Here's Lookin Atcha

by Daniel Hebard

Title

Here's Lookin Atcha

Artist

Daniel Hebard

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

A number of Andean Cock-of-the Rocks are hand raised at the San Diego Zoo. This little female came within 6 inches of me while I was sitting quietly with my long lens. To close to photograph I pulled out my Iphone to make this capture. She was obviously hoping for a hand out. Feeding is discouraged but this little bird threw a show for me on three separate occasions and I enjoyed bonding with her momentarily. Wonderful experience!
Parker aviary at the San Diego zoo is composed primarily of South American Birds. Compared to the other fine aviaries at the zoo it is small and many visitors pass right through it without taking time to enjoy The large number of inhabitants which often don’t show themselves unless you rest and experience the environment for an extended period. Each encounter at the park or aviary provides a different experience making one look forward to next visit.

From Wikipedia we find:
The Andean cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruvianus), also known as tunki (Quechua),[2] is a large passerine bird of the cotinga family native to Andean cloud forests in South America. It is widely regarded as the national bird of Peru. It has four subspecies and its closest relative is the Guianan cock-of-the-rock.
The Andean cock-of-the-rock exhibits marked sexual dimorphism; the male has a large disk-like crest and scarlet or brilliant orange plumage, while the female is significantly darker and browner. Gatherings of males compete for breeding females with each male displaying its colorful plumage, bobbing and hopping, and making a variety of calls. After mating, the female makes a nest under a rocky overhang, incubates the eggs, and rears the young, all by herself.
The Andean cock-of-the-rock eats a diet of fruit, supplemented by insects, amphibians, reptiles, and smaller mice. It is distributed all across the cloud forest of the Andes, having a range of around 260,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi). Even though it is being affected by destruction of its habitat, the Andean cock-of-the-rock is not classified as threatened.

Uploaded

March 30th, 2018

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