Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Okay,

I admit it, I'm a sucker for bird stories.


Wildlife carers in far north Queensland say they have uncovered what is believed to be a world first — a pair of albino blue-winged kookaburras.

The baby kookaburras, believed to be sisters, were handed into a wildlife park at Ravenshoe, south-west of Cairns. They had been found on the ground after a storm.

There are some white laughing kookaburras at zoos in Australia, but they are not strictly albino, having black eyes. There has never been a reported blue-winged albino before. Most albino birds rarely live long in the wild because they have no camouflage.

Eagles Nest Wildlife Hospital carer Leslie Brown says the pair require special care. "Because they can't see properly, because of the lack of pigment, they have problems finding food," she said. "Because they are so young they still haven't been taught by their parents how to hunt.

The birds are being fed small mice, cicadas and moths, are now in good health and will be raised at the sanctuary.
Story source: ABC News
Photo: Eagles Nest Wildlife Hospital

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