Of the six, the hatching of the golden conure is particularly noteworthy as it is extremely rare and an endangered species. The greater flamingo hails from Africa, southern Asia and southern Europe, and is a distant relative of the Caribbean flamingo from South America; the star of the South American themed activities lined up in the Jurong Bird Park this school holidays. “These hatchlings are welcome additions to the Park’s avian family, and are the result of our carefully managed breeding programme. The avian team together with the veterinary unit carefully observe and create ideal living conditions for these birds to ensure privacy and sufficient nutritional intake during the nesting and incubation period. The newly arrived golden conure will contribute to the ex-situ population of this endangered species, as well as to our goals in wildlife conservation,” said Mr Biswajit Guha, Assistant Director, Zoology, Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Threatened by deforestation and illegal pet trade, there are only less than 5,000 golden conures found in the northern parts of Brazil. A highly sociable species, the golden conure can often be seen in pairs or small groups of up to 60 birds in the wild.