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3:00 snapshot #1939: Wednesday

Bird's World zookeepers stand next to a Children's Zoo exhibit, the prairie dogs, which temporarily also contains their peacocks.
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Recalibrating the BS detector
On tumblr, where I spend an increasing amount of my online time, I keep seeing a post about Gouldian finch chicks. It claims that these birds have phosphorescent spots on the sides of their bills to help guide the parents to the baby's food hole. We have, and breed, Gouldian finches where I work, and I'd never heard of this. Surely if we had baby birds with glow in the dark spots on their faces someone would have mentioned it to me.
So when I was at Bird's World recently, I told the keepers there about this ridiculous tumblr post. "Yes," they said in chorus, "you can see it right now if you want."

So a coworker pulled down a nest box, opened it up, and let me see the glow.

The effect is even more striking when the chicks' mouths are open, but you get the idea. However, a quick side trip to wikipedia quashes our fantasies of a bioluminescent bird:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouldian_finch
"Very young birds, like many other species of Australian cavity-nesting finches, have a variety of odd features in and around their mouths including a "palate marked in the fashion of a domino" and several "prominent rounded tubercles" with an "opalescent lustre" at the back of the gape. These tubercles are commonly (and incorrectly) described as phosphorescent in spite of much scientific evidence to the contrary.[4] It is believed that these tubercles simply reflect light and are not luminescent.[4] Scientists have hypothesized that this domino-like palate and striking tubercles may facilitate feeding within the dark confines of a nest cavity, although no experiments have been conducted to support this idea."
footnote [4] is: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2421636?sid=21105707320511&uid=4&uid=2
So when I was at Bird's World recently, I told the keepers there about this ridiculous tumblr post. "Yes," they said in chorus, "you can see it right now if you want."

So a coworker pulled down a nest box, opened it up, and let me see the glow.

The effect is even more striking when the chicks' mouths are open, but you get the idea. However, a quick side trip to wikipedia quashes our fantasies of a bioluminescent bird:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouldian_finch
"Very young birds, like many other species of Australian cavity-nesting finches, have a variety of odd features in and around their mouths including a "palate marked in the fashion of a domino" and several "prominent rounded tubercles" with an "opalescent lustre" at the back of the gape. These tubercles are commonly (and incorrectly) described as phosphorescent in spite of much scientific evidence to the contrary.[4] It is believed that these tubercles simply reflect light and are not luminescent.[4] Scientists have hypothesized that this domino-like palate and striking tubercles may facilitate feeding within the dark confines of a nest cavity, although no experiments have been conducted to support this idea."
footnote [4] is: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2421636?sid=21105707320511&uid=4&uid=2
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3:00 snapshot #1923: Monday

Standing over by some evergreens and the flight cage (the oldest still standing part of the zoo).
Organizing birds in the winter

Get all your ducks in a row they said. Well, all the peacocks are in a row, that should count for something.

All the ducks are in a small amount of unfrozen water--impossible to get in a row.
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3:00 snapshot #1898: Thursday

The new peacocks have been reliably staying near Bird's World lately. It could be the food, or it could be the heater. Watch out for the deathcicle, guys!
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3:00 snapshot #1868: Tuesday

A pair of North American ruddy ducks in the Bird's World Jungle River exhibit.
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3:00 snapshot #1864: Friday

Bird's World in the snow. This is the oldest building in the zoo, built in 1913, when "Oriental" architecture was fashionable.

In the same location: peacock tracks in the fresh snow.
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3:00 snapshot #1713: Thursday

Our old tree kangaroo exhibit is being modified for our new mystery animals.
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National Zookeeper Week

This is National Zookeeper Week, so AAZK ZNE is presenting training sessions with some of our animals to show what it is we do, other than feeding and cleaning. Here Sarah is training Inti the Andean condor. Such a smart animal and an able trainer.
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3:00 snapshot #1648: Monday

I have a fascination with zookeeper lounges. I should probably do a proper art project on them.
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3:00 snapshot #1644: Thursday plus bonus lunchtime roof basking

Parking my bike next to the Bird's World bike.

Lunchtime basking on the roof of the Tropical Forest.
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3:00 snapshot #1566

The oldest structure at Franklin Park Zoo, a free flight aviary built in 1912.
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3:00 snapshot #1537

The Bird's World building--the oldest building at Franklin Park Zoo.

Winter-blooming witch hazel, through my misty lens.