African Spoonbill

Taken in the TransAlta Rainforest building at the Calgary Zoo on 14 October 2014. Whenever one goes into this building, it’s very warm and humid. This is bad enough in the summer, but now that we need sweaters, long-johns and jackets, it feels unbearably warm in there, though not as bad as in the Conservatory's butterfly room. Not the best photo, but the light in this area is not good for taking photos.

“The African spoonbill (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and nests in colonies in trees or reedbeds. They usually don't share colonies with storks or herons. The African spoonbill feeds in shallow water, and fishes for various fish, molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, insects and larvae. The animal uses its open bill to catch foods by swinging it from side-to-side in the water, which catches foods in its mouth. Long legs and thin, pointed toes enable it to walk easily through varying depths of water.

The spoonbill's nest, generally located in trees above water, is built from sticks and reeds and lined with leaves. During breeding season, the female lays three-five spotted eggs, and the male and female both take turns incubating them. African spoonbill chicks typically hatch after a month of incubation and are ready to leave the nest after another month of care.” From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_spoonbill

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Today, 29 November 2014, the sun is trying its best to come out. Everywhere looks so beautiful in the sunshine, after several more inches of snow fell yesterday and overnight. My car is still at the garage, having a set of winter tires put on. This was expected to be finished yesterday, but I haven't heard anything further. Even if my vehicle had been ready to pick up yesterday late afternoon/evening, I wouldn't have gone, as the weather was awful and the roads treacherous. The temperature is -22C (-8CF) with a windchill of -31C (-24F). Stay warm, everyone!