May 23, 2007 | Funny Bits

It's a bouncing baby bird

In a move certain to anger the religious right, a gay British couple has been granted custody of a newborn baby. Staff at the Wildlife & Wetlands Trust watched Carlos and Fernando, a same-sex pair of flamingos, steal eggs in an attempt to raise a chick of their own. When an abandoned egg was discovered, the couple was considered the perfect foster parents.

The two birds have been together for six years, and are able to feed the chick on their own by producing milk in their throats.

This is not the first time a same-sex couple from the animal kingdom has been profiled in the news for their parenting efforts. After penguins Roy and Silo tried to hatch a stone, they were given their own egg to care for. Their efforts are detailed in the children's book "And Tango Makes Three", the most frequently challenged book in 2006.

Flamingos and penguins are two of 1,500 documented species that participate in same-sex relations. Who says homosexuality ain't natural?

• Gay flamingos' parenting skills recognized [gay.com]
• Gay flamingos adopt abandoned chick [Guardian Unlimited]
• Oslo gay animal show draws crowd [BBC News]
• March of the penguin protestors [Guardian Unlimited]