The Ringed Teal. .. a duck for the softbin aviary (Calonetta leucophrys) by Josef H. Lindholm, III, LeadAviculturist Emerald Forest Bird Gardens Fallbrook, California ~ .c a. ~ Cl At the San Antonio Zoo's Hixon .9 o .c Tropical Bird House, a darkened cir­ a. cular walkway separates a ring of ~ sunlit, landscaped, glass-fronted avi­ :cu'" aries from a planted rotunda. Opened (f) in the 1960s, this building has always do ~ held a wonderful collection and I was Q; co not disappointed at my first visit in c Cll June 1984. In beautiful exhibits were t: breeding White-breasted Bald Crows Cl'" Q; .c (Picathartes gymnocephalus), the u CIl first Giant Pittas and Pagodah Mynahs '0> o (5 I'd seen, African Pygmy Kingfishers o N nesting in an artificial mudbank, a a >­ native Black-chinned Hummingbird CIl Cll t: and Yellow-romped Warbler, a small ::> flock of Saffron-crowned Tanagers 8 rJ./JiiOMlt-l .9 o (Tangara xanthocephala), and .c many other species. A bird I've never a.. seen again was a Carmiol's Tanager (Chlorothraupis carmioli), from Central and South America. As I admired this large sombre bird, which shared its display with Andean Cocks-of-the-Rock and Blond-crested Woodpeckers Celeus f!avescens), Assistant Director Ernest Roni, who was escorting me through the house, pointed with delight at a female Ringed Teal escorting a line of duck­ lings out of the undergrowth to the stream at the front ofthe exhibit. The Ringed Teal, which breeds in tropical Argentina and Paraguay, and ranges into Brazil, Bolivia, and Uruguay, is primarily a forest bird (Delacour, 1956;Johnsgard, 1978). It is frequently perched in trees and nests in tree-holes and the bulky stick nests of Monk Parrots (Delacour, Two Ringed Teal drakes, thefil'St oftheil' kind in EU1'Ope, keeping highly 1956; Johnsgard, 1978; and Todd, distinguished company atZoologischer Gm'ten Berlin in 1907, depicted 1979). Being a little duck, a fourth by staff-artistPaulNeumann. Atthe centel' ofthispictum is the now the mass of a Mallard (Todd, 1979), it extinctPink-headedDuck (IUlodonessa caryophyllacea)from India. While is thus superbly adapted to a free­ the Silvel' Teal, on the otherside ofthe Ringed Teal, and the Plumed T,'ee flight existence in a tropical aviary, Ducks in the upper C0171e1~ are notnow ve1Y ra1'e, they are still compm'a­ indoors or out. As it does not dive tively expensive. The Hawaiian Nene Geese, above the Teal, were, in (Delacour, 1956; Johnsgard, 1978), it 1907, p1'Obably rm'er than the Pink-headed Duck. The South American does quite well in shallow water. To BlackfacedIbis (Theristicus caudatus melanopis) has neverbeen its obvious advantage as an ornamen­ commonplace in zoos. White-naped and Wattled O'anes have continued to decline in the Wild, andm'e now the subjects ofcm'eful captive tal bird, the Ringed Teal does not management. The dm'k bi,'datcenter bottom is a Limpken (Aramus undergo an eclipse plumage, so nota­ garauna). Although this specializedsnail-eaterhas a velY wide distl'ibu­ ble in Wood and Mandarin Ducks and tion in Central and South Amel'ica as wellas FlO1'ida andextreme South­ Northern Hemisphere Teal. The e17'l Georgia, ithas been almostnon-existentin collections and thel'e am drake's wonderful combination of now none in captivity. 64 October/November 1991 ~ (1956) tells us that the Ringed Teal the zoo's magazine (Anon. 1967). '§ was Lord Grey's favorite waterfowl. Marvin Jones, San Diego's registrar, ~ The German aviculturist Hartmut informed me that zoo records indi­ ~ Kolbe (1979) states that few ifany of cate only that these birds came from ... ",.,.""."..."" . .6 these ducks appear to have been a Mr. Lintz, about whom I have found ~fj4~'J;~flf~",J~ -§ exported between 1910 and 1950, nothing further, and their subse­ _.. .:. ct· and the European captive population quent history is not recorded. San - .~ . was displaying inbreeding depression Diego Zoo did not obtain additional by the 1930s. Delacour (1956), who birds until 1974, when a pair arrived bred them at Cleres in the '30s, states from the Canadian dealer Ken that none of the captive birds sur­ Chisolm, and 1975, when another vived the Second World War. No pair was obtained from the Miami Ringed Teal appear to have arrived in Rare Bird Farm. MarvinJones believes North America to that point. the 1975 pair were most likely wild The species does not appear to birds. The San Diego Wild Animal have been bred again until 1955, Park also received birds about this when six females were hatched at time. the Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge, Mickey Ollson, owner and director England (Delacour 1956). Aside from of the Wildlife World Zoo near Pho­ Slimbridge, only one other collection enix, Arizona, told me that some time is listed in the breeding records ofthe between 1970 and 1975, the Ringed first five volumes of the Interna- Teal went from being an expensive A Ringed Teal drake atthe Watet10wl tional Zoo Yearbook, covering 1959 rarity to an easily obtained bird. The G1·ust,Slimbridge,!romwheremanyo! to 1963; The New York Zoological International Zoo Yearbook this species now in captivity originated. Park (Bronx Zoo) hatched Ringed records for 1970 list six institutions Teal in 1962 and 1963 (Zoological breeding this species: Jean Dela­ reddish-chestnut, pale peach, metal­ Society of London 1961-65). cour's collection at Cleres; lic green, white, grey, and black lines Slimbridge; the now defunct Slade­ and trout speckles, is retained Through the 1960s, this bird remained a rarity in collections. more Gardens at High Wycombe, throughout the year, affording a When the San Diego Zoo obtained its England; and three U. S. Zoos - Great pleasing contrast to the attractively first pair in December 1966, a photo­ Bend, Kansas; Naples, Florida; and subtle brown and white pattern of the National Zoological Park at the female. As the "ringed" pattern graph was prominently featured in of the male's head is often not ve~ r-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ obvious, I agree with zoo historian Marvin Jones that the German name "Red-shouldered Teal" is far more appropriate. It was to Germany that the first Ringed Teal were exported from South America, arriving at Zoolo­ gischer Garten Berlin, in the compar­ atively late year of 1907. The year is usually given as 1908, but the accom­ panying picture is dated a year earlier by avicultural historian HeinZ-Sigurd Raethel (1979). Berlin's first speci­ mens, regarded as treasured rarities in what was then the largest collec­ tion of birds in the world, were all males (Delacour 1956). Delacour (1956) further records that others shortly arrived in German private collections, the London Zoo, and the legendary aviaries of F.E. Blaauw at Gooilust, Holland. Though Blaauw shortly bred large numbers of Ringed Teal, the first success appears to have occurred in Germany, as Delacour (1956) notes that young birds were offered on Gerlnan price-lists in 1911. British successes soon followed; the great statesman, Lord Grey of Fallodon (Teddy Roosevelt's birding buddy), doing particularly well. Delacour afa WATeRBIRD 65 Washington (Zoological Society of was believed by many to be a rare London, 1972). Great Bend's Brit bird in the wild, possibly highly Spaugh Zoo, specializing in North endangered. In the 1970s, however, Our 10th year American animals, appears to have field research showed they were been listed in error. Doug Burt, a quite abundant in certain localities, of providing the keeper, investigated the records and and in no apparent danger of extinc­ finest in custom found no mention ofRinged Teal. On tion (Kolbe, 1979). This fact, and the other hand,Jungle Larry's African their current establishment in captiv­ designed aviaries Safari at Naples took over Carribean ity, is especially pleasing in light of and bird cages. Gardens, at one time America's this species' peculiar evolutionary largest waterfowl collection. Twelve position. Though a number of refer­ Various Products include: hatched there in 1970, while 15 ences continue to include it in the • Assembled stackable cages hatched atWashington. Teal genus Anas, recent trends have • Large Indoor and Outdoor Aviaries In 1987, the latest year recorded by been to follow Johnsgard (1978), • Stackable Breeding Units the International Zoo Yearbook who, in the 1960s, not only con­ (Zoological Society of London, cluded that it belonged in its own • Walk-in Flight Cages 1991), 36 institutions that bred genus, but that it should be included The versatile framing system, Ringed Teal are listed. Nineteen are in the already fantastically diverse in the U.S. Of these, the most suc­ tribe Cairinini, which includes the using 1" sq. molded nylon cessful were Houston, with 43 huge and grotesque Spur-winged connectors and 1" sq. aluminum hatched, and 30 raised; Knoxville, Geese and Comb Ducks, the three or steel tubing, makes it simple Tennessee, 22 hatched, and 15 species of Pygmy Geese, the Musco­ for you to create your own raised; Memphis, where 49 were vey Duck, the Wood and Mandarin custom-made aviary or bird cage. hatched and reared; San Antonio Ducks, Brazilian Teal, and several Zoo, with 34 hatched and 28 raised; other species. On the other hand, and Tyler, Texas, with 15 hatched, recent research on comparitive [CCorners Umltecl and 14 raised. feather proteins suggests a relation­ On the price-lists of waterfowl ship to the Teal tribe afterall Oohns­ 424 HARRISON STREET breeders, Ringed Teal are one of the gard, 1978). Delacour (1956) KALAMAZOO, MI 49007 least expensive species, a pair cost­ suggested possible affinities to the [~ FOR AFREE CATALOG CALL TODAY ~ 1.1 ing about the same as one Gouldian Pochard tribe. 1-800-456-6780 Finch from a pet store.