds further and males and five females. The hirds scor­ March 1 - editorial copy get them accustomed to keepers, we ing the lowest (scared of people) were March 15 - display ADS offered tidhits in the form of "pinkie" "retired" to the largest availahle pens with mice and mealworms. In to quan­ the least likelihood of disturhance. We July/August '97 tify tameness, a tameness-rating scale don't hold out too much hope for their May 1 - editorial copy was devised where every day each hreeding, hut we do want to give them May 15 - display ADS the most pleasant, stress-free existence possihle.

Early Results Yes, count me as We were pleasantly surprised to he presented with 63 eggs from six females a member of the in 1994-the first coming just a month after the hirds were relocated into American Federation of Aviculture hreeding pens. We also had at least five p.o. Box 56218, Phoenix, Arizona 85079-6218 displaying males. As we expected, all the reproductively active females were Phone (602) 484-0931 Fax (602) 484-0109 hirds with mid-high tameness ratings (we THE WATCHBIRD IS THE OFFICIAL BI-MONTHLYPUBLICATION OF THE AFA, ANON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION helieve they may he the captive-hred offspring of hirds formerly held at the Please accept my application for membership in the American Federa­ zoo). Four out of the five known dis­ tion of Aviculture. Send me 6 issues (1 year) of the a.f.a. WA TCHBIRD playing males were high-scoring as magazine, and a membership card which entitles me to all the rights and privileges of AFA membership. well. A wilder male did display in one of the large aviaries at the zoo and we Check membership category desired: NEW 0 RENEWAL 0 suspect others were displaying hut Individual $30/year 0 Family $35/year 0 Supporting $50/year 0 went undetected. Commercial $100/year, includes listing in WATCHBIRD 0 In 1994 only 11.3% of those eggs FOREIGN MEMBERS: Add $16/year in U.S. Funds. First class rates available on which possihly could have heen fertile request. (hirds with access to males) were fer­ o My check is enclosed for $ 0 My money order is enclosed for $ _ tile. Of these six fertile eggs, only two Name Charge my MC or VISA account: 0 MC 0 Visa hatched successfully; hoth chicks later incurred spontaneous leg fractures, Address Account# ~ and one suhsequently died. A calcium City Exp. Date _ deficiency was diagnosed, and a more

State Zip Signature _ readily ahsorhahle calcium supple­ Please allow 60 to 90 days for delivery ment is now heing used (Nutrohal hy Telephone VetArk). We reared six Kori Bustards and AREA Prices effective January 1, 1996 six Rufous-crested Bustards that season

60 July/August 1996 on virtually the 'anle diet without any calciuITI-related hone prohlem . at all however, '0 the prohlem may h 'pecies specific. ARC has developed protocol' for diet food preparation sanitation incuhation, feeding, and chick-rearing, that are among the high­ est standard of any avicultural facility in the world so you may find orne com­ fort in knowing that Murphy '-law-of­ aviculture applies equally to the Arah Sheikh a' it doe' to the ha ement­ hreeder: if you have serious prohlems, it will he with the rarest and rno t important hird '. In the wake of thi rocky heginning we have undertaken a comprehensive hreakdown of our hustard diet and Imprint 1nale Houbara Bustard displaying at the National Wildlife Research Center, Tail, live food items to analy e nutrient lev- Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia. I' and we ar carefully monitoring hon dev lopm nt in hu tard chick' through radiography. 1995 ha seen improvements on many front'. 86 eggs were laid thi year hy the 'arne ix female '. More male' (including an imprinted 1993 mal ) came into hreeding condition and we had our frr t artificial insemination succes '. The main limiting factor for ARC's captive hreeding program at the moment i' lack of 'emen donor mal '-onl two male displayed for human k per' thi' year, and only one of those produced quality 'emen samples hut it' ' an important start! Black Bustard at NARC, Through AI fertility improved to Abu Dhabi, 1995. 45.1% of possihle egg (egg' laid after AI hegan). Of these 14 fertile eggs, 10 hatched and eight chick' are 'till sur­ vivino at the time of writing. The jury i' lill out on the calcium-related hone prohiem , as one of the two chicks Korl Bustard at NARC, that died did incur two hroken wing' Abu Dhabi, 1995. from unknown cause (and died later from resulting complications), hut no other related prohl ms have occurred. A ' mentioned earlier, we al 0 suc­ ces 'fully collected egg' from the wild under permit in Kazakhstan which resulted in 16 more Houhara chicks heing added to our captive stock. These have heen reared on the same diet, with the same calcium upple­ ments, and are strong and vigorous more so it seem' than the captive hred hirds. Thi 'lead me to suspect that inbreed­ ing Inay he a prohlem with our captive­ hred chicks (again we are haunted hy the legacy of poor record keeping, hut all the hreeders are likely to have been

afa WATCHBIRD 61 captive-hred themselves and may indeed develop release techniques which result tive-hred generation so it can survive in he sihlings). I look forward to infusing in captive-bred chicks being ahle to sur­ the wild. It certainly does make for some of this "wild-vigor" into our cap­ vive in the wilds of Abu Dhahi and interesting work! tive flock through artificial insemination. beyond. It is hoped that hahitat improve­ The United Arah Emirates is a stark ments, protected areas, and designated and heautiful land, a fascinating mix of Future Challenges hunting areas will contrihute to the the ancient and the modern. When These 24 hand-reared, human-imprint­ survival of hoth wild Houhara migrat­ the call to prayer wakes me in the ed Houhara will mature over the next ing through Abu Dhahi and captive-hred morning it takes a second to rememher one to three years time and will become chicks released into these environ­ where I am and what century it is. As important founders in the captive hreed­ ments. an American aviculturist and a dedicated ing program at NARC. Wild stock from NARC is also studying response to falconer, I could not imagine a more egg collections should continue to predators (Red Fox Vulpes vulpes) of interesting challenge! grow as our permits allow additional lim­ hand-reared hustard chicks vs. parent­ ited collection over the next two field reared chicks. Foxes are a major source Acknowledgements: seasons (therehy increasing genetic of predation for captive-hred chicks I would like to thank the Crown Prince diversity of our captive stock). As our released into protected areas in Saudi ofAbu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khalffa bin new stock matures we should experi­ Arahia hy the NWRC (Seddon et al., Zayed Al Nahyan, the President ~f the ence a significant increase in fertility and 1995). Some predator aversion training National Avian Research Center, as in numher of eggs produced as males may he necessary to help captive-hred well as H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin become semen donors for AI and chicks survive those critical first months Zayed Al Nahyan, the Chairman ~fthe females hegin to lay. The NWRC in in the wild. This is the ironic reality of Board, and Mr. MohammedAlBowardi, Saudi Arabia has achieved fertility of 85% many captive hreeding programs with the Center's Managing Director, for with Houbara through AI (Saint]alme, the aim of releasing hack to the their support and interest in the work 1994) and we expect to achieve simi­ wild: you must first get the "wildness" carried out by the Aviculture Department lar levels when we have more than out of the parent stock so they are at NARC. I would also like to thank one semen donor male to work with. tame enough to hreed in captivity, Mr. Ian Sleigh, Pr~r .fohn Cooper, Dr. When significant numhers of chicks then you must attempt to instill the RichardHornby, and Mrs. Theri Bailey are heing produced (hundreds per sea­ same "wildness" (e.g. appropriate for comments and suggestions which son) the next challenge will he. to response to predators) hack into the cap- resulted in improvements to this man- uscript.

References Advertiser's Index Saint Jaime, M., 1994. Huuharu, The Saudi Arahian Pruject. Arabian Wildlife Vol 1, No 2, Bob's Rare Birds ...... " ...... 8 pp. 0-1'. Caged Bird Hobbyist Magazine 59 Seddon, Pl, Saint Jaime. M.. van Heezik. Y, Paillat, Cuttlebone Plus 39 P, Gaucher, P. and Combreau, 0., 1995. Everybody's Bird Mart (Pomona. CA) 48 Resturatiun ufhuuhara hustardpupulatiuns in Finch and Canary World Magazine 29 saudiAmhia:c!eIJelupmentl' andfuture directiuns. Oryx Vol 29, No 2. pp. 130-142. Firethorn Supply .51 Foil owilI AViaries 12 Gateway Parrot Club 14 Feedback is Welcome Gold Crown Macademia Association .48 The Houhara Bustard is not a hird that Grubco .5 many of you willlikeiy encounter in your Hagen. Rolf C. (USA) Corp 21 avicultural pursuits, hut hreeding it in Humidaire Incubator Company , 9 captivity presents some interesting chal­ Judee KlCrazy Corn , 13 lenges that I thought Watchbird read­ Lima's Exotic Birds 38 ers might enjoy hearing ahout. I would LIM Farms inside back cover L & M Bird Leg Bands " .50 love to hear your ideas, opinions, and Lyon Electric Company. Inc. . 45 suggestions. Magnolia Bird Farm 36 Correspondence or requests for addi­ Nekton U.S.A.• Inc 17 tional information ahout NARC may Pet Warehouse . 49 he directed to the author: Prememium Nutrition/Zupreem inside front cover Bryant Tarr, Aviculturist Pretty Bird .41 National Avian Research Center Raintree Macaws , 36 P.O. Box 9903 Raintree Publications 47 Sweihan, Ahu Dhahi South Coast Palms ···················· 46 Specialized Pet Products 40 United Arah Emirates Sun Seed Co.• Inc back cover Sunshine Bird Supplies , 37 This article was submittedforpublica­ Timberline Fisheries 15 tion with the authority ~fthe National The Wright Roost 48 Avian Research Center. +- 62 July/August 1996 Animal Farms

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