Breeding history and husbandry of the Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana).

The Raggiana Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) has been held by the San Diego Zoo for more than 50 years, but the population remained in low numbers until the mid-1990s. A previous article published in 1997 documented the beginning of the rise in the population; however, no new information has been published since that time. Over the past 25 years, behavioral observations by animal staff have led to improvements in husbandry techniques, which includes artificial incubation of eggs and hand-rearing of chicks. The ability to simulate a lek with various housing arrangements, in which the males can display with each other, be given access to a female for copulation, and then be separated again has proven paramount for breeding success. Additionally, females are allowed mate choice, further mimicking natural behaviors observed by this species. The refinement of these methods has led to a greater number of fertile eggs as well as higher hatchability and survivability, which in turn has resulted in a significant increase in the captive population.

Artificial incubation and hand-rearing of Superb Bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba).

Since first brought into zoos in 1964, the captive population of Superb Bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba) has remained relatively small. Several decades of artificial incubation and hand-rearing of this species at the Avian Propagation Center (APC) at the San Diego Zoo has allowed the population to increase and maintain some stability. Successful artificial incubation techniques lead to healthy neonates and allow females to reproductively recycle and produce more offspring in a season. Additionally, hand-rearing methods have been refined over the years at APC and are shown here as a method that could be employed to help sustain other small populations of birds maintained in zoological institutions.

Breeding history and husbandry of the Superb Bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba).

The Superb Bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba) has been bred in captivity for more than 50 years but has not been well documented. San Diego Zoo began efforts to breed the Superb Bird-of-paradise in the late 1960s. Through the years, behavioral observations by animal staff have led to improvements in husbandry techniques which have led to increased reproductive success. Enclosure setup and pair management are particularly important. The ability to maintain breeding pairs in adjacent enclosures, in which the male can maintain visual contact with the female, establish a territory, be given access to a female for copulation and then be separated again has proven paramount for nesting success. Additionally, diet and planned timing of introduction have played a beneficial role for successful breeding year after year.

Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare in captive birds.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare are primary causes of mycobacteriosis in captive birds throughout the world, but little is known about how they are transmitted. To define the local epidemiology of infection, we strain-typed 70 M. avium subsp. avium and 15 M. intracellulare culture isolates obtained over a 4-year period from captive birds. Typing was performed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR, amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) fragment analyses, and for a subset of isolates, DNA sequencing of a segment of the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer region. Six strain clusters comprising 43 M. avium subsp. avium, isolates were identified; 42 isolates had unique typing patterns, including all M. intracellulare isolates. Phylo-geographical analyses using RAPD and AFLP fingerprints and animal confinement histories showed no correlation between housing of infected birds and mycobacterial strain-type, except for two animals. The diversity of M. avium subsp. avium and M. intracellulare isolates and minimal evidence for bird-to-bird transmission suggest that environmental reservoirs may be important sources of infection in captivity.