Abstract
The distinctive characteristics of the Fischer's Touraco are its crimson, white-tipped crest and nape. It has a red mandible and its back, rump and tail feathers are a glossy blue-green in color. The underparts are a straight bluegreen and the flight feathers are a beautiful crimson-red. The sexes are alike in coloration and size so these birds must be surgically sexed or feather sexed to guarantee that one has a true pair.
The range of the Fischer's Touraco is from Somalia, Kenya and Tansania. It is also a resident on the Island of Zanzibar. They have been known to live from sea level to as high as 5,000 feet. These birds are quite rare in American aviculture.
My first encounter with this family of birds was with the Red-crested Touraco (Tauraco erythrolophus) several years ago. After setting them up in a breeding situation, they produced several young. After breeding the Red-crested Touraco, which is quite common in captivity, I decided to try to reproduce the rare Fischer's Touraco. When a few wild-caught birds were imported, I acquired a pair. When looking through several books to acquire more knowledge on this species, I found that this species had not been bred before. When the Fischer's Touracos were in my collection for two years, they laid two eggs which, much to my delight, were fertile.
The diet of the parent birds consisted of grapes, papaya, canteloupe and other melons, ripe Mexican bananas, apples and Science Diet dog maintenance pellets. Calcium and a good vitamin supplement was placed over most of their favorite fruit.
These birds were housed by themselves in an aviary 8 feet wide, 8 feet high and 16 feet long with a shelter measuring 4 feet. The nest was placed in one of the corners underneath the shelter. It measured 12 inches square by 6 inches deep. Twigs and grasses were placed within this shallow box to help stimulate them to breed. The pair completed the nest by adding more twigs and laid their first egg on the 31st of March, 1991. They laid a second egg two days later to complete their clutch. After five days into incubation, the parents abandoned the eggs. The eggs were then removed and placed into an artificial incubator. After a total incubation period of 23 days, the first egg hatched on April 23, 1991. The second egg hatched one day later. They were both successfully reared.
The diet of the chicks consisted of grapes, papaya, canteloupe and small pieces of soaked dog food. They were also given calcium and a good vitamin supplement.
The chicks were very delightful to hand raise. When hatched, they were covered with black down feathers and their eyes were open. It took from three to four weeks for them to be weaned. The Fischer's Touraco is a very quiet and enjoyable bird to have in the aviary.
Editor's note: If any person knows of a success/ ut breeding of the Fischer's Touraco prior to the above article, please inform Dale R. Thompson, Chairman, Airy Awards Committee, through the AFA Home Office in Phoenix, Arizona. •