Brolga during the Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney

One of the “must see” exhibits when visiting Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is the Free Flight Bird Show. This show is a part of your zoo entrance fee, meaning that once you are in the zoo property there is no extra cost to see the show.

The show, which runs for about a half hour, is held at 12 noon and 3pm daily, but my advice is to arrive early to get a seat in the amphitheatre overlooking the harbour. The seats fill quickly for each show.

During the presentation the zoo keepers give many details about Australian birds and their habits and this is accompanied by antics performed by free flying birds from the zoo collection. It is highly entertaining while being very educational.

I will be featuring several of the birds shown over the coming days. Today’s bird is the Brolga, one of our larger birds. The Brolga is found in large numbers in northern Australia but is becoming scarcer in the south eastern part of the country.

Its preferred habitats are varied, and include wetlands, swamps, irrigated pastures, grasslands, cereal crops and sometimes open forest areas. It is a large bird with a height of between 70 and 130cm and with a wing span of 1.7 – 2.4 metres.

Further reading:

• Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney

Brolga during the Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney

Audience waiting for the Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney