0 Creature Feature: Vasa Parrots.

Oh! A Creature Feature! It's been a while, hasn't it? Let's look at the weirdest parrot you've eeeeveer seen:

This long-legged, uncanny parrot is a Greater Vasa parrot (Coracopsis vasa). Vasa parrots of all species are native to Madagascar (AKA "that African island with lemurs that got a movie series." Yes, you can get them as pets, but please do your homework.

First of all, these parrots are black. Not gray like an African Gray, not iridescent - gray-black. It's not glossy black, like a crow, but more of a matte black - charcoal black, if you will. That's virtually the last color one expects from a parrot. The pinkish bill stands out, too, making for a striking bird on the whole.

Vasas are thought to be among the most primitive of parrots. Some of you who keep up with animal news might remember a deal a while back when it was found that not all "raptors" - that is, eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls - were related. In fact, parrots are quite closely related to falcons, and the vasa's got some pretty good evidence of this, starting with being a hunting parrot. Females are also larger and dominant, as they are in birds of prey. They also have another very primitive trait that I will get to later, but

Then these parrots start showing their mating colors. What, do I mean that the black suddenly erupts into multicolored plumage? Oh, I wish; vasa parrots have a much stranger mating patterns. Mating groups are open, to say the least, with any given female having 3-8 males in her non-exclusive manharem. The skin of the female turns yellow-orange beneath her feathers while she's tending young...and then she becomes bald so that everybody can see it:

Vasa are also the only parrots to have hemipenes. The cloaca, usually dickless, everts when the birds are mating. The lock can last for up to an hour. That's probably more than you ever wanted to know about parrot sex, but there you go. 

Detail: Creature Feature: Vasa Parrots.

0 Wild Fest 2013 Coverage!

Today was the 2013 Wild Fest! I had no idea how to get there or how big it would be. It turned out to be relatively easy to find and a small exhibit that fit into a Sunday afternoon nicely. A lot of wildlife centers in IL were present. So, without further ado...pictures!

SOAR (Save Our American Raptors) had a booth at the show. FYI, "raptors" here means "Birds of prey" - let's not go Jurassic Park here. They had a lot of owls, a peregrine falcon (the fastest animal in the world) and a bald eagle. While we were not allowed to touch the raptors, they were still awesome to see. How often do you get up-close and personal with a bald eagle, after all?

Animals for Awareness had a lot. Parrots, hedgehogs, and an albino male boa were pretty much par for the course. What I did not expect was the kinkajou - a smallish Central and South American mammal related to raccoons. She was very active, so unfortunately, my pictures sucked. Fret not; I will call them about volunteering opportunities.



Incredible Bats was just that: A bunch of awesome fruit bats that people could see right in front of them. Both species (Egyptian and Straw-Colored) were from Africa, which is usually not praised fro its fruit bats. Alas, bats are nocturnal, and these guys were not very interested in the fruit we offered them.

Jim Nesci is something of a legend among reptile people. He uses exotic reptiles for a lot of educational shows and appears regularly at ReptileFest and NARBC. We just missed his big display involving an albino Burmese python. BUBBA was there, too; check out the little girl getting a ride on an alligator's back!

Finally, Big Run Wolf Ranch made it to this awesome exhibition. Neither Shanoa nor Zeus wanted to show up; instead of the standard gray wolf, we got to see Canuck (sp?), a British Columbian wolf. These wolves are actually the ranch owner's favorite, sparting dark coats, brilliant yellow-green eyes, and a white mark on the chest. It's a shame I couldn't figure out how to get my camera to shoot right. Kirby II was there as well.

This was a pretty awesome event, if small. With only so much space to work with and so much time, it's pretty easy to see everything in an hour. Stick around for a show; you won't regret it.

Detail: Wild Fest 2013 Coverage!