FEATURE


and contacts with scientists however it is still a mystery how this species can be bred successfully. Because of this it is a major challenge to protect this species in captivity. On arrival in The Netherlands these two


first Lesser Vasas were obviously young birds. They seemed not fully grown. At the same time I noticed that one bird had a lighter colouration compared to the other. My conjecture that it was two different subspecies has been confirmed later. It also appeared to be two females. So, breeding became difficult….. Of course I went looking for males. That was quite a challenge. In fact they were


not to be found. Eventually my wife and I booked a holiday to Madagascar with the idea to buy some over there. That took place in 1995. At the end of our four weeks tour through the northern part of Madagascar my wife and I were able to buy some birds with export licence. The customs in The Netherlands didn’t cause difficulties. The officers of duty (first reaction: “what are these, crows?”) had no idea what kind of birds we carried. Importing the birds was approved and confirmed by placing a stamp on the export documents where after we were allowed to walk to exit. Yippie-ya-yo, breeding!


West side of Madacasgar


BIRD SCENE 43


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