The malejambu Fruit Dove assists in the incubation process. 1jJpical ofmost doves,the nest is not elaborate and they usually must be supplied with a container orsupport in which to build the nest.

Breeding the

]ambuFruit Doveat the Memphis llJO and Aquarium

(Ptilinopus jambu)

by Herb Roberts, Curator of BirdsMemphis Zoo and Aquarium

Memphis, Tennessee

Author's Note: the format of thisarticle was designed primarily toconvey facts concerning the captivebreeding and husbandry ofjambuFruit Doves. What it fails to conveyis that broad range offeelings thesebeautiful little birds have instilled in·their keepers. Beginning with anappreciation of their beauty, run­ning the gamut of hope and despairand, finally, experiencing the thrillof success, we have gained consider­ably from the experience. We haverecently broadened our captivebreeding program to include threeadditional species of fruit doves.Hopefully, I will be reporting on ourfuture success with these speciesas well.

AbstractIn late 1984, the Memphis Zoo

acquired 2.2 wild-caught )ambu FruitDoves (Ptilinopus jambu). Littleinformation has been published con­cerning the frugivorous columbids.Our program for maintaining andbreeding these doves developed bytrial, error and correction.

In mid-1985, we hatched what mayhave been the first captive-hatched]ambu Fruit Dove. One year later, thatindividual had produced offspringafter being paired with a wild-caughtbird.

Since the original acquisition in1984, the program has produced 28captive-hatched offspring, with 12individuals surviving to adulthood.

The knowledge gained from theseexperiences has contributed to thehusbandry guidelines described here.

This portrait ofa malejambuFruit Dove shows the brilliant

coloration ofthis bird. This doveoriginatesfrom the Malay

Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra.

36 April/May 1991

Pigeons and doves comprise theunique, highly recognizable order ofbirds Columbiformes. Within thisorder, most taxonomists recognizeonly one family, Columbidae. Withinthis single family, however, the diver­sity is great. With 43 genera and 299extant species, columbids can befound throughout most of the world(Walters, 1980).

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The group comprising the fruitpigeons and doves (Treroninae),occur in the Old World only, primar­ily in the Australasian region. Thesebirds are usually vividly colored withgreen being the dominant color. Theyare arboreal and feed primarily onfruits and berries (Delacour, 1980).Within this group can be found thesingularly beautiful genus, Ptilino-

Photo by Jack Kenner

A three week oldyoungster hasjustfledged andperches beside its father.

This youngJambu Fruit Dove is a miniature ofits mother. This immature bird bassimilar coloration as the adultfemale. The youngster is four weeks ofage.

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The display enclosures are consid­erably smaller. The largest of our indi­vidual displays measures only 3.6meters wide by 1.7 meters high by 1.2meters deep. The floor is elevated 0.3meter above ground floor level, whilethe ceiling of the exhibit is only 2meters above ground floor level. The

a small door measuring 30 centi­meters by 30 centimeters. These cageshave concrete floors and the interiorportion of the compound has artifi­cial lighting with some indirect natu­ral light. The building is heated incold weather and the fruit doves arekept inside during the winter.

pus. These generally small columbidsare commonly referred to as the fruitdoves. There are 47 species of fruitdoves. They vary in size from thesparrow-sized Dwarf Fruit Dove (Ptil­inopus maina) to the MagnificentFruit Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus)Jwhich can be larger than the commonferal pigeon (Goodwin, 1983).

Based on our successful experiencewith other exotic pigeons and doves,the Memphis Zoo decided to acquiretwo pairs (2.2) of ]ambu Fruit Dovesin September of 1984.

The ]ambu Fruit Dove is native tothe Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneoand adjacent small inlands. It inhabitsforests and semi-wooded areas and ispartly migratory (Goodwin, 1983).

The ]ambu Fruit Dove is a mediumsized dove, averaging 23 cm in length.The sexes are chromatically dimor­phic. The male has a crimson-pinkface, forehead and forecrown. Theupper throat and chin are blackish.The upper parts are green, while theunderparts are white with a pinkbreast patch. The under tail covertsare chestnut colored. The female ismuch duller colored, being predomi­nantly green with a dull purple head,whitish belly and chestnut under tailcoverts. The newly fledged chick hasgreen upper parts with white lowerparts. Head feathers are greenish untillater in the youngs' development.Juveniles resemble females, butassume recognizably different plu­mage by three to four months of age.

In 1984, little was known about the]ambu Fruit Doves' reproductivebehavior. In spite of our lack ofknowledge, on June 10, 1985, onepair of ]ambu hatched a chick. Possi­bly the first captive hatching for thisspecies, it was the start of a breedingprogram that continues today. Sinceits inception, the program has pro­duced 28 offspring of which 12 havesurvived to adulthood.

Captive Husbandry FacilityWhen the original two pairs of

]ambu were acquired, the decisionwas made to set up one pair in an off­exhibit breeding compound. Theother pair was set up in an exhibit in .our Tropical Bird House. The breed­ing compound consists of a series ofadjacent wire cages, each with anoutside run measuring 2.3 meters inheight, 1.8 meters in length and 0.9meter in width. There is an inside runof the same dimensions. The birdshave access between the two runs via

afa WATCHBIRD 37

exhibit is glass fronted and visitors arerestricted by a hand rail placed 1.1meters away from the front of theexhibit. What these measurementsillustrate is the fact that the birds can­not retreat above or away from thevisitors for any considerable distance.Lighting is currently provided by acombination of artificial light andnatural light. The exhibits are entirelyenclosed and are heated in the winter.Ventilation is accomplished by a sys­tem of fans that circulate air through abase vent and the screen wire top.

At various times, we have kept indi­viduals in exhibit cages measuring 1.7meters by 1.7 meters by 1.14 meters.We have also housed them in large,planted, community aviaries. Thesewere primarily used for holding facil­ities and no attempts have been madeto breed the species in these exhibits.

DietBased on a successful diet used for

Green Imperial Fruit Pigeons (Duculaanea), the original diet consisted of avariety of fresh fruits, canned mixedvegetables, egg, spinach and an in­house formula softbill mix. Sincethen, the diet has undergone somemodification. Due to an unacceptablelevel of juvenile mortality, the dietswere re-evaluated. Several necropsiesindicated the possibility of liver andkidney damage. We decided to reducethe level of protein in the diet. Basedon diet comparisons with other insti­tutions, as well as our own experi­ence, we came up with the diet wecurrently use.

Fruit Dove Diet2 parts brown rice (cooked)2 parts apple, diced \4 " size1 Y2 parts banana, diced \4 " to Y2" size1 part raisins, dry, then soaked overnight3 Y2 parts fresh, seasonally available fruitsVitamin and calcium supplement

(2 tbs. vitamins added to 1,4 tsp. calcium)Roll above mixture in a powder made of:2/3 pigeon pellets to 1/3 dog food

The diet is prepared in a size thatenables the birds to swallow wholepieces. Rolling moist food items inmeal not only provides additionalnutrients, but keeps the beak and facefrom becoming matted and soiled.

Reproduction}ambu Fruit Doves in captivity are

not seasonal breeders. They may gothrough their reproductive cycle anytime during the year. Under optimumconditions, they will cycle severaltimes yearly.

Courtship behavior in }ambu Fruit

38 April/May 1991

Doves is subtle compared to typicalpigeon courtship. The Jambu's voiceis not strong and all calls are soft bycomparison. The "nest" call isusually associated with nest site selec­tion. I have only observed the male}ambu using this call. He will holdhimself in an erect posture and makea series of short coos. This is usuallydone on or close by the nest site. The"display" call of the Jambu does notconsist of the elaborate bowing andcooing exhibited by many columbids.Instead, the male }ambu tucks hisbeak into his breast and utters a shortseries of coos. One unusualdisplay I've observed consists of themale }ambu slowly weaving his headfrom side to side. This is done whenthe female is fairly close by and seemsto attract her attention. The brightlycolored head obviously enhances theeffectiveness of this display. Due tobackground noise interference, I havenot yet actually heard a Jambu'svoice. Therefore, I must infer the callsfrom observations based on postureand the typical throat swelling thataccompanies vocalizations.

The male will pursue the femaleprior to nesting but, again, this "driv­ing" behavior is not as aggressive asin most species I've observed. If thefemale is responsive, she will allowthe male to approach her or mayapproach the male herself. She will sitbeside the male and ruffle his breastfeathers with her beak. Most of thisruffling is directed to the pink breastpatch of the male. Prior to copula­tion, she will sit beside the male andassume a low position. The malemounts in typical fashion and copula­tion is brief (five to ten seconds).Copulation has only been observedtaking place on natural woodperches. Since fruit doves have small,weak feet, correct perch sizing andtype may be important in allowingthe female to maintain balance. Inestablished pairs, considerable allo­preening takes place. Much of thegrooming is directed to the face andupper breast of the mate.

Nest site preference seems to bedetermined by both the male and thefemale. Prior to nest building, themale will occupy a suitable nest siteby either perching very close to it oractually sitting in a brooding postureon the site. If the female finds itacceptable, she will sit on the nest siteand arrange whatever material iswithin reach into a crude nest. I havenever observed either sex bringingnest material to the site. To prevent

loss of the egg or squab, we provide avariety of sturdy nest platforms madeof wire baskets or covered wickerbaskets. We pre-line these with vari­ous materials including grass, hay,sphagnum moss, and small twigs. Thelocation of the preferred nest site maybe anywhere within the enclosureincluding the feed pan or platform.Once a site is chosen, it is best toaccommodate the birds as they willpersist in nesting at their first choice.Usually, other nest sites can beremoved once a pair has chosen anacceptable site.

Within two to three days after nestsite selection, the female lays a singlewhite egg. Incubation is by both sexeswith a tendency for the female toincubate at night. Incubating }ambuswill change off several times daily.This is facilitated by the incomingparent sitting close to the incubatingparent and touching the sitting parentwith its breast. Occasionally, theincoming bird will also briefly preenthe sitting bird about the face.Usually, this results in a change ofduty, but sometimes the incubatingparent will ignore the advances of itsmate. When this happens, the incom­ing bird leaves the nest and attemptsare made later. During the day, incu­bating periods vary from two to fourhours between changes. Incubationlasts 18 to 19 days.

Growth and DevelopmentThe }ambu hatchling is covered

with a sparse, grey down and its eyesstay closed for approximately two tothree days. Both parents care for theyoung and development is rapid.Unlike the growth pattern of mostseed eating columbids, the earlydevelopment of the Jambu Fruit Doveis concentrated on feather growthand coordination rather than attain­ing large mass. By the time the squabis 10 to 11 days old, its eyes are open,it has fully functional wing feathers,rudimentary tail feathers, a downybreast and a totally bald head. At thisvulnerable age, and all of 2 V2 incheslong, it leaves the nest.

After fledging, the young dove con­tinues to stay close to its parents.Both parents continue to feed theyoung bird and it is usually observednestled beside one or the other of itsparents. By the age of four weeks, theyoung dove has started to follow theadults to the feed pan and will con­sume a small amount of food on itsown. Although the young bird willcontinue to solicit feeding from its

parents, over the next four to eightweeks the parents gradually respondless although close physical contact isstill tolerated. By the age of eight totwelve weeks, the young ]ambu isfully weaned.

In some cases, the adult pair willexhibit breeding behavior and willactually go back to nest before theyoung]ambu is fully weaned. Usually,the adults will continue to provideparental care for the fledglingbetween bouts of incubation. Occa­sionally, the adult male may exhibitsome modified aggressive behaviortoward the young during this repro­ductive overlap. Unless this aggres­sive behavior becomes overt, we havefound it best to leave the fledglingwith the parents, even if they havegone back to nest. If the young ]ambuis separated for much time beforeweaning, its chances for survival areslim. In most cases where we haveobserved this overlap, the young birdhas reached independence before thehatching of the new chick and canthen be safely separated.

At the age of eight to twelve weeks,the juvenile ]ambu Fruit Dove lookslike a slightly smaller version of theadult female. By the time the juvenileis 16 to 18 weeks old, it has attainedfull size and is beginning to acquirethe adult plumage variations.

At about nine months of age, theyoung birds have taken on a fullyadult appearance. They have success­fully bred here at Memphis Zoo at oneyear of age and conceivably could doso sooner.

SummaryThere are several factors that

influenced our captive reproductionprogram for ]ambu Fruit Doves. Obvi­ously, the birds must be in goodhealth and mature. Beyond that, suchfactors as pair compatibility andreproductive experience will affectreproductive efforts. We have hadcases where apparently healthy adultsexhibited no breeding behavior withtheir cage mate over an extended per­iod of time, yet when paired withanother bird, courtship and nestingensued. There are cases where a com­patible pair has lost the first two tothree of their eggs or newly hatchedchicks because of inadequate parentalcare, yet go on to successfully raisesubsequent chicks.

Jambus appear to be tolerant of avariety of enclosure types, althoughfor best breeding results, they shouldbe kept where their nesting effort will

not be disturbed. As stated earlier,nest type and location are simple andeasy to determine.

Dietary requirements are not com­plex and quite easily fulfilled. Otherthan an increase in volume duringchick rearing, there are no seasonal ornutritional variations required.

Last, but not least of the considera­tions that influenced our decision toinclude ]ambu Fruit Doves in ourcollection, is the desirability of fruitdoves as exhibit specimens. Lessflighty than many columbids, thesedentary nature and beautifulappearance of fruit doves make themexcellent candidates for zoologicalexhibition. Their peaceful habitsmake it possible to include them inmultiple species exhibits, while theircolorful appearance makes themworthy of notice in individualexhibits.

As information is acquired con­cerning husbandry techniques andreproductive requirements, thereasons for not keeping fruit dovesand pigeons are vanishing. A smallhandful of zoos and private indivi­duals have been successfully workingwith the group. That number needs to

expand in order to maintain viablecaptive populations. If you are inter­ested or know someone who mightbe interested, please consider includ­ing one or more fruit dove species inyour collection. I promise you won'tbe disappointed.

BibliographyDelacour, Dr. Jean; Wild Pigeons and Doves,

TFH Publications, Inc., Box 427, Neptune,NJ 1980, pp. 61-69.

Goodwin, Derek; Pigeons and Doves of theWorld, Cornell niversity Press, 124Roberts Place, Ithaca, , 3rd edition 1983,pp. 266, 276, 277.

Walters, Michael; The Complete Birds of theWorld, TFH Publications, Inc. 1980,pp.61-69.

AcknowledgementsMy sincere thanks to the following people:

Mr. Cliff Ross, former Curator of Birds, Mem­phis Zoo and Aquarium, who started the wholething.

Mr. Lynn Hall, for all the valuable advicegiven over the years.

Mrs. Clara Wright, who struggled throughmy handwriting and typed the presentableversion.

Photo credits: Jim Mulhern, Jack Kenner,Barbara Moses

Finally, all of the bird department staff andvolunteers, without whom the program wouldnot be possible. •

afa WATCHBIRD 39