Birds at the Zoo

When I go to a zoo, I always like to get pictures of birds.

Sometimes it is very hard to get pictures of them in their cages.

Here are some of the better ones from this trip to the zoo.

Sao Paulo Zoo, Hyacinth macaw, anodorhynchus hyacynthinus, birdsThe hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) is the largest member of the parrot family with a length of over three feet. They are beautiful birds but their habitat is rapidly disappearing. They are currently have a conservation status of Vulnerable.

sao paulo zoo, birds, toucan, ramphastos dicolorus

Here is a green-billed toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus), it is also known as the red-breasted toucan. This bird is fairly common in the forests along the east coast of South America.

red-Aruffed fruitcrow, pyroderus, birds, sao Paulo zoo

Here is an example of how hard it is to get a picture through the chain links of the cages. Here we can see the overall size of the bird, but no details as the camera is focused on the links.

red-ruffed fruitcrow, pyroderus, birds, sao Paulo zoo

Here I have focused on the throat of this red-ruffed fruitcrow (Pyroderus scutatus).

The looks more orange than most pictures I have seen of the fruitcrow.

This is another South American bird that is typically found in highland forests.

The bird has a very interesting call that sounds a bit like a fog horn. Although not so loud 🙂

grey crowned crane, bolearica regulorum, birds, sao paulo zoo

Here is a grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum). This crane is also known as the royal grey crane and is on the flag of Uganda. There are about a dozen countries that have birds on their flags. Hmm, perhaps a subject for a future post.

This is a beautiful bird and definitely has a nice crown. I took half a dozen or more pictures of it trying to get a good shot.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Steven

p.s. Here are a few more birds at the zoo:

Taronga Zoo Birds

Taronga Zoo Birds II

A Few Birds

Toronto Zoo II

 

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Anteater to Zebra

Today I went to the Sao Paulo Zoo with one of my Brazilian colleagues and his 10 year old daughter.

Sao Paulo Zoo, zoos, South America

Here is the entrance to the Zoologico de Sao Paulo. I could not get back far enough for a centered shot.

The lines were a bit long as it was the last weekend of winter vacation. There were a lot of kids at the zoo today. However, we did not have to wait too long before we were exploring the zoo.

I took hundreds of pictures today, and will probably share more in future posts.

giant anteater, sao paulo zoo, anteater, a-z

We saw animals from A to Z at the zoo today. I am trying to remember if I have seen a Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) before at a zoo. I was pretty sure that I would see one today as it is a South American animal. It is a very distinctive animal with the long nose and the interesting coloration. The front legs almost look like a head of an animal.

zoo view, sao paulo zoo, zebra, camel, ostrich, pond

The zoo has some nice habitat, especially this open meadow which had ostriches, zebras and a camel. I also like the reflections in the pond.

I was hoping that I would get a closer view of the zebras as I was already thinking of having Anteater to Zebra as my post title tonight.

Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), imperial zebra, sao paulo zoo

I found a place where I could get a good picture of this Grevy’s Zebra (Equus Grevyi).

The Grevy’s Zebra is also known as the Imperial Zebra and is the largest of the wild horse family.

I am now thinking of one more animal to share and here is what came to mind.

(Hippopotamus amphibius), hippopotamus, river horse, zoo, sao paulo zoo

The Zebra made me think of horses, so why I am thinking of the Hippo?

The binomial name (Hippopotamus amphibius) of the Hippopotamus means River Horse.

Hippos are of course not part of the horse family, but are more closely related to whales and dolphins as part of the Whippomorpha clade.

We also went on a short safari, but I will save details for a future post. I also took quite a few pictures of birds, reptiles and other mammals. These may show up in future posts when my mind wanders to a particular theme.

Now for some sleep after a long day with a lot of walking.

Steven

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