A WILD bird which is so desperate to become a mother that it sat on unfertilised eggs until it nearly starved to death, is on the lookout for a partner.

Pea the peahen nested in the garden of Tony and Ann Westgarth and laid four eggs. The eggs were not fertilised, but Pea stubbornly refused to leave them for weeks, even giving up food so it could remain on the nest.

As the days passed, the Westgarths, who live in Pixley Dell, Delves Lane, near Consett, County Durham, noticed it was growing weaker.

They phoned the Weardale Animal Sanctuary in Stanhope, near Bishop Auckland, who took it in and have nursed it back to health.

Sally and Dave Rawley, who run the animal shelter, tried to help the bird settle in by giving it some fertilised duck eggs to foster. But the heartbroken hen was not interested.

Mrs Rawley said: "She is eating and drinking well now, but we are trying to get her a peacock to keep her company and maybe give her some chicks."

Pea has been a popular fixture in Pixley Dell since she turned up unannounced last year.

Mr Westgarth said: "Quite often, she would be seen toddling down the middle of the road. As the weeks went by, she became really tame."