Two Puffin Chicks Born At The National Aquarium

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Two new puffin chicks have been born into the National Aquarium's Sea Cliffs exhibit.

Ziti, whose name was inspired by the pasta, hatched on July 5 after an incubation period of 38 days. Valentine, whose name comes from the family's tradition of having names that begin with the letter V, hatched on July 6 after an incubation period of 39 days.

The new puffin chick, Ziti, whose name was inspired by the pasta, is the second chick to parents Viggo and Staypuft. The chick's older sibling, Penne, was born last July. Ziti hatched on July 5 after an incubation period of 38 days.

These are the fifth and sixth chicks for puffin parents Victor and Vixen.

They are the eighth and ninth puffin chicks to successfully hatch in the exhibit since 2006.

Atlantic puffins generally lay just one egg and raise one chick a year.

According to the aquarium, Ziti and Valentine will remain in their burrows for the next 40 days or more. During that time, their parents will care for them.

Afterward, they will join the rest of the Aquarium's Atlantic puffins in the exhibit.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook