Sensational news of Javan Green Magpies adopting their own young

Young Javan Green Magpie reared with the help of a “puppet”. Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Thanks to intuitive avicultural skills and innovative methods used by the Prague Zoo’s bird team a chick from one of the rarest birds in the world could be saved. The young Javan green magpie, was reared safely by using a puppet but also introduced back to its parents for important social learning skills, enabling it to contribute to the ongoing breeding programme. Prague zoo is only one, out of three European institutions which has reared the critically endangered magpies.

Father feeding his youngster. Photo: Antonín Vaidl, Prague Zoo

 

Read the whole story by Lenka Pastorcakova and Antonín Vaidl from Prague Zoo and learn why this chick was in danger and how the team succeeded to rear the young corvid with a hatching weight of only 5.85 grams and eventually introduce it back to its parents right here.