OTHER BIRDS

AT

THE ZOO

• Crested Screamer
• Red Breasted Goose
• Hooded Merganser
•Emu
• Fulvous Tree Duck
• Chilean Flamingo
• African Spoonbill
• Bar-Headed Goose
• Black Swan
• Black Necked Swan
• Mandarin Duck
• Australian Wood Duck
• Fulvous Tree Duck

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Birds

SCARLET IBIS

Found in northern South America, this Ibis is found living in the mangroves, mudflats and estuaries where it feeds on crustaceans, small fish and even frogs or tadpoles.
They are often seen in huge flocks of tens of thousands of birds, roosting high up in the trees. This reduces the chance of being attacked by predators overnight. They are completely scarlet, except for black wing-tips. They nest in trees, laying two to four eggs. A juvenile scarlet ibis is grey/white in colour; as it grows the ingestion of red crabs in the tropical swamps gradually produces the characteristic scarlet plumage.

BLACK-FOOTED PENGUIN

The penguin is a flightless bird, its wings have evolved into flippers for ‘flying’ through the water and it’s webbed feet are used for steering like rudders. Penguins spend two thirds of their lives in the water only returning to land to breed and to moult. Black-footed penguins usually return to the same nesting areas in Africa every year.

Conservation

The penguin’s future is threatened by man’s actions; over fishing, oil pollution and egg collectors are all contributing factors. The removal of large amounts of topsoil and guano (compacted and dried bird droppings – an excellent fertiliser) from its nesting grounds is forcing the penguin to nest above ground, where it is at risk from predators and over heating in the sun.

GREAT GREY OWL

Also known as the Lapland Owl, it inhabits lands bordering the Arctic Circle, and much of North America. The great grey owl has the largest and most perfectly circular facial discs of all of the owls. It is a very elusive bird, which is able to vanish easily into the damp mossy pine forests where its territory is small. Prey consists almost entirely of voles and shrews. Their large facial disks focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. The harvest of timber from the great grey owl's habitat is, perhaps, the greatest threat to this species.

BLUE & YELLOW MACAW

The macaws are the largest members of the parrot family and all 17 species are found in South and Central America. The blue and yellow macaw is usually found high up in the trees of forest areas, often near water. They are often seen in small family groups or pairs, however groups of up to 25 have been seen.
Their diet consists mainly of fruit, nuts and seeds and they are very adaptable birds – when food is short they will eat a variety of plant materials, even nectar from flowers!