Rare Red-billed Toucan bred in Meaford
Posted by John Malloy on 09/03/2010
www.longosaviaries.com
By Chris Fell -
Meaford Aviculturist David T. Longo had the thrill of a lifetime recently when his pair of rare Red-billed Toucans successfully hatched a pair of eggs.
Longo said the chicks at his St. Vincent Bird Park are the first Red-billed Toucans bred in Canada.
On August 19 he discovered a pair of eggs in the nesting area of his pair of Toucans.
“I just about dropped the flashlight in the box. I was using a flash light and mirror to look in,” he said.
His Toucans were caught live in South America and brought to Canada. Longo said it is very difficult to get Toucans to breed in our country.
“To court and then reproduce they need large areas and they need to be outdoors,” he said.
Being in Ontario is a disadvantage because the birds can only be outside six or seven months of the year. He has had the pair of Toucans since 2004 and this is the first time they’ve ever produced eggs.
“I knew they were doing a lot of activity in the nest and four or five days later they hatched,” he said.
The chicks are well hidden in the bottom of their nest. Longo said, during an interview on August 26, that he isn’t sure if there are still two chicks. At least one chick could be heard chirping from inside the nest.
via Simcoe Article: Rare Red-billed Toucan bred in Meaford.
www.longosaviaries.com
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John Malloy on 09/03/2010. Filed under
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