Flock Bronzewing Pigeon, Adelaide Zoo
Flock Bronzewing Pigeon, Adelaide Zoo
The Flock Bronzewing pigeon is a bird of the arid grass zones of northern and central Australia. It can sometimes form large flocks, especially when coming in to watering points. It is one species I would really like to see in its natural habitat. This bird, a male, was in an aviary in the Adelaide Zoo.
Flock Bronzewing Pigeon, Adelaide Zoo
Spotted Turtledove, Adelaide Zoo
Spotted Turtledove, Adelaide Zoo
The Spotted Turtledove is an introduced bird species in Australia. It has become common in many parts of the country, especially in our cities and larger towns. In some parts it is almost in pest numbers, taking valuable food and nesting materials from native species. Some people find its incessant cooing call to be very annoying, although I sometimes find it to be somewhat soothing – until it goes on for hours!
The bird shown in today’s photo was wandering around in the grounds of the Adelaide Zoo here in South Australia. It wasn’t part of the zoo’s excellent bird collection but was rather taking advantage of food left for animals on display – and food items dropped by careless human visitors.
Budgerigar, Adelaide Zoo
Budgerigar, Adelaide Zoo
The small Australian parrot known as the Budgerigar would have to be one of the most popular pet birds in the world. They are easy to keep and are delightful companions, ideal for even small apartments, but equally at home in a large aviary.
This small parrot, however, is a native of the drier inland parts of Australia where it can sometimes form spectacular flock in the thousands. Only on one occasion have I seen this species in large numbers. This was on a visit to a remote farming area in north western Victoria. It was a memorable sight.
I am quite pleased with the photo above because it was taken through the wire netting of one of the aviaries in the Adelaide Zoo.
Palm Cockatoo in Adelaide Zoo
Palm Cockatoo, Adelaide Zoo
I delight in visiting my local zoo in Adelaide. I am a long term member and try to visit several times a year, mainly to hone my photography skills. The Adelaide Zoo has an excellent collection of birds in addition to the animals and reptiles, so birds feature prominently in my photos during these visits.
A few months ago I spent several hours there with my wife. We’d been to see a movie and decided to fill in some extra time at the zoo before travelling home. The zoo is an easy walk from the CBD. Besides, my wife hadn’t been to the zoo for a while, so she was eager to also spend time there.
Over coming days I will feature a few of the birds seen on this visit, as well as another visit a week later. Today’s photo shows a Palm Cockatoo, one species I have not yet seen in the wild. In its natural state it inhabits the far northern tip of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, an area I have yet to visit.
Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
Rose-crowned Fruit-dove, Adelaide Zoo
On a recent visit to Adelaide Zoo, I focussed particularly on bird species. This zoo has an excellent collection of Australian birds plus a few exotics.
I managed this one photo of a Rose-crowned Fruit-dove, a species I have yet to see in the natural state. Sorry that the photo is slightly blurred – it was taken through the wire netting of the aviary.
Australia has six species in the family known as fruit-doves. Their diet is predominantly fruit, of course. This colourful species can be found in the northern extremes of Western Australia and the Northern Territory and from Cape York in Queensland down the eastern coast to about the Sydney region, sometimes even further south.