Love comes in many forms

Love is in the air. It is that time of year when we all start thinking about finding love or showing our loved ones that we care about them. Come February, our birds at Zoo Atlanta start thinking about “finding the one” as much as humans do. Birds show their affection for one another in many, different ways. Hooded vultures chase each other, milky eagle owls call to one another, peafowl males show off their beautiful plumage to the females, and the blue cranes dance together, just to name a few. The further into spring and summer we get, the more of these types of displays you’ll see as you walk around the Zoo.

A few of our couples are already in the midst of their breeding season. Our lappet-faced vultures, Amana and Anubis, have wrapped up building their giant nest and are now courting each other. Anubis has been becoming pushy and standing his ground in order to show to Amana that he is a worthy partner. These two are still working on their dynamic as a couple.

The milky eagle owl pair have also been courting. The female and male woo each other by calling back and forth with a low hooting grunt in the early morning hours. These two are a long lasting and stable couple with a lot of breeding success. The female has laid two fertile eggs this year which have gone to be raised at other zoos.

Love comes in many forms, especially in the animal kingdom. I hope you enjoy your Valentine’s Day with your own partner and express your affection in your own unique way just like our bird friends.
Amanda J.
Keeper I, Birds