
After a four-year break, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Zoo has flamingo chicks again, the zoo announced. While some eggs remain in the nests, twelve chicks have already hatched.
The young birds are still covered in grey feathers and are mostly hiding beneath their parents’ wings. Once they grow a little bigger, they leave the nest and gather in small nurseries. It will take them around three years to develop their characteristic pink plumage.
In the wild, the vibrant colouring is caused by pigments in the crustaceans flamingos consume. In zoos, a special diet is provided to achieve the same effect.
“Flamingo breeding is a complex process,” explained zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck. “For instance, last winter was the first in some time where no confinement was imposed due to bird flu, and that had a positive effect on the animals’ natural rhythms.”
The breeding success was helped by new flamingos from Bratislava Zoo, who joined to make good breeding pairs, the zoo added.