Strange behaviour in captivity

[Pete Mella]

I was in Prague Zoo a few weeks ago, and I went into their "Himalayan" aviary. In there were a number of bird species, and what surpised me was seeing a bearded tit sat on a branch cuddling up to a Himalayan greenfinch.

There was plenty of room, and the temperature was warm. Could this have been a very unlikely partnership between two lonely birds?

[Docmartin]

Could be. they need to put some bromide in the millet.

[JamesA]

How many of each species were in the enclosure?

[Pete Mella]

Hard to say... I got the impression there was more than one bearded tit, but not sure I saw them at the same time.

Even with loneliness, it still seemed strange that there would be so much affection between such different species. It's hard to say if it was even sexual behaviour.

I guess the strange environment would cause a lot of strange behavious in the birds.