Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens - Jacksonville, Florida
Page 7 of 13

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The birds on this page were loose together in the Emerald Forest Aviary in a setup similar to the one described on the prior page for the River Valley Aviary.

Adult boat-billed heron
[This heron has a thick, relatively short bill that's dark blue-grey. The cap of its head is dark blue and its head is white. Its back is light grey and its stomach is light brown. The bird has a large dark eye.]

One juvenile boat-billed heron watches me while the other one snoozes.
[Two birds stand beside each other on an uphill slant such that the front bird with its closed eyes obscurs the lower half of the other bird. The birds have light brown bodies with the tops of their heads a darker brown. Their large bills are an even darker color. The eyelid is a light brown and the eye is brown.]

A double-striped thick-knee is also known as a spotted dikkop. It's native to the grassland savannas of Africa and blends in very well.
[This medium-sided bird has very thin yellow legs. Its body is speckled shades of light and dark brown. It has very large eyes of similar coloring.]

This is also a spotted dikkop.
[This bird's legs appear more of a whitish color and its eye doesn't seem quite as large, but the rest is the same. This one is looking at the camera and its eyelid is over part of its eye in such a way as to imply disgust.]

Sunbittern
[Smallish bird with a very thin neck and a long pointed bill walks across the mulch. It has orange-yellow legs. It feathers are a pattern of black and brown stripes with a few white spots. It has two white stripes across its face leading to the bill.]

Black-faced ibis has many colorful parts including pink feet.
[The bill and area around the eye is dark grey-black on this bird which faces to the right as it stands in very shallow water. The rest of the head and the neck is rusty light brown. The back and sides of the bird has large grey-brown feathers. The top of the legs are black and the bottom of the legs and the feet are pink.]

Scarlet ibis
[This pink bird stands in the water with its black bill open to scoop something into it. It's head and neck are a very pale pink while the rest of the body and legs are pink. It does have a few black feathers at the tips of its wings.]

Roseate spoonbill
[This bird is even pinker than the prior one. It stands on the ground facing the camera with its wings stretched in arcs behind and to its sides. There is even pink coloring on the spatula part of its spooned bill. This bird also has a few black feathers at the tips of its wings.]

A different roseate spoonbill
[A head and torso view of the spoonbill which has its head turned to the right. The bird has a red eye and a partially bald head. The feathers on its head and neck are white while its head is light grey. The back feathers are pink. It appears the upper half of its bill is longer than the lower half.]

Double-crested cormorant
[The all-black bird, except for orange patches on its face, a silver bill, and a silver lid on its eye has its webbed feet perched on a branch.]

Black-bellied whistling duck
[A long-legged duck with pink legs and feet, a darker pink bill, and body in varying shades of chestnut-brown. It has a whitish ring around its dark eye. It stands beside a food dish.]

American oystercatcher
[This sitting bird has a very long orange bill attached to a black head. Its body has brown and white feathers.]

The male Inca tern appears to have a white mustache.
[A side view of a slate-grey bird with its head turned toward the camera highlight the fact the white feathers stick out from the head and curl at the ends. The bird has a red bill and legs and feet. It also has a patch of yellow on each cheek.]

Female Inca tern
[The mostly brown-grey bird stands on a post facing left. She has a few white feathers on the lower half of her face and some under her wings. Her legs and beak are also brown-grey. ]

Scarlet macaw
[A side view of a colorful bird perched on a branch. The face is white. The top of the head, back of neck, shoulders, and tail are red. The middle part of the wings is yellow. The ends of the wings are dark blue. ]

Blue-and-gold macaw
[A side view of the head of the bird which faces to the right. The face is white with some black lines running through it. The top of the head, back of neck, shoulders, and tail are blue except for the edge which borders the white section. That section is a small section of green. There is both a section of yellow and a section of black on the chin area. The upper part of its bill is curved and extends well beyond the lower part of the bill.]

A zookeeper gave the blue-and-gold macaw the grape it holds in its claw.
[A front view of the macaw which is perched on a flat-topped wooden fence post. It's standing on its right foot while it holds a purple grape in its left foot. The bird's belly is yellow and ends up around the black portion on its chin. The top of its head, its back, and wings are blue. ]

Blue-and-gold macaw(left) and green-winged macaw(right) appeared to be best buddies.
[The two birds are perched beside each other on a bowing branch. They have their heads turned toward each other as if they are chatting. The bird on the left has a yellow underbody and a blue back, side, and top of head. Both of its bills are black and it has a white face. The bird on the right has a white face and its upper bill is white while the lower is black. This bird is mostly red except for the lower edges of its wings which are a greenish-blue.]

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All photos © S. M. Garver