Taipei Zoo

Visitors to the Tropical Rainforest Indoor House (Pangolin Dome) at Taipei Zoo are often greeted by the sight of blue-tailed bee-eaters—known as the "spirits of summer"—darting gracefully through the air. Following the species' first successful natural breeding and chick-rearing in the exhibit in 2025, the zoo is delighted to share more good news this year. Blue-tailed bee-eater chicks began hatching on July 4. Keepers observed that the first-time parents initially struggled to feed their chicks successfully, so they stepped in to provide supplemental care alongside the parent birds. This cooperative approach helps ensure the chicks grow up healthy while supporting the parent birds' dedicated efforts to catch insects and return to the nest to feed their young.

Since 2015, Taipei Zoo has partnered with the School of Forestry and Resource Conservation at National Taiwan University and Mandarin Airlines on the Kinmen Blue-tailed Bee-eater Abandoned Egg Incubation Project. Through artificial incubation, abandoned eggs collected from the wild in Kinmen have become the founders of the zoo's ex situ assurance population. By the end of 2024, more than 400 abandoned eggs had been recovered. Candling examinations showed a fertilization rate of approximately 66%, while about 30% successfully hatched. However, fewer than 20 birds ultimately survived to adulthood and can now be seen flying freely inside the Pangolin Dome.

To maintain a stable ex situ population, the zoo's blue-tailed bee-eater care team created an artificial nesting cliff inside the Tropical Rainforest Indoor House (Pangolin Dome) in 2022, modeled after the species' natural nesting habitat in Kinmen. Using sandy loam samples collected from Kinmen, keepers carefully developed a nesting soil mixture that closely resembles the birds' natural nesting substrate. They then packed the prepared soil into narrow tubes to create nesting tunnels, encouraging the birds to dig their own nest burrows during the breeding season just as they do in the wild. After years of artificial chick-rearing, the zoo's population has grown from the challenge of having only male birds in 2018 to a balanced group of six males and five females by 2024, ultimately leading to the zoo's first successful natural breeding and chick-rearing in 2025.

During this year's breeding season, keepers observed one pair successfully establishing a nest and breeding. After laying and incubating their eggs in early to mid-June, four chicks gradually hatched beginning on July 4. As first-time parents, the adults were still learning how to care for their young during the first two days after hatching. Keepers repeatedly observed unsuccessful feeding attempts—sometimes an insect was dropped before it reached a chick, while at other times the prey was simply too large for a chick to swallow. On the morning of July 6, keepers discovered that only three chicks remained. After reviewing surveillance footage, they found that the inexperienced father had apparently tried to remove an insect that a chick could not swallow from the nest, but accidentally carried the chick out with it. Fortunately, the parent birds quickly improved their parenting skills. If feeding one chick was unsuccessful, they would immediately feed another or adjust the angle of the insect before trying again, showing great persistence in caring for every chick. To help ensure all of the chicks developed evenly, the care team drew on last year's successful experience with assisted chick-rearing. During the early stages, keepers caught insects throughout the zoo just as the parent birds did and provided four supplemental feedings each day, later adjusting the feeding schedule according to the parents' feeding performance and the chicks' growth.

The chicks are now growing rapidly. From tiny, pink, featherless hatchlings that resemble little "aliens," they have gradually developed into miniature birds covered with pin feathers. At around one month of age, they begin venturing out of the nest and follow their parents as they learn to fly and catch insects. Visitors hoping to see this blue-tailed bee-eater family taking flight together are encouraged to visit the Tropical Rainforest Indoor House (Pangolin Dome) around the end of July and watch the parent birds in action as they raise their young.