Avian Adventures

We traveled out to Pittsburgh this weekend to visit our daughter and son-in-law, and one of our outings was a trip to the National Aviary. They have several habitats where you are right in the room with the birds, providing some close encounters of an avian kind.

In the Wetlands habitat, this Inca tern perched on a ledge just behind us, waiting for the feeding that was about to happen. Below, Beth and Jesse (and others) hold up mealie worms, which the terns were happy to swoop down and nab. (The tern in the middle of the picture is perched on Jesse's arm, eyeing the worm.)

This pair of finches was having a peaceful snooze, despite the flow of passers-by only a few feet away.

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I've forgotten what these are, but their wings were a magnificent flash of blue when they flew.

A scarlet-headed blackbird and a shaft-tailed finch

This scarlet ibis found a quiet corner far from the madding crowd.










The flamingos, on the other hand, were more flamboyant.

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