Keepers at Colchester Zoo have been encouraging their flamingos to breed by using mirrors.
The birds have been tricked into thinking their flock is larger than it actually is as this helps them to nest and eventually lay eggs.
The zoo’s 15 Chilean flamingos have now started to build their own nests.
“Even if we don’t get eggs this year, it’s taken us a step in the right direction,” the zoo’s curator Sarah Forsythe told BBC Essex.
Like many birds, flamingos do not breed very well in small flocks and the illusion of a larger group means there could soon be flamingo chicks at the zoo for the first time.
Staff were surprised at just how quickly the full-length mirrors began to take effect, as the birds started to build their own nests and show courting behaviour within a week.