Toledo Zoo welcomes 3 Australian magpie chicks

Birds to be part of upcoming Wild Walkabout exhibit

Toledo Zoo's Australian magpie chicks.

Three Australian magpie chicks, hatched on Feb. 6, are the latest additions to the Toledo Zoo’s upcoming Wild Walkabout exhibit.

The chicks are currently off exhibit at the zoo’s Avian Breeding Center. Their genders have not yet been determined. When the zoo’s Wild Walkabout exhibit opens on May 24, visitors will see the Australian magpie chicks at the Nature’s Neighborhood children’s zoo.

Zoo staff members are hand-rearing the chicks, which arrived from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo as fertilized eggs. The chicks’ parents were not able to care for the eggs. The Toledo Zoo has developed a hand-rearing regimen for the species and will share this information with other zoos that may need to hand-rear Australian magpie chicks.

The birds are common in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. Currently a total of 11 of the birds live at five North American Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoos, including the Toledo Zoo.