Camouflage begins for newborn zoo chicks (From Dudley News)
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Camouflage begins for newborn zoo chicks
2:20pm Friday 27th August 2010 in News
Trainee zoo keeper Cerys Grove holds a helmeted guinea fowl chick.
FIVE newborn helmeted guinea fowl chicks at Dudley Zoo are already developing their camouflage at just three weeks old.
The fowl were hatched in the farmyard enclosure and their the distinctive markings are already beginning to show, as they begin the camouflage process to help protect them from any predators.
Curator Matt Lewis said: “These recent additions bring the total number of guinea fowl at the zoo to 14, and their distinctive markings are already coming through.
“The birds are being fed a special diet of chick crumbs, packed with nutrients and are being carefully monitored, but they are all doing well.”
Helmeted guinea fowl, which originate from Africa, get their name from the knobbly lump on their heads which resembles a helmet.
