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Easter eggs!

March 15, 2020

Our pair of Sclater’s crowned pigeons have been taking turns to keep their new egg warm. 

Earlier this year, we welcomed a female Sclater’s crowned pigeon to Tropical House. Maria arrived at Marwell from Copenhagen Zoo and has been settling in wonderfully with our male, Neil. 

The pair have been busy building a nest from natural materials they have found in Tropical House and very recently keepers spotted an egg in the nest and the pair have been taking turns to keep it warm. We are hopeful it is a fertile egg, so keep an eye on social for further updates.

Sclater’s crowned pigeons build a dense nest using items such as sticks, stems, palm fronds and dead leaves, usually 3.5 to 15 metres above the ground. They lay one egg, which is incubated for 28-30 days. The chicks then fledge between 28 and 36 days old.

Our Humboldt penguins are also expecting…

Keepers have spotted four of our Humboldt penguins sitting on fertile eggs; keep an eye on social for further updates!

In the wild, Humboldt penguins nest on islands and rocky coasts with cliffs and sea caves. They create nests in caves, crevices or scrapes (shallow depressions), or dig burrows into guano (bird droppings).

Penguins are monogamous and stay with their partners for life. Once laid, it takes eggs 40 days to hatch and unlike a lot of species, male penguins actually share the egg-sitting duty with the females.