Bird breeding firsts at Cotswold Wildlife Park

Chicks have recently been welcomed from the park's Blacksmith Plovers, Emerald Doves and Greater Coucals. 
This marks the first successful breeding for each of these species in the collection’s history.
All three produced more than one clutch, much to the delight of their keepers. 
The Emerald Doves and Blacksmith Plovers successfully parent-reared their chicks, while the Greater Coucals required a different approach. 
As the adult birds proved less capable parents, the Bird Section made the decision to hand-rear the young, giving them the best chance of survival. 
This is the first time this species has been hand-reared by a UK zoological collection.
Head Keeper of Cotswold Wildlife Park Natalie Horner said: ‘We’ve had a great bird breeding season this year including two clutches of Blacksmith Plover chicks. Three chicks in each clutch! 
"They have all now fully fledged and moved into their own aviaries off show.”
The Park has shared never-before-seen footage capturing the moment the chicks made their first appearance. Volunteer Animal Keeper Annabelle Hart placed camera traps near the nest in the hope of capturing something special. 
After recording more than 36 hours of footage, she was delighted to discover that she had managed to film the moment the three tiny chicks emerged from beneath their mother on the nest.
The Park is one of only two UK zoological collections to have bred this species in the last year and is one of seven collections in Britain to exhibit them.
The first Greater Coucal chick, with its black body and impressive crest of white, downy feathers, was named ‘Skunk’ due to its resemblance to the black-and-white mammal. Cared for in the Park’s dedicated incubation facility, the newly hatched chick, with its voracious appetite, initially required feeding every two hours during the day. 
Weighing just 10.9 grams at hatching, the chick has since grown rapidly and now weighs 240 grams, reaching the size of an adult in just over a month. Two further eggs were laid by the parents and were also hand-reared by the team. 
The chicks, named Badger and Bodger, have now outgrown their incubator and have joined their older sibling in an off-show aviary, still under the watchful eye of keepers.
Cotswold Wildlife Park is the only UK zoological collection, and one of just two zoological collections globally, to keep this species.
Natalie said: “Our Emerald Doves in the Tropical House have had a bumper year too with three squabs successfully reared and more expected, with pairs still sitting. 
"They are a very relaxed species, with one of our pairs nesting right next to the public pathway, giving our visitors a close look at the incubation and rearing process. 
"We have also successfully hand-reared three Greater Coucal chicks who are all now fully fledged and independent. 
"We are the only zoological collection in the UK to hold this species and the first to breed them in many decades. 
"The chicks hatch with the most amazing feather composition, giving them a rather unique look.
"Their striking black-and-white colouring has certainly inspired their names and they really are some of the most memorable-looking chicks we’ve ever hand-reared!”
Award-winning photographer Philip Joyce captured images of the new arrivals.  
 

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