Bird Show

For the record, I don't think I have emphasized here how much of a fanatic Matilda is about the bird show at the zoo. For her, a trip to the zoo is not complete without the bird show. For those uninitiated, it is a 20 minute program featuring 10 or so birds who do tricks, showcase their natural behaviors, or simply fly circles around the stadium. Matilda knows each bird by name, will point out where they will fly from, and can tell you what each bird will do. The fact that the script almost never deviates greatly assists her in this memorization task. We go almost weekly so for me when a bird misbehaves or the trainer says any single unexpected word it makes it more thrilling than it should be.

While Grammy was visiting, I got chosen to be a volunteer during the bird show, which just about blew Matilda's mind. My involvement was in the bit with Cheeks, a cockateil, who flew out into the audience, landed on my hand, took a folded dollar from me to the trainer, and then a few punchlines later returns it to my hand. Even though I've seen the stunt so many times, it all happened faster than I expected and Grammy only got one shot of Cheeks:



I was worried what Matilda's reaction would be during my participation. I was expecting her to either be upset I was stepping away from her, or for her to jump up and try to hold Cheeks also. Instead she was just frozen in shock by it all, and then talked incessantly about it the rest of the day. I am curious if she will react differently for the Cheeks part next time we go.


While there are a few other birds involved in the show, here is a round up of the major players, in order of Matilda's favorite:

Abe - the Abysssinian Ground Hornbill who gets grapes from a volunteer

Cheeks - the cockateil who takes your money

Blackjack (This great action shot is from mugupo on Flickr, much better than any we have.) - a raven who can find an aluminum can hidden anywhere on the stage

Flash - a Red-tailed Hawk who swoops down from a cliff and snatches a leather lure mid-air (usually)

Alfie, Sarge & the other macaws

Alvin

Scooter