Captive Management of the BANTA'S BIRD FARM Tropical Screech Owl by Mark Letzer Panama, R.P We Offer All Types Of Birds

I have long been captivated by the plateau and neighboring slopes. Carriker Finch - Keets - Cockatiels ­ magnificence and nocturnal adaptation wrote in his Birds ofCosta Rica (1910) Conures - Amazons - Macaws of the owl. The manner in which they that very little was known about its dis­ Love Birds - Lorys have evolved and have been placed in tribution or its life. Obviously the life of their appropriate niches, is a well studied this bird in its wild haunts merits further subject. study. Having studied and looked for owls VOCALIZATIONS • IMPORTED BIRDS for many years, I was thri1led when a In the wild this owl utters, from what I • SURGICALLY SEXED BIRDS young tropical screech owl (Otus have heard, a shoft trill similar to that of • DOMESTIC HANDFED BABIES choliba) was brought to me to take care the eastern screech owl Otus asio of of on a temporary basis. By observing • TAME & TALKING PET BIRDS orth America, but it is followed by one this diminutive owl night and day, I have to three "hoooks" in a higher pitch than been able to increase my knowledge that of the trill. I have heard this vocali­ about the habits and mannerisms ofthis zation but once in captivity, and also that curious family. of a shallow growl, "awrrrr;' and a bill Write or Call for Price List DESCRIPTIO snapping sound made by slamming the This species measures between 8 and lower and upper mandible together. This 9 inches in length, depending on eartufts bill snapping is made when I approach 21712 Vlvlenda Ave. him during the day when he is roosting Grand Terrace, CA 92324 being erected or lying suppressed. The quietly on a perch situated high in his (714) 824-3834 main color is brownish to grayish in tone, having the facial disks light grey in color, cage. The growl is emitted at night either and a black rim enclosing them. A few when hungry and he has not been fed creamy white feathers are found on the yet, or while he is near his food and is trying to avoid intrusion. Never before has such a comprehensive forehead where the cere is located. The encyclopedia been offered, wings, upper back and tail feathers are I am located in an apartment in an both for the specialist reddish-brown, decorated with distinct urban area. It might be possible that this and hobbyist. bird and others of his kind kept in a YOUR LIBRARY IS NOT COMPLETE black bands, creating a mottled effect. WITHOUT THIS BOOK. The breast is cream colored with darker captive situation would utter their call streaks, not forming bars, but small ver­ more frequently if they were kept in an FINCHES and tical markings. The beak is hom colored, aviary in a rural area where feral owls feet are grayish and the claws are black. could be heard. SOFT-BILLED On various museum specimens, FEEDING which I have studied, I have noticed I do not know with any certainty what BIRDS some to be more rufous and others quite (revised edition) comprises the diet of this owl in the by Henry J. Bates and Robert L. Busenbark grayer in tone. The eyes do not reflect wild. It almost certainly consists ofsmall back as in Caprimulgids, but their bright rodents and invertebrates much the same yellow irides are quite obvious. as that ofOtus asia. DISTRIBUTION In captivity this owl has been offered Robert Ridgely says in his Birds of one dead mouse nightly. Every three or Panama that it is "fairly common in four nights the owl is not fed in order to light second growth woodland and keep its weight down. During periods of woodland borders, clearings and open rodent scarcity, I fed this bird strips of areas with scattered trees, and residential raw beefsmothered in cod liver oil and areas in lowlands on Pacific slope from covered with feathers to provide Chiriqui (western Panama) to Canal Zone roughage in the hopeful event that it and Panama City." There existed no would cast pellets. record for this bird in eastern Darien on HABITS IN THE WILD the Colombian border, but one has since In the wild I have noticed the habits of been taken there. this species to be nearly identical to that $19.99 According to Ridgely, the range of Otus asia. It frequents the same type Order Your Copy Now From includes Costa Rica and Panama, south ofhabitat, found more often at clearings PALOS VERDES BIRD FARM INC. to northern Argentina and southern and scattered tree savannas, than in P.O. Box 1305, Torrance, CA. 90505 Brazil. Slud states in his Birds ofCosta heavy rain forests. It responds well to Include $1.50 postage and handling Rica (1961) that it has been collected recordings ofits voice not by answering, Calif. residents add 6% sales tax. almost entirely on the subtropical central but by flying to a nearby location and 30 February/March 1986 WHOLESALE BIRDS For the Finest Quality of Exotic Birds At Low - Low Quarantine - Wholesale Prices Importers of Exotic Birds Air Shipments to All Parts of the United States and Overseas Never a Box or Service Charge BABY AMAZONS MORE BABY BIRDS EXOTICS INOLUDE 3-6 Months Old African Grey Parrota Troupials Blue-Front Amazon Timneh Gray Parrota Tanagers Yellow-Nape Amazon Blue cmd Gold Macaw Siskina Red-Lored Amazon Green Wing Macaw Goldfinches Blue Crown Amazon Sulphur Crested Cockatoo Nightingales Spectacled Amazon - And Many Othen - Toucans Parrotlets Always Canaries and Cockatiels Lorikeets -Others- 't\ Monthly Sale Specials! - Inquire SUPREME EXOTIC BIRDS, INC. 39 North Bond S1. • M1. 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afa WATCHBIRD 31 <5 .c 'S New Zealand Holds Its First co >­ .0 National Avicultural Convention oCJ) <5 "Birdword '86" .c 0... The Queen's birthday weekend-1986 Friday, May 30 - Sunday,June 1 "Birdword '86" will be held at the Avondale Race Course, Auckland. Lots of variety of activities are scheduled: local and foreign guest speakers, videos, films, workshops, displays, aviary birds, photo contest, bird auction, food, fun, entertainment, and tours of aviaries throughout the beautiful Bay of Islands and Rotorua. Come visit ew Zealand, and attend our "Birdword '86"! Write or call for reservations and information NOW! "Birdword '86" Conference Makers, P.O. Box 3719, Auckland, New Tropical screech owl, Otus choliba subject ofthe enclosedarticle. Note difference ofthis Zealand. Phone 31-149 or Telex 2478 species and the eastern screech owl. "Newcoach:' • fluttering around. Although I never endowed with specialized barbs on their heard this owl call back, the eastern flight feathers, making their flight screech owl has perched about ten feet noiseless. I have noticed this adaptation Symposium Planned away from me in the tate of Maryland, when releasing the owl for exercise. The and has begun to call. plumage is also very soft and one For March 1987 Whether or not the birds are characteristic that I have noted is that the To honor the memory of Dr. Jean defending their territory from an eyelids are independently maneuvered, Delacour and Rocco Sanducci, the IFCB intruder, or merely responding to their being able to open one eye to view its (International Foundation for the Con­ mating call, I am not sure for I have surroundings, while keeping the other servation of Birds) is planning a never been divebombed by these birds. one closed. Another interesting aspect memorial symposium on breeding birds OBSERVATIONS IN CAPTIVITY about the eyelids is that they are in captivity March 11-14, 1987. The tropical screech owl has fasci­ feathered; a very unique feature. Approximately forty speakers from nated me in the period oftime that I have Since owls have binocular vision, like around the world will be addressing avi­ kept him. Having been hit by a car, his humans, they are able to move their an subjects concerning: ecology, con­ wing is broken, and has mended in the heads in any direction. Much to the ur­ servation, field work, aviculture, wrong way, making him an unreleasable pri e ofmany people, owls can see just as nutrition husbandry, medical research, subject. Although he can fly for orne well during the day as during the night. etc. di tance when I release him in a large In one instance, when I had placed the Mark your calendars and plan ahead. room, he is not capable of a sustained food inside the owl's enclosure, I noticed We invite you to become part of this flight or hunting on his own. how similar he appeared to the bur­ experience. The plumage of owls is incredibly rowing owl, Speotyto canicularia, of This symposium will be held at the suited for night life, since they are the drier areas ofthe United States. With Sheraton Premiere Hotel in Universal legs extended and eartufts suppressed, City, California (Los Angeles area). For he was most reminiscent ofthis northern more information please write: IFCB bird. Symposium 1987 11300 Weddington, I find owls to be extremely interesting orth Hollywood, CA 91601, or call avicultural subjects, and much can be Dale Thomp on, (818) 980-9818.• learned about their behavior in the wild by studying them and their habits in cap­ tivity. Since breeding most owls in a captive environment is relatively simple, increased effort should be placed in NOTICE rearing these most fascinating creatures Loyl Stromberg, Pine River, Minnesota ofthe night. 56474, is looking for a contact in Russia BIBLIOGRAPHY who can tell him about the breed of Carriker, Birds ofcosta Rica, 1910. poultry kept in Ru sia. Ridgely Robert A Guide to the Birds ofPanama If you have contact with a Ru ian 19 6. poultry fancier or know anyone who .. Iud, Paul, The Birds ofCosta Rica, 1964. doe , please relay that information to ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mr. Stromberg. He wants to include I ould like to thank Dr. Eustorgio Mendez of the Ru ian poultry in an upcoming book Gorga Memorial Laboratory in Panama City, for Eastern screech owl, Otus asio, taken in a letting me study the kin of the tropical screech Encyclopedia-Poultry ofthe World to woodedsection ofMaryland. owls a well as tho e ofother bird .• be published in 1988.• 32 February/March 1986