Trying to get through the fence/cage
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) Cincinnati Zoo 2016
If you followed the posts while we were on our trip, you are aware that we skipped going to the Cincinnati Zoo because of weather.
Home Again After 2,000 Mile Trip
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: (Romans 5:3-4 KJV)
Since we have been there twice already, I decided to see if there were some birds that were not written about from those trips. Actually, there are quite a few.
This Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill’s photo caught my attention. It is so hard to get a photo through the cages of the zoos. This Avian Wonder was just as hard to capture. After several tries, the Hornbill came into focus and I still remember my excitement. Patience is hard at times, but it does pay off.
Yeah! I got through!
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) Cincinnati Zoo 2016
“But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:25 KJV)
Here are some more articles written about our visits to the Cincinnati Zoo:
Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) Jax Zoo by Lee
It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” (1 Kings 18:27 NASB)
Here is an introduction to another of the Lord’s neat creations. This one can be quite noisy at times. Not sure if that qualifies as a “joyful noise.” We have seen them at the Jacksonville Zoo and the Cincinnati Zoo.
The southern screamer (Chauna torquata), also known as the crested screamer, belongs to the order Anserformes. In the Anhimidae – Screamers Family. It is found in southeastern Peru, northern Bolivia, Paraguay, southern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina. Its diet consists of plants stems, seeds, leaves, and, rarely, small animals.
Based on DNA analysis they are probably most closely related to the Australian magpie goose. (National Zoo)
Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) Jax Zoo by Lee
The southern screamer averages 32–37 in (81–95 cm) long and weighs 6.6–11.0 lb (3–5 kg). They are the heaviest, although not necessarily the longest, of the three screamers. The wingspan is around 67 in (170 cm). Among standard measurements, the wing chord measures 21 in (54 cm), the tail 9.1 in (23.2 cm), It lives in tropical and sub-tropical swamps, estuaries and watersides.
The southern screamer is a good swimmer, having partially webbed feet, but prefers to move on the ground. The bony spurs on its wings are used for protection against rival screamers and other enemies. Although it is non-migratory, it is an excellent flier. It lives in large flocks, feeding on the ground in grasslands and cultivated fields until nesting season, when birds pair off.
Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) Jax Zoo by Lee
The southern screamer establishes monogamous relationships that last its lifetime, estimated to be 15 years. Courtship involves loud calling by both sexes, which can be heard up to two miles away. “Highly vocal, they are named for their distinctive , far-carrying calls, easily carrying for several miles.”(NZ) The Southern Screamer is the most gregarious of the 3 screamer species and the most numerous. For the nest the couple makes a big platform of reeds, straws, and other aquatic plants in an inaccessible place near water. The female lays between two and seven white eggs. The couple share incubation, which takes 43 to 46 days. Chicks leave the nest as soon as they hatch, but the parents care for them for several weeks. The fledging period takes 8 to 14 weeks. (Wikipedia and other internet sources)
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with Me, in My mind. (Psalms 50:11 AMP)
Here are more members of the Psittaciformes Order of Parrots and Cockatoos we saw during our trip to the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio.
They were in various areas of the Zoo. The Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo was outside enjoying himself or herself, whichever it was. The perch was in a nicely landscaped area near the entrance/exit, depending on which way you went through the zoo. For us, it was the last member of its family we saw.
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) by Lee
These beautiful birds are from Australia and are on the decline. They look very similar to the Galah we photographed at the Brevard Zoo, but have a lighter pink color. Both are members of the Cacatuidae – Cockatoos Family and are closely related, even nesting in the same area. There has been on occasion where the two species have interbred and produced hybridised offspring.
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) by Dan
Their biggest difference is the crest that the Major Mitchell likes to pop up. Our bird didn’t show off, but Ian’s photo shows the crest raised.
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo (Lophochroa leadbeateri) By Ian
In the Lorikeet Landing area, we encountered the Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory) who also lives near Australia in New Guinea. “It is a colorful and relatively robust lory (31 cm). There are seven subspecies, all with green wings, red heads and body around the wing, a black cap, grey-black cere, yellow underwings, and blue legs and belly. Most also have a blue nape and mantle (area between wings on the back). It remains overall widespread and common
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Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory) by Lee
The Black-capped Lory inhabits the primary forest and forest edges in most lowland areas up to 1000m (sporadically to 1750m), but not monsoon forest or coconut plantations. It is usually found in pairs and occasionally in groups of 10 or more. Their diet includes pollen, nectar, flowers, fruit and insects.
Black-capped Lory Sign
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Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory) by Lee
(Information for Wikipedia and other Internet sources)
Blue-naped Mousebird (Urocolius macrourus) at Cincinnati Zoo) by Lee
I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (Psalms 50:11 NKJV)
I was happy to finally get to see the Mousebirds. Have known and read about them, but had not been able to watch them. They were on my “birds to see” list at the zoo.
Blue-naped Mousebird (Urocolius macrourus) at Cincinnati Zoo) by Lee
They are slender greyish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body feathers. They are typically about 10 cm in body length, with a long, thin tail a further 20–24 cm in length, and weigh 45–55 grams. They are arboreal and scurry through the leaves like rodents, in search of berries, fruit and buds. This habit, and their legs, gives rise to the group’s English name. They are acrobatic, and can feed upside down. All species have strong claws and reversible outer toes (pamprodactyl foot). They also have crests and stubby bills.
Mousebirds are gregarious, again reinforcing the analogy with mice, and are found in bands of about 20 in lightly wooded country. These birds build cup-shaped twig nests in trees, which are lined with grasses. Two to four eggs are typically laid, hatching to give quite precocious young which soon leave the nest and acquire flight.
Blue-naped Mousebird (Urocolius macrourus) at Cincinnati Zoo) by Lee
One Mousebird, supposedly the male, was hopping up and down. This video shows the two of them. One watching and one jumping. The orange bird is ignoring the whole deal. (I had been watching for a while and then decided to video, of course he went behind the branch.)
(Wikipedia with editing)
Bonus:
Nape – An easy definition is the back of the neck.
Notice the Nape between the Crown and the Back
There are quite a few birds that have colored napes that help identify them, such as Woodpeckers, Grebes, etc. Our Blue-naped Mousebird is one where the color of the “nape” is used in its name. While learning to bird watch, I kept saying (and still do) that the Lord should have placed little signs on them. That way when we look at them through binoculars, scopes, cameras, or our eyes, that we could just read the sign.
That is not the way it is, but there are many clues do that help us ID the birds. The variety of the birds with their colors and shapes keep us busy, but aren’t we thankful that He didn’t make them all alike. How boring that would be.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) at Cincinnati Zoo by Dan – First walk
The Cincinnati Zoo has the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) species, another beautiful creation from God, that they take for a walk. They walked past us twice so close you could touch them, which we didn’t.
It was really neat to watch them just strolling along as if you were walking your dogs or whatever. The Bible says:
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. (James 3:7 NKJV)
Well, the strolls were definitely an indication that these Greater Flamingos were in control of their trainers.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. They belong to the Phoenicopteridae – Flamingos Family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia (coastal regions of Pakistan and India), and southern Europe (including Spain, Albania, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Italy and the Camargue region of France). Some populations are short distance migrants, and sightings north of the breeding range are relatively frequent; however, given the species’ popularity in captivity, whether or not these are truly wild individuals is a matter of some debate.
This is the largest species of flamingo, averaging 43–60 in (110–150 cm) tall and weighing 4.4–8.8 lbs (2–4 kg). The largest male flamingos have been recorded at up to 74 in (187 cm) tall and 10 lbs (4.5 kg).[2] It is closely related to the American Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
Like all flamingos, this species lays a single chalky-white egg on a mud mound. Most of the plumage is pinkish-white, but the wing coverts are red and the primary and secondary flight feathers are black. The bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink. The call is a goose-like honking. Sub-adult flamingos are whitish-grey and only attain the pink coloration several years into their adult life.
The bird resides in mudflats and shallow coastal lagoons with salt water. Using its feet, the bird stirs up the mud, then sucks water through its bill and filters out small shrimp, seeds, blue-green algae, microscopic organisms and mollusks. The Greater Flamingo feeds with its head down and its upper jaw is movable and not rigidly fixed to its skull.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) Juvenile at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
The average lifespan in captivity, according to Zoo Basel, is over 60 years.
The oldest known Greater Flamingo, a resident of the Adelaide Zoo in Australia, is at least 77 years old. The bird’s exact age is not known; however, he was already a mature adult when he arrived in Adelaide in 1933, and he was still there as of 2011.
Here is a short video of them walking through the Cincinnati Zoo.
Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. (Psalms 96:3 NKJV)
In Birdwatching at the Cincinnati Zoo I, you were introduced to the outside of the Wings of the World exhibit where the different birds are presented according to their habitats. Birds of the Bible – The Bat Revisited was about the two species of Bats at the Zoo. Today, I like to introduce two more species that the Lord created. The Asian Fairy-bluebird and the Blue-crowned Laughingthrush which were sharing the same aviary and the same tree.
The Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella) is a medium-sized, arboreal passerine bird. They are members of the Irenidae – Fairy-bluebirds Family.
This fairy-bluebird is found in forests across tropical southern Asia from the Himalayan foothills, India and Sri Lanka east through Indochina, the Greater Sundas and Palawan (Philippines). Two or three eggs are laid in a small cup nest in a tree. The only other member of the genus and family is the Philippine Fairy-bluebird, I. cyanogastra, which replaces the Asian Fairy-bluebird in most of the Philippines.
Asian Fairy-bluebird (Irena puella) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
The male has glossy, iridescent blue upperparts, and black underparts and flight feathers. The female and first year male are entirely dull blue-green.
The Asian Fairy Bluebird eats fruit, nectar and some insects. Its call is a liquid two note glue-it.
The name of this bird commemorates the French missionary Frédéric Courtois.
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Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (Garrulax courtoisi) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter And your lips with shouting. (Job 8:21 NASB)
The other bird keeping him company is a Blue-crowned Laughingthrush. The Blue-crowned Laughingthrush or Courtois’s Laughingbird (Garrulax courtoisi) is a Chinese species of bird in the Leiothrichidae – Laughingthrushes Family. Until recently, this critically endangered species was generally treated as a subspecies of the Yellow-throated Laughingthrush, but that species has a pale grey (not bluish) crown.
It feeds principally on fruit and is generally found on the larger forest-trees.
Blue-crowned Laughingthrush (Garrulax courtoisi) at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
It breeds from February to April, constructing a shallow cup-shaped nest, sometimes of moss and sometimes of small twigs, in a sapling or small tree. The eggs, which are generally two in number, are greenish white marked with brown.
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Here are three short videos of them that I took. Sorry for the shakiness.
(Information from Wikipedia and other internet resources)
And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
(Leviticus 11:19-23 KJV)
While we were at the Cincinnati Zoo, we were able to see and photograph several Bat species. They were really cool and I wanted to share them with you.
Giant Fruit Bat at Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
Then I remembered that I had written about them in Birds of the Bible – The Bat?, in 2010. In that article, the controversy over whether a Bat is a Bird was mentioned, with several commentary comments. This time, I am mainly sharing the photos of the Bats that are there at the Zoo and comments about them. Just one personal observation about the above verses. The use of “fowl” in the King James Version and some of the others seems to refer to any creature that had wings and flies. I quoted the whole context because; 1) The verse and chapter separations were inserted later, 2) Birds, bats, and insects all seem to be referred to with the same collective term, “fowl.” I do not have a problem with the bat. It is not a bird.
The only other verses using “bat” or “bats” are:
And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Deuteronomy 14:18 KJV)
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; (Isaiah 2:20 KJV)
The bats we saw at the Cincinnati Zoo were the Giant Fruit Bats and the Vampire Bats. They are amazing creatures of design and creation from their Creator, the Lord.
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Giant Fruit Bat’s Foot amazed me
Giant Fruit Bat (Pteropus giganteus) or Indian Flying Fox is found in Bangladesh, China, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Also known as the greater Indian fruit bat, it lives in mainly forests. It is a very large bat with a wingspan between 3 ft 10 in and 4 ft 10 in (1.2 and 1.5 m). It is nocturnal and feeds mainly on ripe fruits, such as mangoes and bananas, and nectar. This bat is gregarious and lives in colonies which can number a few hundred. Their offspring have no specific name besides ‘young’. They have one to two young.
The Indian flying fox lives in tropical forests and swamps, where a large body of water is nearby.
The way they were hanging up there amazed me. I zoomed in and took a photo of its foot. Also, they almost looked like a large cocoon hanging up there with the wings wrapped around them. The first photo, Dan caught one of them stretching.
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Common Vampire Bat Cincinnati Zoo by Lee (Shot through glass into a dark exhibit)
(Common) Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus) – The common vampire bat mainly feeds on the blood of livestock, approaching its prey at night while they are sleeping. It uses its razor-sharp teeth to cut open the skin of its hosts and laps up their blood with its long tongue. They are native to the New World, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.
The common vampire bat is short-haired, with silver-gray fur on its undersides, sharply demarcated from the darker fur on its back. It has small, somewhat rounded ears, a deeply grooved lower lip, and a flat, leaf-shaped nose. A well-developed, clawed thumb on each wing is used to climb onto prey and to assist the animal in take-off. The bat averages about 3.5 in (9 cm) long with a wingspan of 7 in (18 cm). It commonly weighs about 2 oz (57 grams), but its weight can double after a single feeding. The braincase is relatively large, but the snout is reduced to accommodate large incisors and canines. It has the fewest teeth among bats.
Common Vampire Bat – Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
Common vampire bats have good eyesight. They are able to distinguish different optical patterns and may use vision for long-range orientation. These bats also have well-developed senses of smell and hearing: the cochlea is highly sensitive to low-frequency acoustics, and the nasal passages are relatively large. They emit echolocation signals orally, and thus fly with their mouths open for navigation.
“Remember to magnify His work, Of which men have sung. (Job 36:24 NKJV)
Yesterday, we had the pleasure of checking out more birds of the Lord’s creation at the Cincinnati Zoo. The weather and the temperature were great and the birds were quite content to let us watch and photograph them. It has been over 45 years ago since we visited this zoo. Needless to say, it has changed and the most striking was their beautiful landscaping throughout the zoo.
Statue at the entrance to the Wings of the World exhibit.
When we arrived at the Wings of the World area, We were greeted by several birds and a neat statute of a child holding a bird. This shows how some of the landscaping was used around the zoo.
Statue at Wings of the World exhibit. Close-up
Wings of the World Aviary is divided into several different habitats and types of birds.
Wings of the World Aviary – Cincinnati Zoo
As you enter, you are greeted by Macaws, Screamers and a Laughing Kookaburra.
Southern Screamer
Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
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Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata) by Lee
Macaws
Dan photographing the MaCaws Cincinnati Zoo
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Parrots – McCaws by Lee
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Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) by Lee
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Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna) Cincinnati Zoo by Lee
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Scarlet and Blue-and-yellow Macaws by Lee
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Scarlet and Blue-and-yellow Macaw
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Kookaburra
Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
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Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) by Lee
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Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) by Lee
This is just the beginning of our visit to the Cincinnati Zoo. Look for more articles about some really neat birds like a Mousebird, Bee-eater, Bishop, Penguins, Murres and more.
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 