Colorful, musical, elegant, and spectacular: Take time to appreciate our birds!

Let’s be honest. When most people come to the Zoo, it isn’t usually with the intention of seeing birds. Hearing the word “zoo,” most people immediately think of the lions, tigers, and bears … oh my! Before working at Zoo Atlanta, I worked with mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and even briefly worked with fish, so you could say that the birds were also not often on my mind. Now that I’m coming up on almost two years as an animal care professional here, allow me to try and sway your opinion like the hundreds of birds I work with have swayed mine.

For example, here at Zoo Atlanta we have some larger-than-life birds! Inside our Grigsby Aviary there are, of course, our pair of peafowl, and the peacock, Grigsby, is usually a showstopper when he fans out his beautiful white tail. But it’s his habitat mates, with an intricate crown of lace-like feathers and beady red irises, that often catch the roaming eye. No, they are not weird looking peacocks, but are Victoria-crowned pigeons, and they are the largest pigeon species in the world!

If giant blue pigeons aren’t impressive enough for you, maybe their neighbors can give you something to hoot about. Our family of milky eagle owls represent the largest species of owl found in Africa, equipped with powerful talons and capable of hunting prey the same size or slightly larger than themselves. Their call is the deepest of any other owl species and is the second deepest bird call in the world, second only to the southern ground hornbill. If you’re lucky enough, you may just be able to compare the owls’ sounds with our own southern ground hornbills here at the Zoo, Zazu and Gumby, just up the path.

If I still haven’t caught your attention with soaring giants, booming calls, or sharp talons, maybe I can pique your interest with vivid flashes of color. If that’s the case, let’s walk through the rainbow of birds that call Zoo Atlanta home! You have the stunning red plumage of the red-and-yellow barbets; the bright orange neck of the king vulture; dozens of little yellow Taveta golden weavers; bright gold flashes of the male golden pheasant; noisy green woodhoopoes; green sheen of the crested wood partridge; iridescent blue feathers of the superb starlings; dusty blue grey hue of the blue cranes; the glossy, violet plumage of the violaceous turaco; and even a sea of pink in the Chilean flamingo habitat.

Big, small, or brightly colored, I’m sure there must be at least one bird species that holds your attention. And no matter your level of bird nerd, I’ve hopefully turned some of the sprint to the elephant people over to the colorful, musical, elegant, and spectacular worlds that are the aviaries of Zoo Atlanta. Or at least make you think some of our birds are ALMOST as cool as a rhino.

Abbi E.
Keeper I, Birds