100 BIRDS OF PREY

B~TTCHER, M. (1981): Endoscopy of birds of prey in clini- cal veterinary practice. In Recent advances in the study of ruptor diseases: 101-104. Cooper, J. E. & Greenwood, A. G. (Eds). Keighley: Chiron Publications. FRANKENBERG, 0. (1964): Wiedereinbiirgerung von Uhus. Wild Hund. 67: 272-274. FRANKENBERG, o YO" (1965): Wiedereinbiirgerung des Uhus in Niedersachsen. Niedmichs. Jdger No. 20:

FRANKENBERG, o VO" (1974): Wo der Uhu jagt. Die Pirsch No. 26: 874477. FRANKENBERG, 0. V O ~ (1981): Die Situation der Wiederein- burgerung des Uhus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Natur Landsch. 56: 777-782. FKANKENBERG, o (1982): Geschichtliche Entwicklung eines Wiedereinbiirgerungsprojektes am Beispiel der

419-420.

Aktion zur Wiedereinbiirgerung des Uhus. T'gEtr. Akad. Natursch. Landschafs. 1981: 55-59. HERRLINGER. E. (1973): Die Wiedereinbiirgerung des Uhus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Eonner Zoo/. Monogr. No. 4. I.ASSEN, D. (1979): Unzerschnittene, verkehrsarme Raume. in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Nutur. Landsrh. 54: 333-334. ROCKENHAUCH. D (1978): Untergang und Wiederkehr des Uhus in Baden-Wiirttemberg. Anz. orn. Ges. Buyern 17:

VAURIE. Ch. (1965): The birds of the palearctic fauna; nonpasseriformes. London: H. F. & G. Witherby.

293-328.

Manuscript submitted 8 December 1982

Breeding owl species a t the West Berlin Zoo URSULA KLOS Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Hardenbergplatz 8, I000 Berlin 30, West Germany

By tradition the West Berlin Zoo's collection contains a large variety of species and we have always attempted to offer to visitors a broad view of animal life. The zoo has a large number of spacious well designed aviaries for owls which make it possible to keep many types under favourable conditions. On 31 December 1980 24 owl species of 14 genera were represented. Twelve species (Table 1) are breeding or have recently bred and the

remaining species, for various reasons, have not bred. These are Scops owl Otus scops, Malay eagle owl Bubo sumatrana, Brown fish owl Ketupa zeylonensis, Malay fish owl K. ketupu, Pel's fishing owl Scotopelia peli, Spec- tacled owl Pulsatrix perspicillata (an unmated laying p ) , Striped owl Rhinoptynx clamator, Long-eared owl Asio 0. otus, Tengmalm's owl Aegolius funereus. Unfortunately one of the partners in two breeding pairs has died,

SPECIES ORIGIN OF NESTS BRED IN TOTAL MONTHS CLUTCH ARTIFICIAL REMARKS PAIWDATE YEARS NO. OF SIZE INCUBATION OBTAINED YOUNG HATCHING PERIOD

(days)

Barn owl 1.1.1

1963 Tpo alba 1958 and

Great horned owl 1.1 juv. Bubo virginianus 1961

European 1.0 1950 eagle owl 0.1 1958 3. b. bubo

nestbox 1963-1977 15 (2) Apr-Sep 1-3 last 3 young presented to reintroduction scheme

nestbox 1965-1969 9 Mar/Apr 1-3 breeding activity ceased

ground 1963-1976 39 (1) Mar/Apr 1-4 most presented to reintroduction scheme; pair assumed now too old to breed

BIRDS OF PREY 101

SPECIES ORIGIN OF NESTS BRED IN TOTAL MONTHS CLUTCH ARTIFICIAI. KEMARKS PAIRIDATE YEARS NO OF SIZE INCUBATION OBTAINED YOUNG HATCIIING PERIOD

(days)

Bubo 6. bubo

Spotted eagle owl B. africanus

Verreaux's eagle owl B. lacteus

Snowy owl Nyctea rcandiaca

Boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae

Little owl Athene noctua

African wood owl Ciccaba woodfrdi

Tawny owl Strix a. aluco

Ural owl S. uralensis

Great grey owl S. nebulosa

1.1 1981 1982, 1983 5 presented to reintroduction scheme

1.1 adults nestbox 1965, 1968 2 (1) Jul, May 1 d died 1969 from Arusha, Tanzania March 1956

0.2 1965 ground 1978, 1982 4 (2) Jan, Apr, 1-2 34

1 .o wild-caught Tanzania 1972

and 1967 May artificial incubation Jan clutch, chick malformed destroyed; eggs laid Apr 1977, 79, 80 broken by parent

1.1 1958 ground 1962-1976 51 (1) May/Jun 2-6 32 and 1959

1.1 1972 1977, 13 (1)' Jun 2-4 young 1981-1983

1.1 ground 1972-1977 8 (1) May 1-2 Melbourne

native sp nestbox 1965, 1967 3 MayIJun presented by public

1.1 ground 1974 1.0 May Tanzania 1972

native sp nestbox 1969 1 Feb presented by public

1.0 1965 nestbox 1982 4 2 0.1 1980

0.3 nestbox 1979-1982 35 (13) May/Jun 4-7 Lapland via Helsinki zoo 1971 1 .0 Copenhagen Zoo 1978

28

28-30

1977-78 eggs infertile; pair assumed too old

1979-80 eggs infertile

breeding ceased cause unhownt

0 died 1977

eggs laid 1965 but damaged

'2nd generation hatching. t2nd generation hatching from pair hatched 1972 and 1973 in private collection in Great Britain.

Table 1. Summary of owl breeding in the West Berlin Zoo from 1963-1983.

102 BIRDS OF PREY

leaving no suitable successor in the collection, and at least two pairs are now believed to be beyond breeding age.

The aviaries are well protected from the wind and the owls are kept out-of-doors all the year round, with the exception of the African wood owl Ciccaba woodfordi and Verreaux’s eagle owl Bubo lacteus which are moved into heated indoor quarters in the winter. All the breeding birds are kept in pairs throughout the year.

The birds are normally fed once a day six days a week on minced lean meat, rats, mice and chickens, with Vitakombex vitamin sup- plement added.

Our original prolific pair of Snowy owls Nyctea scandiaca which holds the zoo record for the total number bred was also the first pair in West Germany to achieve breeding success. A pair from the 1972 offspring first produced young when they were five years of age.

The Boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae breeding in 1972 was another first breeding in Germany, possibly in Europe.

The two native species, the Little owl Ath- ene noctua and Tawny owl Strix a. aluco were formed into breeding pairs fortuitously. A number of these birds are brought into the zoo by members of the public who have rescued or hand-reared them. Wherever possible they are later released by us back into the wild, but occasionally individuals are kept to make pairs suitable for breeding.

PRODUCT MENTIONED IN T H E T E X T Vitakombex: vitamin supplement, manufactured by Puke-Davis & Co., Usk Road, Pontypool NP4 8YH, Great Britain.

Manuscript submitted 13 April 1982; revised August 1983

Breeding birds of prey at the East Berlin Zoo DIETER MINNEMANN Curator of Birds, Tierpark Berlin, DDR- I I36 Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, A m Tierpark 125, East Germany

When the East Berlin Zoo opened in 1955, the modest number of animals then in the collec- tion already included some birds of prey. Over the years this number has steadily increased and today the zoo houses some 67 species of diurnal birds of prey and 34 species or sub- species of owls. Our object, however, has not been merely to display rare specimens but to study and breed them, and our present scien- tific breeding programme is based on the foun- dations laid in the early years.

The years of observation and research are now beginning to show results. In the last six years we have achieved the breeding of seven species of diurnal birds of prey and seven species of owls for the first time. Of these the American bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus was the first to be successfully bred in Europe and three species, the Harpy eagle Harpia harpyja (Plate 1 ), the European black vulture

Aegypius monachus and the Wedge-tailed eagle Aquila audux are world ‘firsts’ (Table 1).

The experiences of the last 25 years have led us to believe that there are four basic criteria for breeding bird of prey species: housing, feeding, pairing and staffing. A few comments on each of these are offered below together with a few remarks on hand-rearing and, more particularly, the avoidance of hand- rearing in certain circumstances.

HOUSING The first requisite for successful breeding is favourable living conditions. Only part of our collection is on display to the public and the more delicate and sensitive species, such as tropical hawks, are kept off exhibit. The exhi- bition cages are modern and spacious, with an immense open-air aviary in the centre of the complex for large and middle-sized vultures,