COLCHESTER Zoo’s king vulture family has grown after the hatching of a new healthy chick.

The attraction, in Maldon Road, has announced female king vulture Midas, who arrived to the zoo in 2015 from the International Bird of Prey Centre, hatched a healthy chick on earlier this year.

Keepers say the new arrival is great news for the species which has experienced a recent substantial decrease in wild populations.  

Midas has been an incredibly attentive mother over the past months and the chick itself has quickly grown into a 3kg (6.6 lbs) fledgling which is not that much smaller than Midas.

King vultures hatch with semi-open eyes and a white coat of downy feathers, and in the first two weeks from hatching, the chick looks similar to a white fluffy cotton ball.

Change - King vultures have dark bills and eyes with a grey neck which turns orange when they reach adulthoodChange - King vultures have dark bills and eyes with a grey neck which turns orange when they reach adulthood (Image: Colchester Zoo)

In Colchester Zoo, the Animal Care Team monitored the egg by weighing it every three days to ensure the embryo’s development was on track.

The fledgling is yet to be sexed or named by the Animal Care Team.

A spokesman said: "Juvenile king vultures have dark bills and eyes with a grey neck which turns orange when they reach adulthood.

"By three years old, the fledgling will begin to look more like the adults, but the youngster will not completely molt into its adult feathers until it reaches five to six years of age."

King vultures are currently classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

But the spokesman added: "However, there has been a substantial decrease in wild populations with the main threat being habitat destruction.

"Therefore, this new arrival is great news for the conservation of this incredible species."

The species is one of the largest vulture species in South America.