THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

222 A Docent Field Guide to the Species of the Steinhart Aquarium
black horseshoe extending down flank to thigh.
Feet and legs black. Chicks arrive with secondary
down feathers. Juveniles and immatures
gradually come to resemble adults.
Diet: Piscivorous.
Reproduction and Development: Colonial
nesters. Dig nesting burrows.
Mortality/Longevity: May live to at least 25
years.
Conservation status: IUCN: vulnerable.
Historically, egg-collecting by humans reduced
populations. For example in 1897
more than 700,000 eggs were collected from
colonies near the Cape of Good Hope. African
penguin populations have plummeted
from 2 million in 1900 to less than 200,000, a
90% decimation. Egg-collecting started that
trend, and the downward spiral continues
due to heavy shipping traffic. Oil spills and
the careless discharge of oil kill penguins by
reducing their ability to insulate themselves.
The fishing industry continues to remove
nutrition from the food web which would
otherwise be available to penguins. Global
warming, blamed in part on the increasing
severity and number of fish population collapses,
is also impacting penguins
In July, 2007 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
announced that the African penguin, along
with 9 other penguin species, is under review
for inclusion on the Federal List of Endangered
Species.
Remarks: The alternate common name “jackass”
is a reference to its donkey-like vocalization.
Members of the Academy’s colony are all captive-born.
Hand-fed from birth. (CAS penguins
will not eat live fish!) Twice daily fed thawed
herring and capelin occasionally laced with
medications for ailing birds.
CAS is a participant of the AAZPA (American
Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
SSP (Species Survival Program) for this species.
CAS penguin pairs share the same colored
wing band. Males wear their bands on their
right wing, females on the left.
Blue Ground Dove
Claravis pretiosa (Columbidae)
Distribution: Found in most of the New World
tropical zone from Mexico to northwestern
Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina; also
Trinidad.
Habitat: Semi-open rainforests. Also deciduous
forest up to 1000 m. Common along forest
edges. Though they feed on the ground, these
doves are shy, mostly arboreal birds.
Appearance: Relatively small pigeons. The
male sports blue-grey upperparts and paler
grey underparts, with gray-white face and
wings marked with black. Female is greybrown
on head, neck, and breast, with pale
blue-grey belly, ruddy brown back, and
chestnut rump and tail. Young resemble the
female. Immature males similar to adult male,
though some greyish brown feathers remain.
Diet: Forages on the ground, feeding on seeds
and small insects.
Reproduction: Builds a flimsy nest of twigs
high in a tree; lays two white eggs.
Remarks: Found alone, in pairs, or in family
groups.
Call: a single, soft, repeated “coooo-oo.”
Blue and Gold Macaw
Ara ararauna (Psittacidae)
True Parrots
Distribution: Mexico, Central America, and
northern South America.
Habitat: Rainforests, where they live high in
trees especially along swamps and rivers.
Appearance: A striking bird with emerald
crown topped with azure blue across the back
and wings. Primary feathers meld to a deep
cobalt blue with green tips. Chest a solid, eyecatching
gold. Facial skin patch etched by lines
of black feathers around the eyes. A large bird
with a 1.2 meter wing span; weight up to 1.2 kg.
Diet: Fruits, vegetable matter, seeds, nuts,
leaves and bark. Also small animals. Beaks
used for crushing seeds. In the course of daily
feeding, macaws allow plenty of seeds (while
eating, as well as in their droppings) to fall to
the forest floor, thus generating forest growth.
Reproduction: Breed readily in captivity and
are popular in the pet trade. Sexual maturity
reached at 3–6 years. Like other macaws, they
form monogamous pairs. Nest is usually in
hole of a tall dead tree. Female lays 1–3 eggs,
incubating them for 24–26 days during which
time the male feeds her. Young are precocial,
born blind and almost naked. Female feeds
them initially with regurgitated vegetable