Breeding the Gold-whiskered Barbet

Abstract

The barbers, family Capitonidae, consist of 81 species in 13 genera (ISIS: International Species Information System) distributed through the tropics of South America, Africa, and Asia. They are related to woodpeckers, toucans, puffbirds, jacamars, and honeyguides in the order Piciformes.

The Gold-whiskered Barbet (two subspecies: Megalaima cbrysopogon cbrysopogon, peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra; M. c. cb rys o p s i s, Borneo; Delacour 1947) is not well represented in zoo collections. According to ISIS (lune 1989), only two zoos are listed as having this species. Both of these institutions acquired their birds in the summer of 1986 from Bellbird, Inc. which caught them in Sumatra (Don Wells, pers. comm.). On June 15, 1989, Woodland Park Zoological Gardens hatched one barber in what is thought to be the first successful captive breeding of this species. Another institution, Sea World of Florida, has subsequently bred this species.

History

On July 25, 1986, Woodland Park Zoo obtained the female barbet. On May 17, 1988, she was paired with a male acquired from Brookfield Zoo. This male was thought to have killed his previous mate in November 1987. Harrison (1978) states that "in captivity, some barbers are extremely pugnacious towards other members of either sex of their own species except when nesting'.' No aggression has been observed in our pair. This might be due to the large size of the enclosure.

After two escapes from exhibits, through the harp wire fronts, the barbets were placed in an off-display enclosure. The exterior section (4.8 m. x 2.4 m. x 2.4 m.) consists of 2. 5 cm. Toprite netting and wire mesh sides. The interior (3 m. x 2. I m. x 3 m.) provides heat and shelter. A large window provides natural lighting and the interior lights are set on an automatic timer for the ambient photoperiod.

Diet

The adult diet for two birds consists of 1-1 /2 cups chopped fruit (ratio 4 kg. apples, 2 kg. bananas, 6 papayas, 6 cups blueberries, and 2 cups raisins), 1/2 cup soaked Wayne dog food, and about 1 /3 cup shredded Nebraska Brand Feline Diet. Two grapes cut in half are placed on top of this mixture. Vionate, fine oystershell, Osteoform, and finch mix (for grit) are mixed in with the diet. Mealworms, crickets, and mice pinkies are offered, but rarely (if ever) eaten.

Nest

These two barbets began nest (or roost) cavity construction almost immediately after pairing. One early preferred site was the side of a 20.3 cm. x 10.2 cm. cedar beam. As they progressed with this hole, a nest box was attached to the opposite side of the beam in hopes that they would drill into the nest box. Eventually they lost interest in this site and began drilling elsewhere. Soon there were small holes in all parts of the ceiling, walls, and sides of nest boxes. Five different cavity boxes and logs were added to provide a variety of choices for the birds. These included tree stumps, man-made nest boxes, and a palm log.

Eggs

We attempted to get the birds to utilize the palm log in the exterior enclosure. In spring 1989, access to the heated interior was permitted only at night. On May 25, an attempted copulation was observed. On May 28, a broken egg was found on the floor in the interior enclosure. On the 30th, two eggs were found in a hollowed-out log (53 cm. x 27 cm. diameter; entrance hole: 11 cm. x 8 cm.) in the interior enclosure. The routine of confining the birds to the exterior enclosure during the daytime was discontinued. On May 31, the two eggs were checked. Since one egg had a slight dent in it, these eggs were pulled for artificial incubation. The eggs were weighed, measured, and set in a Marsh Farms Roll-X incubator at 37.5 °C dry bulb and 30-31 °C wet bulb. The dented egg was repaired with a non-toxic adhesive (Elmer's Glue) to prevent excessive moisture loss. After 15 days, on June 15, egg #89041 pipped and hatched two hours later. The dented egg was infertile (see Table 1).

Meanwhile, on June 10, two more eggs were found in the same nest log. These were left for natural incubation. On the 13th, one egg was found broken on the floor. The other egg had a slight dent. This latter egg was pulled for artificial incubation. On June 23, egg #89059 was found in the nest. As it had a dent, it was pulled immediately and a "dummy" egg was placed in the nest. No more eggs were laid, and the barbers showed no interest in incubating the "dummy" egg. On July 8, egg #89059 pipped and was assisted in hatching the following day.