bird kingdom 1

Due to rain during my stay, I looked on a map searching for indoor places to visit at Niagara Falls that would be relatively calm but still interesting. I came across Bird Kingdom. As I really like birds, I found a zoo especially for birds very interesting, and went. That was a great decision.

The photos in this post are from the entrance area where I met a few larger parrots on perches and their caretaker. He answered me a few curious questions about them and their behavior. The beautiful bird whose face you see at the top liked to show off its multicolored feather coat by spreading its wings.

After asking a bit sheepishly if the birds would be comfortable with me taking photos, the caretaker explained that parrots who are accustomed to humans generally really enjoy attention from them. As an example for a behavior supporting this claim he pointed to a female blue-and-yellow macaw. She had learned that people would look at her / react to her if she would lift her foot in a wave and promptly did so while we spoke.

The macaws' feathers have beautiful colors. But I was at least as interested (if not more) in the African Grey sitting on one of the perches. Although their coat is unassuming (mostly grey, as you can see above), they are among the most intelligent parrots, if not birds in general. Some of them learn to listen and speak human language roughly on the level of a toddler. And although looks can be deceiving, I always feel that you can see the glimmer of this inquisitive mind when coming face-to-face with them.