BREEDING

A brief note on breeding capercaillies

at Froso Zoo Tetrao urogallus

R. N E T T E R S T R O M Director, Froso Zoo, Sweden

On 15 June 1965 one male and one female capercaillies Tetrao urogallus were hatched at Froso Zoo. The parent birds were hatched in an incubator from eggs picked up in the wild. They are four years old and are very tame. They are kept in an enclosure covering IOO sq. m, and 3-5 m high. Courtship display and calling are carried out during the day in full view of the public: if anything, the male displays more intensively when there are people watching and will even continue the display standing on my shoulder. However, pairing has never been seen in the zoo and pro- bably takes place at night.

The hen starts laying her eggs about I June,

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well concealed in dry grass. No proper nest is built. Only the hen incubates the eggs and she seldom leaves them except to feed and to take a short bath. Throughout the incubation period, which lasts about 34 weeks, the cock remains on guard and strikes and slashes at anyone who approaches the hen.

In June 1966 eight eggs were laid. Unfortun- ately one was broken: it was found to contain an embryo. On 13 July, one male and one female capercaillies hatched. Four chicks hatched later.

The capercaillies are fed on a mixture of different varieties of corn, maize, fresh fir bark and pine needles.

A note on breeding White-necked cranes Grus vipio

at Ueno Zoo, Tokyo T. N A K A Y A M A Ueno Zoological Gardens, Tokyo, Japan

The pair of White-necked cranes Grus vipio at Ueno Zoo have bred nine times. The male was obtained in 1952 when he was estimated to be five years old and the female in 1941 when she was thought to be two years old. They first bred in 1953, and since then they have bred in 1954,

They are kept in an aviary covering 3435 sq. m. Three sides are covered with fine stainless steel wire, strung vertically at intervals of 3 cm. The back of the cage is brick, which gives the birds more feeling of security than if the public could see them from all four sides. The female is pinioned but the male is not.

Each adult bird is fed the following food daily:

1955,1958, 1959,1961, 196391964, and 1965.

100 g unhulled rice, 50 g wheat, 400 g fish and 25 g bread.

As the breeding season approaches, we put some bamboo twigs, about 30cm long, in the cage as nesting material. Soon afterwards the cranes build a simple nest on the ground.

In 1965 the cranes laid five clutches of eggs. The eggs of the first clutch were laid on 28 and 31 March, the second clutch on I I and 14 April, the third on 23 and 26 April, the fourth on 5 and 8 May, and the fifth on 17 and 20 May. All the eggs, except the one laid on 17 May were put into an ordinary incubator. Only the eggs laid on 17 and 20 May, the last clutch, hatched successfully; the rest were all infertile. The chick