Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Hamerkop

This Tropical bird, seen in the Transalta Rainforest building at the Calgary Zoo, is called a Hammerkop. A lot of the time, it has a long crest that sticks out at the back of its head, but it was flattened down when I took this photo. The shape of its head with a curved bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, hence its name. Its plumage is a drab brown all over. "It occurs in Africa south of the Sahara, Madagascar and southwest Arabia in all wetland habitats, including rice paddies." From Wikipedia. My camera lens always mists up badly when I am in this very humid building, which makes it difficult to take photos. I was carrying my old Canon S3 IS as well as my little Panasonic FZ18, and the Canon was the first lens to clear. I'm lucky if my Panasonic clears at all.

This Tropical bird at the Calgary Zoo (in the Transalta Rainforest building) is called a Hammerkop. I wasn't expecting it to suddenly come quite so close to me and, what with juggling with people walking by and trying to wipe my lens that had misted over in the humidity, I missed getting the complete head! The bill is quite a bit longer than you can see here. Also, the eye should be brown, not red as seen here. Quite a strange looking bird.