Unusual Roosting Partners of Timor Sparrows (Padda fuscata)

Abstract

H Introduction

ave you ever wondered what birds do at night? Do they simply find their favorite roosting spot for the night and sleep peacefully till dawn? Do they roost by themselves or always next to their mate? Well, one keeper's observations at dusk prompted another keeper to find out just who was roosting with whom.

Late one evening in February a very peculiar observation was noted. In the Asian Aviary at Disney's Animal Kingdom two Wompoo Fruit Doves, Ptilinopus magnificus were observed to have a Timar Sparrow, Padda.fuscata tucked under each wing, as if the Wompoos were "brooding" the Timors, This was indeed a very surprising discovery and from that day forward, daily and nightly observations were recorded on who was snuggling with whom.

This behavior has been documented in Java Sparrows, Lonchura oryziuora in captivity by Derek Goodwin (Goodwin, 1982} It has also been theorized that the Timar Span-ow is a color mutation of the Java Sparrow, however, conversations with Luis Baptista suggest this is not the case; that, in fact, they are two different species. However, both species exhibit similar roosting habits in captivity.

Timar Sparrows are a rather large finch with similar patterns to the Java Sparrow but with distinctive color differences. The Timar Sparrow has white cheeks and underparts with the rest of the plumage being various shades .of blackish brown, with a definite band across the chest to divide the white underparts. They are found in the Indonesian islands of Timar,

Semau and Rote (Goodwin, 1982). They are usually found in open grassy areas and around cultivated fields and are often seen in pairs or small groups foraging for various seeds and grasses. Insects do not appear to play a role in their diet (Goodwin, 1982).

New Home

Our imported Timor Sparrows arrived at Disney's Animal Kingdom in December 1998. After a regular 30- day quarantine period, where they under went routine physical examinations, they were then moved to an acclimation enclosure in the newly opened Asian Aviary. The aviary is approximately 140 X 50 X 40 feet with a shallow pond on the east end and a fountain representing a lotus flower in the center. The aviary is planted with several large ficus trees, various species of bamboo, queen palms, dombeya trees, grasses, as well as many other varieties of plants. The aviary is also home to over 40 mixed species such as, Wompoo Fruit Doves Ptilinopus magnificus, Emerald Doves Chalcopbaps indica, Goldie's Lori-

keets Tricboglossus goldiei, Argus Pheasants Argusianus argus, Fairy Bluebirds Irena puella, Indian Pygmy Geese Coromandelianus nettapus, White-collared Kingfishers Halcyon chloris, and White-headed Munias Loncbura maja, to name a few.

The Timor Sparrows were acclimated in a small enclosure for three days before they were released into the aviary. Upon their release the Timors stayed together in a flock as they investigated every nook and cranny of their new home. Nothing significant was noted in their first few weeks of acclimation. There was no aggression from or towards other species in the aviary. However, during the later part of the afternoons the Timors would tend to spend more time around the Emerald Doves, following them as they foraged throughout the aviary.

Surprising Discovery

Then on February 11, 1999 much to our surprise, two Wompoo Fruit Doves were observed with one Timar under each wing as they roosted at night. The following morning the same

pair of Wompoos had one Timor Sparrow in between them facing the opposite direction while two other Timors were flying around .the wompoos. At this point we decided to start collecting observational data on this surprising discovery.

After a few days of observations, we began to realize that at night it was easier to find the roosting spots of Timors than in the morning. At night the Timors would follow their roosting partner around at dusk until the "chosen dove" would roost for the night. In the morning, if the observations were made after first light, the doves and Timors would have already separated for the day. It became obvious that the roosting position at night sometimes changed and it was not always feasible to search for the new roosting spots in the morning. In the morning before light there were only a few areas of the aviary that provide sufficient light to be able to see the Timors and doves. In collecting the data we did not wish to disturb the roosting birds. Due to these conditions we decided to take observations when we staff could, without causing too much disturbance to the aviary.