Common Blackbird, Adelaide Zoo
Common Blackbird (male), Adelaide Zoo
Despite having Common Blackbirds in our garden I have found them to be hard to get good photographs of them. This is probably because we have a fairly open garden with only a few bushes where they can hide or skulk around. I was therefore quite pleased to get this shot of a male blackbird on a recent visit to Adelaide Zoo. He was in one of the animal enclosures, scratching around in the leaf and bark litter under a tree.
Further reading:
Plum-headed Parakeet, Adelaide Zoo
Plum-headed Parakeet, walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Australia has many beautiful parrots, some of them like the Galah are seen in flocks of hundreds and sometimes even thousands. One of our most beautiful is the usually hard to find Princess Parrot; I’ve only ever seen it in aviaries.
The Indian sub-continent can boast another truly beautiful parrot, the Plum-headed Parakeet, shown in the photos on this post. This bird was photographed late last year in a walk-through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo, a place I love to go to hone my bird photography skills. There are several walk-through aviaries, each with a good range of birds in them.
Only the male has the bright plum coloured head; the female is a duller grey. In their natural environment they are often found in forests near cultivated areas and orchards. Their preferred food includes fruit, grain and blossoms. They nest in the hollows of trees, laying 4-6 eggs. Both parents share the feeding of the young. The often roost in large, noisy communal flocks.
Further reading:
- Princess Parrot
- Large flock of Galahs
- Articles about the birds at Adelaide Zoo
Plum-headed Parakeet, walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Green Peafowl, Adelaide Zoo
Green Peafowl at Adelaide Zoo
One of the more spectacular displays by any bird species would have to be that of the male (peacock) of the Indian Peafowl. A closely related species is the Green Peafowl, shown in the photos on this post. I took these photos in a walk through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo late last year. The male decided I wanted some beautiful photos of his amazing plumage and displayed it for my benefit.
The Indian Peafowl is more commonly known as a peacock, but that name should be reserved for only the male. It is native to the Indian sub-continent where I was able to see it in its natural habitat in the forest area of Royal Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal. You can read about my experiences on Trevor’s Travels. The Green Peafowl, however, is native to south east Asia and could well be extinct on the Indian sub-continent. Unlike the Indian Peafowl, the male and female Green Peafowl are very similar in the colours of their plumage.
The Indian Peafowl has been introduced into many countries and is commonly kept in zoos, private collections, parks and gardens. In some places there are semi-feral populations, including King and Flinders Islands in Tasmania, and Kangaroo Island here in South Australia.
Green Peafowl at Adelaide Zoo
Green Peafowl at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret, walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
I love visiting the walk-through aviaries at Adelaide Zoo. It enables me to get close up photos of many species I have trouble approaching closely enough for good photographic studies, like the one above. When one is only a few metres from a bird of this size (48-53cm high) and puts the zoom on the lens into action, amazing shots can result. The fine details of plumage come to life and the colours can be impressive. Please note that the photos on this post have not been altered in any way from the originals.
Cattle Egrets are widespread throughout northern and eastern Australia and parts of SW Western Australia. They are widespread in my part of South Australia but my experience of them is that they are not present in huge numbers here. They take on the beautiful orange plumage during breeding. I love the plumes on the back of the bird shown in the photo below (click to enlarge).
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Cattle Egret in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo
Glossy Ibis, Adelaide Zoo
Glossy Ibis, Adelaide Zoo
The Glossy Ibis is one of three species of ibis found in Australia. The others are the White Ibis and the Straw-necked Ibis. The glossy is a beautiful bird when one can get up close and see the sunlight shining on its iridescent feathers. In the natural environment it is no easy to get up so close that one can see these feathers glowing. That is why I enjoy places like the walk-through aviary at the Adelaide Zoo which is where I managed the photo above.
The Glossy Ibis has been something of a bogey bird for me. They are widespread throughout the part of South Australia where I live, yet I only saw my first one near the river at Mannum just north of home a few years ago. I have not seen another, so I need to get out birding more often.
Except for the drier parts, the Glossy Ibis is widespread throughout much of Australia where there is suitable habitat. It has a wide range of habitats, including grasslands, swamps, mangroves, wetlands, irrigated pastures, mudflats and flood plains.
Further reading:
Glossy Ibis in walk through aviary at Adelaide Zoo