From Memorial Day weekend through Labor day weekend, guests of the Buffalo Zoo will have a chance to interact with birds originating from Australia. The seasonal exhibit, Boomerang Island, will give patrons a chance to truly get up close to these feathered guests.
An estimated 300 birds are residing inside an enclosed structure on the zoo grounds.
"We have four different species of parrots in here," said Samantha Lawson, exhibit supervisor. "We have our budgies, also known as parakeets. We have cockatiels, which are the smallest cockatoo species. We have Superb parrots and we also have Princess of Wales parrots."
They also have laughing kookaburras. Lawson was holding one, a nine-month-old named Sidney, whose tail feathers were not quite developed and is not yet mature enough to display blue highlights in its feathers. It also hasn't reached sexual maturity and thus, according to Lawson, its gender is still uncertain.
For a two-dollar fee, visitors may feed the birds a small sampling of prepared food, seeds on a honey paste.
"What's kind of unique about this exhibit is it provides guests with the opportunity to actually have a very up-close and personal one-on-one encounter with an animal," said Norah Fletchall, the president and chief executive officer of the Buffalo Zoo.
The exhibit, which opens to the public Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, will continue through Labor Day Weekend. Fletchall said it will be an annual seasonal exhibit.
