Like the ugly duckling, this Philippine Cockatoo will grow into a beautiful bird

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This Philippine cockatoo chick will one day grow into a stunningly beautiful bird

This little beauty is an extremely rare Philippine cockatoo, one of the first ever hatched in captivity.

The new arrival was celebrated at Bristol Zoo Gardens last week, according to a report in the Bristol Post.

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The species, also known as the re-vented cockatoo or kalangay, is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list – meaning they are critically endangered.

Despite his current appearance, the chick will grow up to be a beautiful bird snow-white bird, with bright orange and yellow tail feathers.

Cacatua haematuropygia
An adult Philippine Cockatoo – fewer than 1,000 are left in the wild

Trevor Franks, who looks after the zoo’s birds, said the pair of cockatoos had previously produced only one egg since they arrived in 2004.

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However, this year the pair produced four eggs, two of which were fertile and one of which has hatched.

Mr Franks said: “This year things really took off. When the egg hatched we were really jumping for joy.”

The family are now being kept under close surveillance because the parents have never reared any young before.

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As their name suggests, the birds originate from the Philippines, where they were common until 1950.

But they have since gone into a rapid decline, with the population dwindling due to their popularity as pets. It is now estimated that the population stands at fewer than 1,000 that are found on Palawan, Tawitawi, Mindanao and Masbate. .