Endangered chicks hatched at zoo

The Visayan tarictic hornbill spent 97 days sitting on her nest

Three rare endangered chicks have successfully hatched at a zoo.

Two Visayan tarictic hornbill chicks and a writhed hornbill chick have hatched at Chester Zoo. Both species are critically endangered in the wild.

The Visayan female and her two male chicks can be seen in their enclosures as can the writhed hornbill chick.

All the chicks are fully-feathered and almost fully grown. The zoo believes it is the first time they have been bred in captivity.

For 97 days, the female Visayan tarictic hornbill was tucked away inside a nest box, relying on her partner for food and care.

The female writhed hornbill spent 123 days in her nest box - thought to be the longest period a hornbill has spent in a sealed nest box in captivity.

Wayne McLeod, Chester Zoo's team leader for birds, said: "There are so many factors involved in helping both species to breed successfully and these are important milestones for both species given that there are so few of the birds left in the wild."

The Visayan tarictic hornbills can be seen in the zoo's islands in danger enclosure and the writhed hornbills can be found in the zoo's tropical realm.

In the wild, both species are found in rainforests on the islands of Panay and Negros in the Philippines.

Visayan tarictic hornbills also live on the islands of Masbate and Guimaras.