Brolga, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
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:
Brolga during the Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Audience waiting for the Free Flight Bird Show, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Elephants, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Old Elephant house, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
On our visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney earlier this year we walked past the old historic elephant house. It is a beautiful building with very ornate decorations. It is no longer used to house the elephants because they now have a much more suitable house nearby. The new elephant enclosure is also much more suitable and is shown in the photos below.
Elephant enclosure, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Elephant enclosure, Taronga Zoo, Sydney
A room with a view at Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Giraffes at Taronga Zoo, Sydney
I guess most people enjoy seeing giraffes in zoos or in the wild. I know I do because they are something special in the animal kingdom. I suppose the attraction comes from their extremely long necks. The view from up there must be interesting.
The giraffes at Taronga Zoo in Sydney have another advantage. Not only are they able to easily look over the large crowds of people, but they also have a magnificent view of the harbour, the CBD and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Most people would envy the view from their place.
Giraffes at Taronga Zoo, Sydney
Banded Lapwing, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
Banded Lapwing, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
Many Australians are familiar with the Masked Lapwing (Spur-winged Plover) as they are very common around parks, ovals, school grounds and farmlands. I get many comments on these birds on my birding site when they are breeding; the birds can be very noisy and very aggressive when protecting the nest or their young.
Many people however, would not be aware of their quieter cousins, the Banded Lapwing shown in the photos on this post. This species is found throughout much of Australia in suitable habitat, except for the far north. Their preferred habitat is bare or ploughed paddocks, areas with short grass, near swamps and plains.
The photo above of a captive bird was taken recently in the Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney.
Further reading:
Banded Lapwings, Murray-Sunset National Park
Striped Honeyeater, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
Striped Honeyeater, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney
Australia has many dozens of different honeyeaters. In my home town of Murray Bridge we have at least 12 different species, most of them resident year round.
The Striped Honeyeater is one of them, but it is a breeding migrant in this area, arriving in the spring and leaving late summer. Only on one occasion over the last 26 years has it actually nested in our garden.
The bird shown in the photo above was in an aviary at Taronga Park Zoo where we visited on a holiday earlier this year.