First Kagu Chick Hatched at the Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo is excited to announce the hatching of a kagu chick at McCormick Bird House. A kagu is a large, flightless bird that, when mature, displays bluish-gray feathers and long legs. This is the first kagu chick to ever hatch at the zoo!

The chick hatched on November 21 to first-time parents and is currently being raised behind the scenes. Its entry to the world is an exciting event not just for Lincoln Park Zoo, but for the conservation community. To date in the U.S., the only other accredited facility to have successfully hatched and raised members of this species is San Diego Zoo.

The parents of the chick had not been successful incubating an egg on their own, so zoo staff offered a little assistance by keeping the latest egg in an incubation machine for 35 days. When the chick hatched, it weighed just 50 grams. At about three months after hatching, it is now four times that size.

Seen here at around 19 days old, the kagu chick was already eating whole pinky mice, chunks of papaya, and insects.

The kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus) is listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and populations are known to be decreasing. Kagus originate on the main island of New Caledonia, a French colony about 750 miles east of Australia.[/caption]

These are carnivorous, forest-dwelling birds with orange legs and bills, black barring on their wings, and a head crest in both sexes. They have specialized feathers called “powder downs,” which produce a substance used to clean and waterproof their feathers. Wild kagus are most active during the day and hold territories up to 70 acres in size. These birds are adept runners that flap their wings at predators and have elaborate courtship displays.

Forming monogamous mating pairs, kagus build nests that are not well developed; some of those nests may appear as simple scrapes in the grounds, with eggs loosely covered in leaves or other materials. Both parents incubate eggs.

Kagu chicks are unique in the bird world due to their large eyes, which have clouding in them that resemble cataracts for the first week or 10 days of life. Their vision is very poor until the clouding fades, but after that they quickly begin self-feeding.

Once it acquires its adult plumage, which it is doing now, the chick at Lincoln Park Zoo (which is currently unsexed) can be reintroduced to its parents. Of course, keepers will make those introductions carefully and have backup plans for any issues they might experience while doing so.

An adult kagu bird

Populations of these birds are small and fragmented as a result of human development, predation by animals like rats and cats, and hunting—they are traditionally killed for their meat. Reintroduction programs are in place to protect them in their native lands. Only a few U.S. zoos have kagus in residence, so learning more about the natural history of these animals can help zoo professionals learn how to care for them and scientists learn how to conserve them.

“At Lincoln Park Zoo, the goal of the bird department’s talented team is to support breeding programs that bolster the populations of species that are endangered and declining, and we’re excited to have had success in doing so with this species,” says Hope B. McCormick Curator of Birds Nicole Finch-Mason.