HOUSTON – The Houston Zoo is welcoming a new exotic baby bird to one of its flocks.
A male St. Vincent Amazon parrot poked through his shell on May 24th, weighing in at just under 17 grams.
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His name is Mustique Springer, although he'll go by Springer for short.
A team of zookeepers have been hand-raising Springer, giving him round-the-clock care during his first few weeks.
The keepers even take him home with them and wake up every few hours to maintain his strict feeding schedule.
"Hand-rearing a bird is a time-consuming process," said Chris Holmes, assistant curator of birds and Springer's main caretaker. "Life revolves around the chick's feeding schedule and sometimes you forget to feed yourself. It is very rewarding to know that the chick you are investing so much time in could live for hopefully 40 or more years."
The exotic species has a special history with the Houston Zoo. It was the first institution to successfully hatch the species in 1972.
Springer is the fourth chick of his kind to hatch at the Houston Zoo.
He will make his debut to the public in a couple years after he gets a bit older.