Rare Shoebill birds return to Jurong Bird Park

SINGAPORE: Good news for bird lovers in Singapore - the Jurong Bird Park has acquired a pair of rare Shoebill birds for the park's Wetlands exhibit.

The birds' arrival will make the Jurong Bird Park the only zoological institution in Southeast Asia where visitors will be able to view the species, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) - which runs the park - said in a press release on Thursday (Jul 12).

Flown over from Qatar in June, the 11-year-old male and 17-year-old female will join other critically endangered wetland birds in the park.

Read more at 

'Monster' bird reveals dark side

Shoebill chick is filmed attacking its younger sibling

Aggressive bullying between bizarre-looking shoebill chicks has been filmed for the first time.

The encounter was captured at Bangweulu wetlands near Kasanka, in northern Zambia, Africa.

Wildlife filmmakers were surprised to witness an older chick attacking its younger sibling while their mother was foraging away from the nest.

The birds are rare subjects for study because their swamp breeding grounds are very difficult to access.

The BBC/Discovery team's aim was to shed light on the species by documenting intimate behaviour of shoebill parents and young at the nest.

Siblicide, the phenomenon of offspring killing their siblings, is common among many larger birds.

"This behaviour had previously been recorded in shoebills (Balaeniceps rex) but we hadn't planned on seeing it," explained director Alex Lanchester, who describes the shoebill as "prehistoric-looking".

Continued and video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20938650