Monday March 9, 2009

 

 

Tuesday, February 24

Victoria Butterfly Gardens

 I located one duck and six birds, though I understand there were several more of each.

 

A tropical duck.

 

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I could not identify all the birds.

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This appears to be a dove.

 

 

Spike is a puna ibis

The puna ibis is native to Peru and northwestern Argentina.

 

 

His main diet consists of insects, amphibians and small aquatic animals. All going well, Spike will live between twenty and thirty years.

 

 

I think this is a plantain eater.

 

 

 I tried many times to get a photo of this pretty yellow bird, but it always managed to avoid me.  This is the best I could do with its constant fluttering and flying.

 

 

 This looks like a pretty pigeon.

 

 

My favorite bird was Rocky, the red crested turaco.  He was the most photogenic, and seemed puzzled by my presence.

 

 

The red crested turaco is a fairly large, colorful, long-tailed regal bird that is found in the African Congo and Angola dense forest areas.

 

 

Although they are social among the species, they are shy and remain concealed among the branches and seldom come to ground, except for water.  They diet on fruit and berries and occasional insects.

 

 

“Rocky” came to Victoria Butterfly Gardens in October of 2002.  He is approximately eleven years old, and his favorite snack is banana which he will fly down and eat from the staff’s hands.

 

 

When he flies, the underside of his wings on the outer third, display a brilliant flash of red.

 

 

He enjoys sitting in a variety of trees and vines throughout the gardens where he can see what is going on around him.  He enjoys hopping up and down from one branch to another.