EIGHT scarlet macaws have winged their way to Dudley Zoo's newly-built aviary.

The £30,000 development has given the colourful residents - who came from Paradise Park in Cornwall - plenty of space as the it is more than 50 per cent bigger than the previous building.

The zoo was granted planning permission to demolish three parrot aviaries and replace them with a large single aviary near Lemur Wood, and bosses say the finished result looks "fabulous".

Zoo manager, Matt Lewis, said: “These birds are such a vibrant colour and will definitely make themselves heard.

“Visitors will hear them as they walk up the hill and our bird keepers will have to wear ear defenders when they are inside with them.

“Contractors started work on the aviary in January but we lost two weeks because of the snow.

"The keepers have added the finishing touches and done the landscaping work and it’s looking great.”

The birds from the old aviaries - the Goffin’s cockatoo and the pair of yellow-shouldered Amazon parrots - have moved to other parts of the site while the pair of military macaws have left to go to Tilgate Nature Centre in West Sussex.