Three chirpy Pekin robin chicks have been successful hand reared at Chester Zoo. Pekin robins are a bird native to the Himalayas and China.
Even though there is no concern for the survival of this species in the wild keepers like to raise some birds to keep their skills sharp for when they are called upon to rear endangered species.
Curator of birds Andrew Owens explained, “It’s incredibly important for our staff to develop their hand-rearing skills at the zoo as these can then readily be applied to highly threatened species in the wild, such as in places like Mauritius where we’ve hit the right note by successfully helping the likes of the Mauritius olive white-eye, Mauritius fody and Mauritius cuckoo shrike.”
Photo Credit: Chester Zoo
