Two more animals for the ‘ark in the park’ after heavy rains
Wednesday 8 August 2007
The Zoo’s two female tawny frogmouths, Rita and Tig, who live yards apart in separate enclosures, both laid their eggs on the same day after a particularly wet weekend.
© ZSL - John Ellis
They have now hatched a fluffy chick each – welcome additions to the Zoo’s extensive bird collection.
In the wild, tawny frogmouths are believed to coincide their breeding season with the rains, laying their eggs immediately after monsoon season so they have an abundance of insects to rear their chicks on. Keepers are convinced the recent deluges are responsible for the timing of the two new chicks.
The pair are now doing well and keepers are delighted with the Zoo’s adorable new residents, naming them Thunder and Storm in tribute to Britain’s sopping start to summer.
Zoo staff hope the arrival of Thunder and Storm will signal the end of London’s rainy days - they’ve certainly brought some sunshine to the Zoo.
Senior bird keeper, Adrian Walls, said: “We are delighted with our wonderful twin success, needless to say we didn’t think the wet weather would have such surprising result. We think their arrival was triggered by the heavy rains here and we’ve called them Thunder and Storm in tribute to the dreadful weather.”
Tawny frogmouth
With their nocturnal habit and owl-like appearance, Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to the nightjars.
The Tawny Frogmouth is found throughout Australia, including Tasmania. It can be seen in almost any habitat type except the denser rainforests and treeless deserts.