FEATURE
Breeding Program Because the Lesser and Greater Vasa Parrot was kept so seldom, not mentioning bred, I came to the idea to set up a breeding program. In the Netherlands, it did not get off the
ground due to lack of keepers of Vasas. In the late 1990s I made contact with Jörg Asmus in Germany. He also had a pair of Lessers and together we decided to set up a breeding program and keep a pedigree at European level. Meanwhile I had also found keepers of Vasa Parrots in the United States and Canada, though by law it is practically impossible to exchange birds. So it did not make much sense to integrate those birds in our file. We decided to place the breeding program at the bird society VZE called Europäischen Erhaltungszuchtprojekt für Vasapapageien / European Conservation Breeding Programme for Vasa Parrots. VZE (the largest bird club in eastern Germany) enjoys great prestige. That made it easier to persuade zoos and bird parks to register our breeding program. Due to circumstances, I am not very active as a coordinator anymore, but I still have regular contact with members. Recently the breeding program has been separated from VZE. Jörg now manages the breeding program and pedigree. The main goal of the breeding program, in which also the Greater Vasa Parrot is included in the meantime, is preservation of the species, and preferably to breed
pure-bred subspecies. The collection and sharing of knowledge to be able to breed Vasa Parrots at all is an important goal within the program. Jörg and I have done a lot of research
in literature and other, in particular concerning Lesser Vasa Parrots. I maintained contact with scientists and especially English and Dutch-speaking members and breeders as well as zoos in the United States. Among others Ann Bollen has given valuable information about the food consumption of Vasa Parrots in the wild. She did research on distribution of plant seeds in Madagascar and the Vasa Parrot plays a role in that. From Roger Wilkinson I have received a detailed breeding report. Jörg has done a great job by doing lots
of research on many tissues collected from a large number of museums to get in focus the differences between the subspecies.
Subspecies Until recently The Lesser Vasa Parrot was classified into four subspecies: • Coracopsis nigra nigra, the dark- coloured nominate form from Madagascar
• Coracopsis nigra libs, the lighter coloured subspecies from Madagascar
• Coracopsis nigra sibilans, the smaller brown subspecies from the Comoros
• Coracopsis nigra barklyi, the smaller and darker brown subspecies from the Seychelles
BIRD SCENE 13
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