Recent News
Students shine in Reef Watch art contestThursday, June 25, 2015
Two Warwick Academy students are the proud winners of prizes in the recent Reef Watch Art Competition.
Ocean guardians promote Reef Watch
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Bermuda’s ocean guardians were at the Johnny Barnes roundabout to promote Saturday’s citizen science initiative Reef Watch.
Trunk Island to become outdoor classroom
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
It is one of the most pristine and untouched habitats left in Bermuda.
Aon staff show their community spirit
Friday, June 12, 2015
Aon staff have taken part in an international Global Service Day, assisting several local charities and community projects.r.
Open-air classroom for Florida students
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Bermuda has provided an open-air classroom for students from Flagler College in Florida, who just got their second round of hands-on research experience.
About
GovernanceAbout Us
Newsletter
Latest News
Gift & Bookstore
Contact
General Inquiries
info@bzs.bm
Latest News
All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
By Sara Westhead
There has been a lot of excitement in the Zoo over the past few months with the birth of three Tawny Frogmouth chicks.
The threesome are the offspring of Kermit and Duane, who have resided in the Australasia exhibit for the last one and a half years, having arrived in October, 2013.
Natives of Australia and Tasmania, Tawny Frogmouths are most closely related to oilbirds and nightjars. They are carnivorous, dieting mostly on nocturnal insects, as well as small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They do much of their hunting at dusk.
In the wild, they typically breed from August to December, however, because Bermuda is located in a different hemisphere, this has been reversed to January through May. They typically form partnerships for life and will take turns incubating eggs on the nest, rarely leaving the nest unattended.
The first two chicks hatched from BAMZ residents
Kermit and Duane. Photos by S. Westhead
What makes these chicks particularly special is that Kermit, our male, has not previously been genetically represented in the tawny frogmouth population. His offspring are important as they will contribute to genetic diversity within the population that are in human care.
Also significant is the fact that Kermit is 18 years of age. In the wild, Tawny’s will usually live between 10 to 14 years, and in human care, there are only eight recorded males that have reproduced after the age of 17 years.
The oldest two chicks were born on March 21st, 2015 and March 28th, 2015, and are already on display in the Australasia exhibit, however they have been placed in an enclosure for their protection. The third chick was born on May 5th, 2015, and will hopefully be big enough to join its siblings in the near future.
The tawnies are a part of a Species Survival Protection breeding programme and the manager of that programme will recommend where the new chicks should be placed, in order to best maintain the breeding population. Those recommendations are generally issued annually, so for the next few months, they will still be calling BAMZ home.