Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by Lee NA Feeding

This article is about the numerous birds found in the Tropical Forest Free-flight section at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA. It has taken awhile to find the names of the birds in the pictures we took while we were there. My enthusiastically taken 600 photos has turned into a real challenge. That, and I do have a life.

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) at NA by Dan

The Tropical Forest section has some really interesting birds that I had read about or seen in photos. It was great to be able to get so close to the birds. About the time we arrived there, they were getting ready to do one of the feedings. This really brought the birds out of the trees. Some, the Common Starling, landed right on the bin with the food and started helping himself. My favorite bird there was the Hammerkop, who many got to feed by hand and a close second was the Blue Rollers. They seemed right personable. Of course, I enjoyed all of them and was thrilled to get to watch them.

Blue-bellied Roller (Coracias cyanogaster) by Lee

Probably one of the most colorful birds in the Tropical Forest was the Golden-breasted Starling who was nothing like the Common Starling above. The feathers are iridescent and just shine.

Golden-breasted Starling (Lamprotornis regius) by Lee

I am adding a Slide collection of the birds in the Tropical Forest. They are not of everything, but the ones that turned out good enough to show.

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