Gouldian finch nursed by hand from newly-hatched chick
The bird, named Jester, was hand-reared after its parents tossed it from the nest
- Published
A Gouldian finch tossed from its nest by its parents is thriving after being hand-reared by staff and students at Duchy College Rosewarne, in Camborne.
Katrina Sullivan, Head Technician for Animal Management at the college, helped to hand-rear the chick in the college's aviaries after it was discovered on the ground by students.
Initially, the chick needed around-the-clock care, Ms Sullivan said.
She documented the chick's growth, taking photos that show the bird's transformation into a "beautiful" red-headed, lavender-breasted Gouldian finch.
The chick showed signs of strength when it began feeding, Ms Sullivan said
Katrina Sullivan said at the beginning, the chick needed around-the-clock care.
Ms Sullivan said students had found chicks "thrown all over their enclosure.”
She said the mother and father Gouldian Finches were first-time parents, adding the birds "didn’t really know what they were doing".
She said the parents had "tossed" the chicks out of the nest - one of the birds had died, but one was still alive.
Having done "a lot" of hand-rearing in the past, Ms Sullivan decided to hand-rear the chick.
She said she and the team at Duchy College Rosewarne "just took it day-by-day, feed-by-feed, week-by-week".
The chick's growth and transformation was documented in photos
Jester eventually started to grow feathers
Katrina Sullivan said she was up a lot in the middle of the night looking after the bird
Ms Sullivan said: “It was 24 hours a day, she was literally being fed every time her crop emptied, so, it just all depended on her and how quickly she digested the food.
"When she was very small she was being fed every half an hour, every hour.
“That progressed eventually to four times a day, and then she started feeding herself."
The bird initially grew grey feathers, before moulting and developing its colourful coat
Katrina Sullivan said the chick took about seven months to fully mature
She said: “We were really lucky, she just loved being around us, she loved being at the college.
"She moulted out beautifully, and within about seven months, she started to develop all of her mature colours, and she’s a beautiful red-headed, lavender-breasted Gouldian, she’s lovely.”
Ms Sullivan added: “The technician have their hands full when they’re working around her because she’s always jumping on their hands and yeah, we’re having to keep a watchful eye because she’s so small.”
Katrina Sullivan said the bird got along well with the other birds in the aviaries, but said it “just wants human interaction all the time”
The Gouldian finch remains at the Aviaries at Duchy College Rosewarne, in Camborne