TWO pairs of one of the rarest ducks species in the world have arrived in the North-East.

The four Madagascar teal are among nearly 100 new arrivals to the Wildlife and Wetland Trust (WWT) Washington Centre, on Wearside.

Little was known about the species until the early 1990s, when six males and two females were brought into captivity by Jersey Zoo.

It took until 1998, but after a purpose-built enclosure was made for them the birds have produced more than 100 young.

Rather than keep all of their eggs in one basket, birds have been moved to other breeders around the UK and elsewhere in Europe, including several WWT centres.

Centre manager Chris Francis said: "This is a wonderful moment for staff at Washington.

"This bird was thought to be on the verge of extinction in 1990, with very few sightings in its native Madagascar.

"All of the textbooks relied on old Victorian prints of these birds.

"Not only does the future of this bird seem assured, but it is now possible for visitors to Washington to see them with their own eyes."

The bird is still threatened in the wild and work continues to research and protect the bird in Madagascar.

The Madagascar teal were joined by Hawaiian geese, barnacle geese from the Arctic, maned geese from Australia, comb ducks from South America and wood ducks from North America.

Aviculture warden Darren Grieves said: "As you can see, we have birds literally coming here from all over the world.

"They are a very hardy group of birds and adapt very well. Besides which, they have all been bred in captivity by WWT, so they have lived all their lives in the UK."