First Breeding of Tahitian Blue Lories at San Diego Zoo (1980)

The first time I saw the Tahitian Blue Lori es they were in quarantine at the zoo's hospital. They were busily climbing about the eucalyptus branches provided for them, sampling all the flowers. All eight birds appeared to be in excellent vigor and I felt amazed at how they all seemed so content to be living in such alien surroundings. These birds had been smuggled into this country and smugglers, certainly, don't wish to attract attention to their mer· chandise while in transit. Thus, it's rather unlikely that these birds were transported using proper or comfortable shipping accommodations. We are truly fortunate to receive these birds alive at all. Their flying abilities were impaired because of broken feathers but with the next molt the birds quickly regained their normal plummage and capabilities. All eight birds were installed into a large, especially prepared aviary at the San Diego Zoo in May 1978. The cage is heavily planted with a wide variety of plants including palms, dracencas, vines, giant bird of paradise, carrot wood, dwarf bamboo, and impatiens. The floor of the enclosure is covered with a layer of leaf mulch. In keeping with their cavalier attitude, the birds seemed immediately at home. The birds typically begin to be active just before dawn each day. First they start vocalizing and then there is a brief period of rapid flights back and forth across the extent of the cage. All eight birds would be involved but they did not fly in unison as a flock. Next the birds would begin foraging, or bathing if there was sufficient dew on the plants leaves. Their bathing ritual is very comical. They get so excited as they climb about the bushes, rolling over on the leaves, and hanging upside down flapping their wings. In their frenzy they act as if each bird is trying to utilize all the water drops before another can get to them. They even appear to enjoy bathing on our coldest San Diego mornings. In foraging, each bird moves about on its own. The birds are provided daily with palm or eucalyptus flowers for pollen, pieces of papaya, apple, banana, orange, and a pan of our special Jory mix. In the early morning hours the birds also forage among the plants in the cage. They pay particular attention to the undersides of the leaves, perhaps looking for small insects. Also they forage about the ground under the vegetation. They turn over leaves and root into the mulch. Occasionally they stop and eat something. The substrate in the cage does contain a large population of small insects and other arthropods. The Tahitians have been observed to eat an occasional mealworm (the moist viscera is eaten while the exoskeleton is discarded) and hardboiled egg yolk. Meal worms are provided for other cage inhabitants specifically. The Tahitians feed occasionally throughout the day, but discontinue foraging on the ground and among the plants by late morning, probably because the day's rations of fresh lory mix and fruits are provided at this time. When appetites are satiated the birds explore the cage randomly. They really enjoy walking upside down across the top wire of the cage. They have a curious gait when walking on the wire. They are stocky little birds and have an exaggerated waddle that makes them look like little mechanical toys. Sometimes the dead lanceolate leaves of a dragon tree outside the cage fall on the roof so that the long slender portion falls through the wire but the broad end of the leaf keeps it from going all the way through. The Tahitians like to hang on the leaves. Frequently they fly to them at full speed, grap them in mid-flight, and enjoy swinging on them like a pendulum under the wire of the roof. They also like to land on bird of paradise leaves and spring up and down like a yo-yo as the leaf bounces up and down from sudden addition of the birds weight. Tahitians spend time each day chewing and shredding leaves. The bird of paradise leaves are particularly victimized. However, the vigor of the plant is not jeopardized because only the tips of the leaves are attacked. Frequently, small pieces of the youngest and tenderest leaves are eaten. A Tahitian frequently stops activity throughout the day. The duration of the breaks are quite short early in the day but increace in frequency and duration as the day advances. By late afternoon they are spending most of their time in their respective roosting spots. By late summer of 1978 the birds looked great. Damaged feathers had been repaired or replaced and all the birds could fly properly. The blue of their bodies in full sunlight is dazzling and their white bibs immaculate - dapper little birds in blue and white tuxedos. Also by late summer of 1978 it was obvious that six of the birds formed pairs. The other two birds would roost for the night together but were not particularly attentive otherwise. The pairs spend much perching time together in mutual preening. A bird would solicit preening from its companion by leaning toward it with the nape turned so as to be in easiest reach or preening assistance was initiated by a birds companion. The paired birds adopted a specific site that they would frequent most often for preening or roosting. Whether roosting for the night or just perched to rest or preen there is always bodily contact between a pair. Each bird touching its companion side to side. It is interesting to note that Tahitians can be spiteful little birds. A pair can be sitting together quietly and all of a sudden one bird will bite the other or hit it in the head with its beak. Then they'll resume sitting peacefully. Although the male is the instigator most times, the female also nips and jabs. It was late August of 1978 when I had the opportunity to be keeper for these birds. I was aware that in the past exp er i en ce s with these birds, other aviculturists had talked about how delicate they were. My early impressions in working with them were that in our mild San Diego climate and with the facilities available it would be no problem to raise these birds. They required only a little dayto-day maintenance, they were all healthy and vigorous, and my thought was that it would be only a matter of time until we were knee deep in Tahitians. Quickly my outlook was going to be tested.