Heat wave prompts Flamingos to lay first eggs in 15 years

In a feat attributed to recent heat wave that swept across Europe, rare Andean flamingos at a wetlands reserve in Slimbridge, Britain, have laid eggs for the first time in 15 years. The exotic birds are ‘fickle breeders’ and can go years without nesting successfully. Unfortunately  none of the eggs are viable, so no new Andean flamingos will emerge from this batch. In a bit of human meddling, caretakers decided to get the Andean birds into parenting mode: They took a few eggs from Chilean  flamingos, ‘near relatives; and planted them among the Andean birds, who became foster parents to new chicks.