Artificial incubation and hand-rearing of Superb Bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba).

Abstract

Since first brought into zoos in 1964, the captive population of Superb Bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba) has remained relatively small. Several decades of artificial incubation and hand-rearing of this species at the Avian Propagation Center (APC) at the San Diego Zoo has allowed the population to increase and maintain some stability. Successful artificial incubation techniques lead to healthy neonates and allow females to reproductively recycle and produce more offspring in a season. Additionally, hand-rearing methods have been refined over the years at APC and are shown here as a method that could be employed to help sustain other small populations of birds maintained in zoological institutions.