From the Bird House, which is currently closed due to measures against COVID-19, we will be presenting four topics selected by the zookeepers in two parts.

Breeding success for the second year in a row! Oriental Scops Owl

The Ueno Zoo successfully bred them for the first time in 2019.

This year, we attempted to breed the same pair as last year, and from late May, the female stopped coming out of the nest box and began incubating the eggs. After about a month, the food supply started to decrease rapidly, so we were able to deduce that the parents were feeding the hatched chicks. We couldn't confirm how many there were, so we increased the variety and amount of food to prevent shortages and continued observing. On July 16th, one chick fledged, and on the 17th, another chick fledged, for a total of two.

On the day they fledged, the chicks couldn't fly properly and were on the ground, but now they can be seen perched on a tree with their parents, all four of them together. The chicks' irises are lighter in color than their parents', giving them a somewhat innocent appearance.


Two young Oriental Scops Owls that have left the nest.

"Sun," the southern tamandua, is growing well.

Sun, a Southern Tamandua born in May 2019, has turned one year old (see here for the birth announcement). She is doing well and staying healthy despite the intense heat of this summer.

Sun is good at climbing trees and loves to go for walks. I think his fur color and coat are similar to his mother, Natsu. He has also maintained a weight of 6.4 kg and has reached the size of an adult.


Southern Tamandua "San"

Other birds living in the same enclosure watch over the fledging of the Japanese White-fronted Butterfly.

This year, one chick fledged in May and another in August. In this room, we were able to observe some unusual behavior that was different from previous years. The Japanese hawk-tailed sparrow that lives with them was staying very close to the chicks, even more so than the parents.

We observed several instances where a Japanese sparrow would poke at a chick's feathers, and the chick would poke at it back. It didn't seem to be feeding the chick, but simply wanted to be near it. The parents continued to bring food to the chicks even after they fledged, but they didn't seem to chase away the Japanese sparrows, and the chicks clearly distinguished them and only begged their parents for food.

This unusual relationship continued for about three weeks after the chicks left the nest, and then disappeared once they became independent.

The Japanese butterfly receiving food Chick (right) and parent (left)	A baby Japanese White-winged Butterfly (left) and a Japanese Spotted Sparrow (right) playing with each other's wings.

Please also check out "From Bird House During Closure (2)," which introduces the fourth topic, the Crested Stint.

[Eri Yoshimura, Animal Care and Exhibition Staff, East Ueno Zoo East Garden]

(October 1, 2020)
(October 5, 2020: Added a link to "From Bird House During its Closure (2)")