ZoO Survey (Birds)

Little Corella:

The Little Corella, Cacatua sanguinea, also known as the Bare-eyed Cockatoo, is a white cockatoo native to Australia and southern New Guinea.

Scientific classification :

Kingdom: Animalia

 Phylum: Chordata

 Class: Aves                                                                

 Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Cacatuidae

Subfamily: Cacatuinae

 Genus: Cacatua

Subgenus: Licmetis

 Species: C. sanguine

 Binomial name Cacatua sanguine

Habitat:

       Little Corellas have a complex distribution across the Australian continent; for details see a field guide. Race "gymnopsis" basically populates the interior of the eastern half of the continent and the north-western part of WA, basically within a few hundred km of Exmouth, WA. At times they are also found along the east coast of the continent.

Breeding:

The breeding season depends significantly on geographical latitude. Cockatoos are sociable creatures which often nest in loose colonies, also in conjunction with other species.Little Corellas are very sociable birds who prefer to live in large numbers.

Alexandrine Parakeet:

Scientific classification

 Kingdom: Animalia

 Phylum: Chordata 

 Class: Aves

 Order: Psittaciformes

Family: Psittacidae

 Genus: Psittacula

 Species: P. eupatria

 Binomial name Psittacula eupatria

                   

      Appearance:

             The young males can be identified as soon as they display one (or more) pitch-black feathers of their neck rings and/or one (or more) pink feathers of their nape bands. Often, the young males develop their neck rings and nape bands in two or sometimes three successive moulting seasons. Adult parakeets with neither pitch-black feathers in their neck rings nor pink feathers in their nape bands are usually females. Alexandrine Parakeets always display shorter middle-tail feathers and thus shorter tails than adults. The adult feathering usually is acquired between 18–30 months of age, but may sometimes show up as young as 12 and/or as old as a full 36 months of age. Consequently, it may be difficult to identify the sex Alexandrine Parakeets by sight with absolute certainty until they are a full 36 months of age.

                      Captivity:

                    It is an active species, adventurous and curious, likes water (bathing, misting, raining and showering) and readily accepts diverse and/or new foods. It chews vigorously and hence it is important to keep the perch non-toxic without chemical products such as disinfectants, fungicide, insecticides or pesticides, and provide plenty of safe-to-chew toys.

Blossom-headed Parakeet:

Scientific classification

 Kingdom: Animalia

 Phylum: Chordata

 Class: Aves

 Order: Psittaciformes

 Family: Psittacidae

Genus: Psittacula

Species: P. roseate

 Binomial name Psittacula roseate

                      The Blossom-headed Parakeet (Psittacula roseata) is a parrot which is a resident breeder in northeast India eastwards into Southeast Asia. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit and blossoms which make up its diet.

Vulturine Guineafowl:

Scientific classification

 Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

 Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Numididae

Genus: Acryllium
Species: A. vulturinum

Binomial name Acryllium vulturinum

Appearance:

               Vulturine Guineafowl is a large (61–71 cm) bird with a round body and small head. It is longer in the wings, neck, legs and tail than other guineafowl. The adult has a bare blue face and black neck, and although all other guineafowl have unfeathered heads, this species looks particularly like a vulture because of the long bare neck and head.

Behavior:

                  Vulturine Guineafowl is a gregarious species, forming flocks outside the breeding season typically of about 25 birds. This species' food is seeds and small invertebrates. This guineafowl is terrestrial, and will run rather than fly when alarmed. Despite the open habitat, it tends to keep to cover, and roosts in trees. It makes loud chink-chink-chink-chink-chink calls.

It breeds in dry and open habitats with scattered bushes and trees, such as savannah or grassland. It usually lays 4-8 cream-coloured eggs in a well-hidden grass-lined scrape.

Houbara Bustard:

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

 Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

 Order: Gruiformes

Family: Otidae

Genus: Chlamydotis

Species: C. undulata

Binomial name Chlamydotis undulata

Distribution and habitat:

                                The Houbara Bustard is found in the Canary Islands, North Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan , China, and the UAE. It breeds in deserts and other very arid sandy areas and is largely resident within its range.

Breeding:

           Like other bustards, this species has a flamboyant display raising the white feathers of the head and throat and withdrawing the head. Two to four eggs are laid on the ground. It hardly ever uses its voice.

Feeding:

           This species is omnivorous, taking seeds, insects and other small creatures.

Silver Pheasant:

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Subfamily: Phasianinae

Genus: Lophura

Species: L. nycthemera

Binomial name Lophura nycthemera

Description:

• Male - White with black barring, black neck, throat, & belly, black crest, red wattles, yellowish-grey beak, and pinkish legs

• Female - Brown with brownish-grey barring, lighter greyish-brown neck, throat, & belly, darker brown crest, red wattles, yellowish-ivory beak, pinkish legs

Diet:

• We feed our breeders and young adults 16% layer pellets, our tiny chicks 25% Turkey Starter crumble, and our growing chicks 20% crumble.

• They get a handful of mixed grains every second day except during breeding season, fresh greens (lettuce, chickweed, dandelions, grass) and fruits (tomato, grapes, berries, etc.) when available.

Breeding:

Done in pairs or trios.  Silvers are first year birds. Males do not reach adult plumage until their second year, but they are fertile in their first year.  They start laying eggs in March and will lay every second day until they lay approximately 20+ eggs. They lay a medium sized pinkish-cream egg.

Behavior:

• Are calm and showy birds. The females are avid dusters and like to make well formed deep nests. The males love to display for any one that will watch them and look quite impressive when they are strutting around or beating their wings and flaring their wattles. They are easy to tame down and are a nice hardy bird.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon:

Scientific classification

 Kingdom: Animalia

 Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Columbiformes

Family: Columbidae

Genus: Goura

 Species: G. Victoria

 Binomial name Goura Victoria

Appearance:

                  The sexes are identical in appearance but males are often larger than females, and the experienced pigeon breeder would likely have little trouble distinguishing males from females. Males do sing as most pigeons do, only the Crowned Pigeons are said to boom rather than coo. The loud sound of a male Crowned Pigeon is a series of low notes which sound very similar to "boom boom" , "boom boom", two loud notes in rapid succession.

Captivity:

          Crowned Pigeons have been bred in captivity since the 1800's but due to their slow reproductive nature (raising only one or two, rarely 3 young, per year) they have never been very common in private collections. Most Crowned Pigeons are held by zoos and there are only a handful of private breeds in the US who keep them.

Reproduction:

                   Reproduction is slow but often steady. Once a pair of Crowned Pigeons is established and breeding, they will breed regularly for many years, producing usually one or two offspring each year. They lay a single large white egg about the size of a chicken egg. The egg hatches after 30 days of incubation, and the young pigeon remains in the nest, cared for by both parents, for an additional 30 days. One the young pigeon leaves the nest, it is dependent on the parents for food for an additional month. So the entire process of raising a single Crowned Pigeon takes no less than 3 months to complete. It is a very slow process.

Diet:

    Their diet in captivity consist mostly of grain, small dry kibbled dog food, and chopped fruit. Crowned Pigeons essentially eat the same grains one would feed any domestic or exotic pigeon or game bird, but they love diced apple, banana, grapes and fresh raw peanuts. Practically any chopped fruit offered will be accepted. My Crowned Pigeons love diced longhorn cheese, which I provide several times per week as a source of protein and calcium. They prefer the cheese to any grain or fruit, but it should be fed sparingly.

Black Kite:

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

 Class: Aves

 Order: Falconiformes(or Accipitriformes, q.v.)

 Family: Accipitridae

Genus: Milvus

Species: M. migrans

Binomial name Milvus migrans

Description:

                    The Black Kite can be distinguished from the Red Kite by its slightly smaller size, less forked tail, visible in flight and generally dark plumage without any rufous. The sexes are alike. The upper plumage is brown but the head and neck tend to be paler. The patch behind the eye appears darker. The outer flight feathers are black and the feathers have dark cross bars and are mottled at the base. The lower parts of the body are pale brown, becoming lighter towards the chin. The body feathers have dark shafts giving it a streaked appearance. The cere and gape are yellow but the bill is black (unlike in the Yellow-billed Kite). The legs are yellow and the claws are black. They have a distinctive shrill whistle followed by a rapid whinnying call.

Peafowl:

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Galliformes

Family: Phasianidae

Subfamily: Phasianinae

Genus: Pavo

Species: Pavo Cristus

Basic Stats:

·         Length: Male - 3 to 4.5 feet, Female - 2.5 to 3.5 feet

·         Tail Length: Male - 4 to 5 feet

·         Weight: Male - 9 to 13 pounds, Female - 6 to 9 pounds

·         Sexual maturity: 2 to 3 years

·         Breeding Season: April to September

·         Broods per year: usually one

·         Eggs: usually 4 to 6 (can be much more in captivity if collected)

·         Incubation: 28 days

Blue and yellow Macaw:

Appearance:

1. The Blue Gold Macaw is large (approximately 33 inches from head to tail), with a head, back, and wings in a blue-green color, and frontal body plumage in yellow. The Blue and Gold has a whitish skin face mask.

§  Blue Gold Macaws can be trained to talk, but are not good at mimicking.

§  They need lots of space given their large size to move around and exercise. Their wing span is approximately three and a half feet.                                          

2. More blue gold macaw facts: The Sexing of a Blue and Gold Macaw As with most birds, sexing is difficult and usually requires some DNA testing, however without being a sure thing, the hen may have a slimmer head

§  They have the average lifespan of most macaws, which is anywhere between 30 to 50 years.

§  They can be aggressive and tend to pluck, although they are said to be excellent pets for macaw fans around the world. 

A few more blue gold macaw facts:

The Origin of the Blue and Gold Macaw

§  Central America to South America 
 

§  The scientific name of the blue and gold macaw is Ara ararauna.
 

§  It can be very loud as most macaws can

Additional blue gold macaw facts:

              Breeding of the blue gold macaw

§  They breed readily in captivity and they are increasingly popular in the pet trade

Approx Breeding Age- As young as three years. When the bird reaches sexual maturity you will need to watch aggression level during mating season in early spring. (usually lasts 6 weeks)

§  Can breed as young as three years of age
 

§  At sexual maturity it is important to watch out for aggression in the blue gold macaw
 

§  Mating season, which is usually in early spring lasts approximately six weeks

Blue gold macaw facts:

                     Blue and Gold macaw behavior

§  They can inflict serious bites

§  They do not make good dorm or apartment pet

§  Very noisy

§  Very messy as most large (and small) birds are.

Bar headed Goose:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class:   Aves

Order: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae

Subfamily: Anserinae

Tribe:   Anserini

Genus:                Anser

Species: A. indicus

     Habitat:

            The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) is a goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest.

The summer habitat is high altitude lakes where the bird grazes on short grass. The species has been reported as migrating south from Tibet, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia before crossing the Himalaya. The bird has come to the attention of medical science in recent years as having been an early victim of the H5N1 virus, HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza), at Qinghai. It suffers predation from crows, foxes, ravens, sea eagles, gulls and others.

Appearance:

                   The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus Anser by the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. The adult is 71–76 centimetres (28–30 in) and weighs 1.87–3.2 kilograms (4.1–7.1 lb).

Captivity:

            The Bar-headed Goose is often kept in captivity, as it is considered beautiful and breeds readily. Records in Great Britain are frequent, and almost certainly relate to escapes.

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

Source: http://www.fathom.com/course/21701785/session2.html

Threats to Biodiversity

Extinction is a natural event and, from a geological perspective, routine. We now know that most species that have ever lived have gone extinct. The average rate over the past 200 million years is 1-2 species per million species present per year. The average duration of a species is 1-10 million years (based on the last 200 million years). There have also been several episodes of mass extinction, when many taxa representing a wide array of life forms have gone extinct in the same blink of geological time. In the modern era, due to human actions, species and ecosystems are threatened with destruction to an extent rarely seen in Earth history. Probably only during the handful of mass extinction events have so many species been threatened, in so short a time. What are these human actions that threaten biodiversity? There are many ways to conceive of these; let's consider two. First, we can attribute the loss of species and ecosystems to the accelerating transformation of the Earth by a growing human population. As the human population passes the 6 billion mark, we have transformed, degraded or destroyed roughly half of the word's forests. We appropriate roughly half of the world's net primary productivity for human use. We appropriate most available fresh water, and we harvest virtually all of the available productivity of the oceans. It is little wonder that species are disappearing and ecosystems are being destroyed. Second, we can examine six specific types of human actions that threaten species and ecosystems--the "sinister sextet." Rhinoceros Over-hunting Over-hunting has been a significant cause of the extinction of hundreds of species and the endangerment of many more, such as whales and many African large mammals. Most extinctions over the past several hundred years are mainly due to over-harvesting for food, fashion, and profit. Commercial hunting, both legal and illegal (poaching), is the principal threat. The snowy egret, passenger pigeon, and heath hen are US examples. At US $16,000 per pound, and US $40,000 to US $100,000 per horn, it is little wonder that some rhino species are down to only a few thousand individuals, with only a slim hope of survival in the wild. The recent expansion of road networks into previously remote tropical forests enables the bushmeat trade, resulting in what some conservationsist describe as "empty forests" as more and more wild animals are shot for food. The pet and decorative plant trade falls within this commercial hunting category, and includes a mix of legal and illegal activities. The annual trade is estimated to be at least US $5 billion, with perhaps one-quarter to one-third of it illegal. Sport or recreational hunting causes no endangerment of species where it is well regulated, and may help to bring back a species from the edge of extinction. Many wildlife managers view sport hunting as the principal basis for protection of wildlife. While over-hunting, particularly illegal poaching, remains a serious threat to certain species, for the future, it is globally less important than other factors mentioned next. Habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are important causes of known extinctions. As deforestation proceeds in tropical forests, this promises to become the main cause of mass extinctions caused by human activity. All species have specific food and habitat needs. The more specific these needs and localized the habitat, the greater the vulnerability of species to loss of habitat to agricultural land, livestock, roads and cities. In the future, the only species that survive are likely to be those whose habitats are highly protected, or whose habitat corresponds to the degraded state associated with human activity (human commensals). Habitat damage, especially the conversion of forested land to agriculture (and, often, subsequent abandonment as marginal land), has a long human history. It began in China about 4,000 years ago, was largely completed in Europe by about 400 years ago, and swept across the US over the past 200 years or so. Viewed in this historical context, we are now mopping up the last forests of the Pacific Northwest. Thinking Point The destruction of tropical rainforests in economically developing countries may well have serious worldwide ramifications (e.g., loss of species, global warming). How might foreign policy in first world nations be guided to support economic growth in rainforest states while fostering a sustainable environment? In the New World tropics, lowland, seasonal, deciduous forests began to disappear after 1500 with Spanish and Portuguese colonization of the New World. These were the forested regions most easily converted to agriculture, and with a more welcoming climate. The more forbidding, tropical humid forests came under attack mainly in twentieth century, under the combined influences of population growth, inequitable land and income distribution, and development policies that targeted rain forests as the new frontier to colonize. Tropical forests are so important because they harbor at least 50 percent, and perhaps more, of the world's biodiversity. Direct observations, reinforced by satellite data, document that these forests are declining. The original extent of tropical rain forests was 15 million square km. Now there remains about 7.5-8 million square km, so half is gone. The current rate of loss is estimated at near 2 percent annually (100,000 square km destroyed, another 100,000 square km degraded). While there is uncertainty regarding the rate of loss, and what it will be in future, the likelihood is that tropical forests will be reduced to 10-25 percent of their original extent by late twenty-first century. Discussion {Dis: Deforestation in the Pacific Northwest is a volatile topic.} Discuss arguments for forest harvesting (e.g., supporting the local economy, demand for wood and paper, rotational harvest, tradition) and arguments against doing so (e.g., soil erosion, habitat loss, threat to species including salmon). What types of conciliatory approaches might be taken? Habitat fragmentation is a further aspect of habitat loss that often goes unrecognized. The forest, meadow, or other habitat that remains generally is in small, isolated bits rather than in large, intact units. Each is a tiny island that can at best maintain a very small population. Environmental fluctuations, disease, and other chance factors make such small isolates highly vulnerable to extinction. Any species that requires a large home range, such as a grizzly bear, will not survive if the area is too small. Finally, we know that small land units are strongly affected by their surroundings, in terms of climate, dispersing species, etc. As a consequence, the ecology of a small isolate may differ from that of a similar ecosystem on a larger scale. For the future, habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation combined is the single most important factor in the projected extinction crisis. Thinking Point In Chicago, an infestation of Asian longhorned beetles in 1998--introduced inadvertently through packing crates imported from China--forced the destruction of hundreds of trees to control its spread. Create a list of introduced non-native species you know of, and how they impacted the environment. Invasion of non-native species Invasion of non-native species is an important and often overlooked cause of extinctions. The African Great Lakes--Victoria, Malawi and Tanganyika--are famous for their great diversity of endemic species, termed "species flocks," of cichlid fishes. In Lake Victoria, a single, exotic species, the Nile Perch, has become established and may cause the extinction of most of the native species, by simply eating them all. It was a purposeful introduction for subsistence and sports fishing, and a great disaster. Of all documented extinctions since 1600, introduced species appear to have played a role in at least half. The clue is the disproportionate number of species lost from islands: some 93 percent of 30 documented extinctions of species and sub-species of amphibians and reptiles, 93 percent of 176 species and sub-species of land and freshwater birds, but only 27 percent of 114 species and subspecies of mammals. Why are island species so vulnerable, and why is this evidence of the role of non-indigenous species? Islands are laboratories for evolution. Domino effects Domino effects occur when the removal of one species (an extinction event) or the addition of one species (an invasion event) affects the entire biological system. Domino effects are especially likely when two or more species are highly interdependent, or when the affected species is a "keystone" species, meaning that it has strong connections to many other species. A keystone species is one whose influence on others is disproportionately great. A seminal study of marine invertebrates in the rocky intertidal region of Washington State found that the top predator, a starfish, facilitated the coexistence of many other invertebrates by selectively consuming mussels, which otherwise would crowd out other organisms. Thus a keystone species is one whose presence or absence both directly and indirectly influences other species through food web connectivity. Contrary to what some may think, not all species are "keystones", and it requires careful experimental studies to identify keystone species. Pollution Pollution from chemical contaminants certainly poses a further threat to species and ecosystems. While not commonly a cause of extinction, it likely can be for species whose range is extremely small, and threatened by contamination. Several species of desert pupfish, occurring in small isolated pools in the US Southwest, are examples. Climate change A changing global climate threatens species and ecosystems. The distribution of species (biogeography) is largely determined by climate, as is the distribution of ecosystems and plant vegetation zones (biomes). Climate change may simply shift these distributions but, for a number of reasons, plants and animals may not be able to adjust. The pace of climate change almost certainly will be more rapid than most plants are able to migrate. The presence of roads, cities, and other barriers associated with human presence may provide no opportunity for distributional shifts. Parks and nature reserves are fixed locations. The climate that characterizes present-day Yellowstone Park will shift several hundred miles northward. The park itself is a fixed location. For these reasons, some species and ecosystems are likely to be eliminated by climate change. Mountaintop species are especially vulnerable. The plants and animals found on high mountains of the American West include many remnants of a Pleistocene fauna that long ago was displaced toward the arctic, or upslope. With further warming, many of these mountaintop species likely will be eliminated. A changing climate will have many other effects. The southern extent of the Everglades, today the site of the most ambitious and expensive restoration project ever undertaken, may be underwater, along with significant areas of human habitation. Agricultural production likely will show regional variation in gains and losses, depending upon crops and climate. Some coral reefs will expand, and others will contract or die off. Ecological changes due to an altered climate are difficult to forecast, but expected to be serious. As a consequence of these multiple forces, many scientists fear that by end of next century, perhaps 25 percent of existing species will be lost.