ZooBorns

Tawny Frogmouth Chick Emerges at Woodland Park Zoo

Last week Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle welcomed a fluffy white Tawny Frogmouth chick. One day after its birth, the little chick weighed in at just over half an ounce. While the parents have been doing an excellent job caring for it thus far, keepers will keep a close eye on the chick's development and provide the family with additional food if they aren't satisfied with its progress.

Photo credits: Ryan Hawk / Woodland Park Zoo

The chick's parents are held off exhibit at as part of a nationwide breeding program for Tawny Frogmouths. Woodland Park coordinates this Species Survival Plan for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, which includes 125 individuals at 48 facilities. The zoo is also home to a second breeding pair and is known for having a great track record of breeding this species. In fact, this chick's parents have another fertile egg in their nest which keepers expect to hatch soon.

Tawny Frogmouths are native to the Australasia region and are found on the Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Guinea. They are nocturnal carnivores that feed primarily on insects and other small prey. While adults have dark mottled coats to bled into tree bark, young are born fluffy and white as you can see with this little chick. When full grown this little chick will weigh around one and a half pounds.

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Taronga's Tiny New Tawny Rescue Had Taken Tumble From a Tree

Nurses at Taronga Zoo’s Wildlife Hospital have been kept busy by the arrival of this Tawny Frogmouth. The little chick was brought in after it fell out of a tree, and was attacked by Magpies on the ground. Luckily, it was picked up by passers-by. This young bird is in good health, and Taronga nurses are making sure it’s being kept safe and warm in a nest made out of cloth.

Photo credit: Taronga Zoo

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Orphan Tawny Frogmouth Chicks Rescued in Dundas!

High winds in Australia swept these two Tawny Frogmouth chicks from their nest in Dundas. Lucky for them, they landed in someone's backyard who notified Taronga Zoo and local wildlife center staff. 

Distantly related to owls, Tawny Frogmouths also hunt at night but feed almost exclusively on insects. Their fluffy, mottled feathers provide superb camouflage, which protects them from predators. Camouflage also allows them to conserve energy when hunting their 6-legged prey as they just let it crawl to them!

Tawny Frogmouth Chicks Are Not Impressed.

On July 9th and 11th, the Brookfield Zoo welcomed two Tawny Frogmouth chicks. Often mistaken for owls, these Australian birds also hunt at night, but prefer to relax and let their prey come to them, sometimes literally waiting for insects to crawl onto their feathers before snacking.

For reasons unknown, these chicks' parents—Eunice, who is on loan from Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina, and Gullet, who is from SeaWorld Orlando—abandoned the nest about halfway during the incubation period. To give the unborn chicks a chance at life, staff pulled the eggs and placed them in an incubator. Once the eggs hatched, they received round-the-clock care. Now at 3 weeks old, they have grown, are eating well, and appear to have a bright future ahead of them.

The pairing of the adults was based on a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Tawny Frogmouth Species Survival Plan (SSP). An SSP is a cooperative population management and conservation program for select species in accredited AZA zoos and aquariums. Each SSP manages the breeding of a species to maintain a healthy and self-sustaining population that is both genetically diverse and demographically stable. Until the chicks are a little older, they will remain off exhibit while being cared for by Animal Programs staff. Guests are able to see the adult pair in the zoo’s Feathers and Scales building. The species is monogamous.

Photo credits: Brookfield Zoo

More info below the fold

Spindly but Fluffy: Tawny Frogmouths for San Antonio

These Tawny Frogmouth chicks were hatched at the San Antonio Zoo on April 24th and 26th 2011. The San Antonio Zoo has exhibited these secretive natives of Australia for over 30 years. Their extraordinary large eyes and mouth aid them in catching prey at night. They wait patiently in the branches of trees for prey, such as insects or mice, to wander by and quietly flutter down upon their unsuspecting meal. Each chick that hatches is the result of cooperative breeding programs between AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) and zoos aimed at ensuring population viability, inspiring the public and promoting conservation in the wild.

Photo credits: San Antonio Zoo

A Peculiarly Wonderful Ball of Fluff

Longtime ZooBorns readers (or book owners!) will be no strangers to the peculiarly wonderful balls of fluff that are baby Tawny Frogmouth chicks. This little bird was born at Australia's Adelaide Zoo in October. The parents are both hand raised and it is unusual for hand raised birds to successfully raise their own young.  However these parents are doing a great job caring for the chick and are also feeding it well, with minimal supplementary feeding from the keepers. The chick weighed only 22 grams at birth (.8 ounces!) but is now a few months old and weighing in at 197 grams and can be seen flying around the exhibit but still staying close to its parents.

Don't miss this video which shows the chick at an even younger age.

Tawny Frogmouths are found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern Papua New Guinea. They are often hard to spot within the trees as they camouflage so well. The Zoo is currently holding a naming contest for the chick. Vote today!

Tawny Frogmouth Chick at Woodland Park Zoo Part II

Here's another peek at the fluffball with a beak. The Woodland Park Zoo's baby Tawny Frogmouth sounds off in this clip from the Zoo's reel.

Tawny Frogmouth Fluff Ball

The Woodland Park Zoo proudly welcomed their first ever Tawny frogmouth hatchling last week. After a quick examination by zoo staff, the tiny cotton ball was quickly returned to the nest and its parents have been feeding it regularly. 

Clean-up!

Photo Credits: Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo

Both mother and father frogmouth typically look after their young for the first month or so until the chick is ready to leave the nest. Currently parents and chick are off exhibit to give the new family some private time, but you can follow them at the Woodland Park Zoo's blog.

Tawny Frogmouth Chicks

Meet Hoover and Sawyer, the two tawny frogmouth chicks hatched just last month at SeaWorld, Orlando. Often confused with owls, the tawny frogmouth is weaker and, frankly, lazier than most owls and is native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Well camouflaged, tawny frogmouths are so named because of their ridiculously wide beaks, already readily apparent on tiny Hoover and Sawyer.

 

Photo credits:  Jason Collier, SeaWorld Orlando 

More pics below if you click Continue reading.