Breeding the Wompoo Fruit Dove at the Memphis Zoo

Abstract

Ptilinopus magnificus, known as the Wompoo Fruit Dove or Magnificent Fruit Dove, is one of the larger species of fruit doves. From head to tail they average about 16 inches, although there is considerable difference in the size of individuals from opposite ends of their range. The fruit doves are all placed in the genus Ptili nopus within which there are 47 recognized species. Fruit doves are broadly distributed throughout the Australasian region and the Wompoo inhabits New Guinea, adjacent islands and eastern Australia (Goodwin, 1983).

Fruit doves, as a group, are colorful birds with green being the dominant color. The Wompoo is no exception to this rule. The back, wings and tail are primarily green with a band of yellow spots across the wing. The head and neck are gray, while the breast and belly are a rich maroon color. The underwings and ventral area are a bright yellow. The legs, feet and beak are greenish gray. The eyes are a reddish color.

The name Wompoo is derived from the courting call of the male, a deep two note call that carries for a considerable distance. As the second part of its name implies, these doves are primarily frugivores.

In the wild, fruits and berries, especially certain types of figs, make up their diet. In captivity, their dietary needs are easily accommodated (see appendix 1). At the Memphis Zoo, we have not found it necessary to alter or supplement the basic diet for any reason. Parents feeding a chick or weaning juveniles do quite well on the same diet.

The Memphis Zoo acquired three pairs of wild-caught Wompoo Fruit Doves between November 15, 1989 through August 15, 1991. Since the sexes are not obviously dimorphic, surgical sexing and some trading was necessary.

A pair was placed in each of our two large mixed species planted aviaries, and one pair was set up in a breeding facility run. The breeding run cage consists of two, same size, connecting cages, each measuring seven feet high by six feet deep by three feet wide. One is outside the building and one is inside. Access between the cages is via a 12 inch by 12 inch door. The building is artificially lighted and heated in the winter. One of the planted aviaries is approximately 40 feet wide by 25 feet deep by 25 feet high. It contains at least three species of fruit doves. It is heavily planted and lighting is provided by skylights. The other aviary is approximately twice as large, and houses 22 species of birds.

No courtship behavior was observed until early in 1992. Courtship behavior in Wompoos is fairly typical of other Columbid species. The male will swell out his neck and do a short bow, while uttering the two note "whom-poo" call. If the female is interested, she will approach the male and a brief bout of allo-preening will ensue. Copulation is brief and usually takes place on a tree branch or perch.

Nesting behavior is, again, fairly typical. When the female settles on a nest site, she will sit and arrange small weaning juveniles do quite well on the same diet.

The Memphis Zoo acquired three pairs of wild-caught Wompoo Fruit Doves between November 15, 1989 through August 15, 1991. Since the sexes are not obviously dimorphic, surgical sexing and some trading was necessary.

A pair was placed in each of our two large mixed species planted aviaries, and one pair was set up in a breeding facility run. The breeding run cage consists of two, same size, connecting cages, each measuring seven feet high by six feet deep by three feet wide. One is outside the building and one is inside. Access between the cages is via a 12 inch by 12 inch door. The building is artificially lighted and heated in the winter. One of the planted aviaries is approximately 40 feet wide by 25 feet deep by 25 feet high. It contains at least three species of fruit doves. It is heavily planted and lighting is provided by skylights. The other aviary is approximately twice as large, and houses 22 species of birds.

No courtship behavior was observed until early in 1992. Courtship behavior in Wompoos is fairly typical of other Columbid species. The male will swell out his neck and do a short bow, while uttering the two note "whom-poo" call. If the female is interested, she will approach the male and a brief bout of allo-preening will ensue. Copulation is brief and usually takes place on a tree branch or perch.

Nesting behavior is, again, fairly typical. When the female settles on a nest site, she will sit and arrange small twigs brought to her by the male. The nest itself is the usual flimsy Columbid nest, so we provide platforms for the doves to build on. In most cases they have sought out and used the platforms.

The single whitish egg is incubated, in turn, by both parents and hatches in 18 days. The pair we house in the breeding facility laid their first egg on April 1, 1992. Unfortunately, they abandoned the egg and we pulled it for artificial incubation and hand rearing. When the chick hatched on April 19, 1992, it was darker in color than other fruit dove species we've observed, and had very few down feathers. Although we were able to keep it alive for three days, it did not flourish and died on April 22, 1992. This story was repeated in early May with the chick surviving five days.

When the same pair laid their third egg and abandoned it, we decided to adopt a different strategy. An experienced pair of Jambu Fruit Doves housed in the large aviary had laid an egg about the same time as the Wompoos. When it was determined that their egg had been damaged and would not hatch, we decided to foster the Wompoo under the Jambus. After the Wompoo chick hatched, on May 20, 1992, it was substituted for the Jambu egg. The foster Jambus accepted the chick, and provided excellent care for the first month of development. At the age of four to five weeks, however, they began to refuse to feed the still dependent juvenile. The reason for this is not certain, but may have been connected to the comparatively large size of the Wompoo juvenile. At any rate, we were forced to pull the juvenile for hand-rearing. After the first two or three days, the young Wompoo ate readily from a small cup and seemed to be doing fairly well. In July, however, it took a downward turn and died on July 4, 1992. Postmortem necropsy failed to identify any definite cause of death.

During this period we hatched, and attempted to hand-rear, another abandoned chick from the same pair of Wompoos. This one survived for 11 days. Obviously, we were improving our methods, but were still ultimately failing. Basically, we were using techniques tried and proven on two other species of fruit doves.