Rare bird wings in to Dudley Zoo
Keepers at Dudley Zoological Gardens have expressed their delight over the new arrival of one of the rarest birds on the planet.
An 11 month-old female Bali Mynah, one of the world's most iconic species of songbird, has relocated from Heidelberg Zoo in Germany with the hope that it will form a breeding pair with the the zoo's resident male and add to the species number.
The Bali Mynah has been on the critically endangered list for some time, with millions of Asian songbirds traded illegally as caged pets or stolen from forests to take part in singing contests every year.
It is estimated that there may be as few as 50 Bali Mynah's left in the wild.
Birds Sections Leader Nicola Wright said: "We're delighted the female's here and the two have quickly settled together in the aviary so we're hopeful we can soon play our part in increasing the numbers of this critically endangered and beautiful species which find themselves on the brink of extinction."
Dudley Zoological Gardens is in it's second year of raising awareness and funds for the 'Silent Forest, Asian Songbird Crisis' conservation campaign, which is ran by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and aims to save endangered bird species in the region from extinction.
To date, the Castle Hill attraction has sent off more than $3000 to the appeal to help tackle the crisis.
