Two among the three pairs of the endangered Edwards’ pheasant, gifted by the Prague Zoological Garden of the Czech Republic last year, are rearing chicks, Taipei Zoo said yesterday.
Taipei Zoo director Chen I-tsung (諶亦聰) said the zoo has been working with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s EAZA Ex situ Programme, an endangered species conservation program, and welcomed three pairs of the critically endangered pheasant on Sept. 14 last year.
Zookeepers had observed that two pairs have started laying on their nests in the corners of display areas last month, she said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
A pair of Edwards’ pheasants usually lay a clutch of four to seven eggs, which are creamy to pinkish-brown with small white spots, with an incubation time of about 20 or more days, Chen said.
The female pheasants were spotted leaving their nests around the end of last month and early this month, and chicks were seen under their parents’ feathers and moving along with them, she said.
Taipei Zoo is delighted to share this good news, Chen said, adding that the chicks are nearly one month old and are gradually exploring the environment on their own.
Edwards’ pheasants are shy and like to stay hidden from sight, and the parents and children are highly vigilant, often moving in dense, low vegetation, the zoo said.
Visitors are advised to keep their volume low, their motions slow and to wait patiently, to reduce the birds’ tension and be able to see the cute interactions between the parents and chicks, they said.
Edwards’ pheasants are listed as “critically endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, and also in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the zoo said.
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