Unsere Vögel - Zoo Görlitz

Birds

Whooper swan

Whooper swans owe their name to their multitude of calls. So you can hear a "gigigi" to welcome fellow species and a "ga" or "go" during resting periods. The sounds od every individual are unique. It is easy tell them apart looking at the beak of the white swan. While it has a reddish beak with black wax skin the whooper swan has a black beak with yellow skin

Birds

White-spotted laughing thrush

The white-spotted laughing thrush is still widespread in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. It prefers high altitude areas of mountain forests. Its presence is more likely to be detected by ear not by eye. The striking plumage seems to be eyecatching at first sight but disappears fastly in the lights and shades of the forest.

Birds

White stork

On their way from nesting ground to feeding grounds white storks are repeatedly injured because of power lines, road or rail traffic. Animals that have been cared for by a veterinariana and animal keepers may be released again. However, some of the storks will never be able to fly again and therefore remain in the zoo. On the roof of the zoo's villa healthy storks breed and fly up to 10,000 km far to Africa in autumn.

Birds

Temminck‘s Tragopan

The Temminck‘s tragopan inhabits cool, rainy mountain forests. There the branches of the trees are covered with a thick layer of moss and interspersed with dense undergrowth. The tragopan loves the steep slopes and windy ridges of the mountains. When in danger it alerts with a soft "Quack-quack-quack-quack". If the enemy approaches the tragopan sneaks away like a cat with the slightest suspiciuos noise. Nevertheless the predators are often succesfull as they behave quietly and wait.

Birds

Snow owl

Snow owl females in the Arctic tundra deny their partner any sexual intercourse until the male feeds her with lemmings on their nesting place.They do not do this out of material greed. Lemmings are the main food of snow owls. Every three to four years however these prey animals are very scarce. Therfore the male can only find a few and eats them himself. But it would not be possible to raise the offspring like that. So there will be no fertilisation if the offspring would have to starve to death anyway.

Birds

Red-billed blue magpie

Red-billed blue magpies are quick, cheeky, loud birds. they can easily mimic other birds' voices and sounds. When they have they opportunity they steal like ravens. This is not suprising because they belong to the raven species. In human care they can become ery tame. It is only during the mating season that one should not get too close to them as they will defend their breeding ground against all invaders with strong beak strokes.

Birds

Red-and-green macaw

When the sun rises and touches the steep cob wall of the upper Tambopata River (Peru) an amazing natural spectacle begins. The cob wall becomes a pulsating palette of red, blue, yellow and green because more than 1000 red-and-green-winged macaws and other parrots clamor around the best cob sites. They contain a high concentration of vital minerals that the parrots need but do not get enough of from their fool. That is why they pick up this cob.

Birds

Peacock

Peacocks are kept in parks due to their gorgeous plumage for 3000 years. Especially eye-catching are their tail feathers, which are decorated with eye patches and can be erected into a fan. Peacocks also display their tail feathers in their natural habitat, the woods and jungles of Southeast Asia. They tremble and rattle with their feathers. This way they want to impress hens as well as rivals and thus show their health, strength and beauty.

Birds

Mallard

In late autumn mallard ducks show a strange spectacle. The drakes come together for their "courtship dances" and the plain brown females are there as spectators. The "dance steps" follow repetitively a specific sequence.

Birds

Lesser necklaced laughing thrush

If you are looking for the lesser necklaced laughing thrush in the forests of South-East-Asia you should listen to the bird calls and songs around you. Just like other laughingthrushes lesser necklaced laughing thrushes are noisy birds. Their melodious „laughter“ can be heard over large distances. In groups of 4 to 30 animals they go through the bushes of the woods looking for food.

Birds

Hill myna

The amazing talent of the hill myna to imitate voices eclipses that of many parrots. But this linguoistic talent also gets them in trouble. Because of that hill mynas are a very popular and a worldwide much-traded bird species especially in Asia which results in a lonely life in mostly small cages for them. In some countries hill mynas are also sold as a delicacy which reduces the stocks even further.

Birds

Griffon vulture

Especially in the mornings the magnificent griffon vulture sails high in the air and looks out for carrion. With their beaks they first tear a whole into the abdomial wall, sticks their head and neck deep into the carcase and eats the internal organs. Since the neck is only sparsely feathered it can be easily cleaned of blood and meat remnants. After the meal only fur and bones remain of the carcass. That is also how vultures prevent the spread of diseases.

Birds

Grey heron

Vom reichen Nahrungsangebot angelockt, brüten Jahr für Jahr immer mehr Graureiher im Tierpark. Im Jahr 2004 waren es schon 34 Paare - mit den Jungen insgesamt also etwa 200 Vögel. Sie sind sehr gewitzt, ja manchmal unverfroren und machen den Störchen, Kranichen oder Fischottern das Futter streitig. Die Tierpark-Tiere müssten Hunger leiden, wenn ihnen die Pfleger nicht zusätzliche Rationen oder das Futter in speziellen Behältern anbieten würden.

Birds

Golden pheasant

The golden pheasant leads a loner. Only during mating season the male woos the female with piercing calls and a spectacular dance. With a ruffled crest and spread feather collar, covering beak and neck the male jumps around the female in a circle. Then he suddenly turns around and repeats the spectacle on the other side. During that scenario one can hear a metallic sounding double call which sounds like "chap-chock". During the breeding season he leaves the hen and lets her take care of the chicks on her own.

Birds

Edwards‘s pheasant

Edward's pheasants are already considered extinct in their area of origin because of habitat destruction and hunting. About 1000 birds are in human care. One day it is hoped to resettle them back into their area of origin - when the needed living consitions are restored. The Nature Conservation Zoo Görlitz paticipates in the international breeding programme.

Birds

Dwarf silky fowl

Silk chickens lack the typical feather structure of birds with the “feather flag” closed, so that all feathers are fluffy like down feathers. Therefore they cannot fly. The calm, trusting hens breed very reliably. They even stay seated when all of their eggs are taken away. Since they also manage their chicks well, they are often taken as "foster mothers" for less reliable chicken breeds.

Birds

Domestic pigeon

The crop of the birds is a sacking of the gullet on the neck. The mucous membrane of the crop contains glands. Both parents of the pigeons produce a secretion which is the crop milk, a few days before the young hatch. The secretion is vital for the development of the chicks. A pigeon's milk has a similar function as the milk of mammals.

Birds

Domestic goose

The Pomeranian goose is an old landrace from Hither Pomerania, parts of Mecklenburg and especially from the island of Rügen. It is promoted as a regional product in the area of the Oder Estuary.

Birds

Domestic chicken

Around 1880 breeders began to pair robust country chickens with Minorca-Langshan crossbreeds in the Ore Mountains.

Birds

Domestic chicken

This fast-growing, wheather-resistent breed was bred in the years 1948-53 from delicate production animals (Wyandotte chicken, Rhode Island Reds and New Hamphshires) at the suburban area of Dresden.

Birds

Derbyan parakeet

With a courtship dance the Chinese parakeet males try to gain the sympathy of females. The male straightens up und turns his head sharply to the right or left. Then a sham cleaning of the beak and the plumage with their feet follows. They spin several times in front of the females. If they have gained the affection of the females with that they laid out a nest in preferably poplars. The female does not leave the nest during the incubation period and is therefore fed by the male.

Birds

Crane

In the zoo you can experience a terrific spectacle in spring just like in traditional mating areas of the crane. The couple circles around each other, take a bow, bob their bodys up and down and pick up objects from the ground which they then throw behind their backs.They repeatedly jump gracefully into the air. Then they face each other with their wings widespread and trumpet loudly with their beaks pointing skywards. The distinctive call is enabled by a loop-shaped elongated trachea.

Birds

Cockatiel

Cockatiels live a wandering live. They are constantly looking for water and a good supply of food. Their incubation periond depends on the rain. As soon as the rainy season begins they look for breeding caves because only during this time they find enough food to raise their offspring. If the rainy season lasts for a longer period of time they breed more than once in quick succession.

Birds

Chinese silk chicken

In the Middle Ages, this breed of chicken, originally from China and Mongolia, was presented in the circus for a long time as a crossbred between rabbits and chickens.

Birds

Chinese bamboo partridge

The characteristic sound expressions are a long series of three-syllable calls which sound like gi-ge-roi or si-mu-kuai and are pu in different variants as a courtship call of the male as well as in a duet which is initiated by the male and increases in volume.