Same-sex penguin 'couple' nurturing egg together at Sydney aquarium

Two male penguins are nurturing an egg given to them by aquarium staff who suspected they were more than friends.

The birds, named Magic and Sphen, had earlier built a nest together after collecting ice pebbles, the Australian news network ABC reported.

The pair are said to have formed a bond at Sydney's Sea Life aquarium ahead of the 2018 breeding season.

Staff gave them a dummy egg and after they showed strong nurturing skills, the pair of Gentoo penguins were handed a real egg to look after.

Tish Hannan, supervisor of the aquarium's penguin department, said: "We'd go over there and Magic and Sphen would be bowing to each other."

Penguins are known to carry out the act as part of a courtship ritual.

In reference to the dummy egg, Ms Hannan added: "They immediately knew exactly what it was and started incubating it."

She added that Gentoo penguins share parenting and feeding responsibilities equally, so there is little difference between opposite-sex or same-sex parenting.

Ms Hannan added that the example is not the first among zoos around the world.

The children's book And Tango Makes Three, which is based on the real story of two male penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo who reared their own chick, drew acclaim from some for depicting non-traditional family structures.

It was also among some titles pulled from bookshelves in public libraries in Hong Kong this year after pressure from anti-gay groups, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.