Updated at 5:49 p.m., Thursday, June 14, 2007
Record-small Hawaiian bird hatched in San Diego Zoo
Associated Press
A tiny, endangered Hawaiian 'akepa born this month is the smallest bird of any species ever hatched and reared in captivity using artificial incubation techniques, according to the San Diego Zoo.The 'akepa hatched June 1 and weighed 0.94 grams — less than 1/30th of an ounce.
"Hatching any chick of this size is one of the ultimate avicultural challenges we face. The feeding and temperature regulation is of critical importance where any miscue can be disastrous," said Alan Lieberman, the Zoological Society of San Diego's conservation program manager for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
The chick is being fed bee larvae, cricket and meal worm guts, hard boiled egg, vitamins and minerals on the hour until it leaves the nest at about 16 days of age.
It is scheduled to join a flock being released in August on the slopes of Mauna Kea on the Big Island.
