Pets Hunters

Rare Red Bird of Paradise hatches at Chicago zoo

There really is a Red Bird of Paradise -- and, now, three of them live at Brookfield Zoo.
A Red Bird of Paradise chick hatched last week at Brookfield Zoo -- thanks to some zookeeper match-makers.

The perching birdhouse at Brookfield Zoo is chirping with excitement these days. And that's because Mr. Red Bird of Paradise, the one with the reddish feathers, and Mrs. Red Bird of Paradise are the proud parents of a very rare little chick born just this past Thursday. It's been a long wait.

"The birds came to us very young so it took several years for them to be sexually mature. A couple years to get them old enough and we were only getting infertile eggs," said Anne Oiler, Assoc. Curator of Birds Brookfield Zoo.

So for Mr. and Mrs. Very Rare Red Bird of Paradise the timing was always wrong. There was no magic. Being a rare bird can be a good or bad thing. For instance, if you call someone a really rare bird, that's an insult. But in this case it's good news because there are only eleven of these birds in four zoos in America. And, according to the zoo, this little chick is the result of the love tunnel, a wire passageway that takes the birds to their romantic rendezvousa cage filled with trees and branches.

The result-- One very hungry little bird being fed by hand because mom is too inexperienced.

(There are only 11 of these birds in the US)