A face only a mother could love? A palm cockatoo chick. Photograph courtesy of Loro Parque.
Loro Parque‘s bumper breeding season has produced more than 1,000 chicks so far – with some hatchings proving to be a bit of a surprise for bird park staff.
By the end of August, 1006 young parrots had been ringed at the Tenerife bird park.
Curator Dr Matthias Reinschmidt listed some of the unexpected success: “For example, last year our hawk-headed parrots (Deroptyus accipitrinus), produced no young but this year we can already report six chicks.”
Dr Reinschmidt said the park's flock of Lear's macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) was also doing well. "We have three siblings in the hand-rearing station already with blue feathers," he said. "Plus, two other young birds of the same age are thriving perfectly with their adoptive parents, a pair of green-winged macaws (Ara chloroptera).
“One of the pairs is raising two chicks for the first time on its own, while the other Lear's macaw pair has just produced the first egg of the second clutch, which will also stay with the parents, to allow this already experienced and proven breeding pair the chance to raise the chicks naturally.”
The park’s birdkeepers were particularly pleased with their successful breeding pair of palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus).
Dr Reinschmidt said: “They have started breeding again, although later than last year. Currently, the chick from the first clutch is about three weeks old and growing very well in the Baby Station in Loro Parque, while the female has once again laid an egg, which is also fertile.”
An edited version of this story first appeared in our September 30 issue.
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