Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: glossy

I took this photo at the Calgary Zoo on 6 May 2009 and came across it when I was doing a bit of tidying up on my hard drive last night, ready for the dreaded day (i.e. tomorrow!) when I have to get all the data transferred to a new computer. I think these birds have such gorgeous feathers. Photographed at the Calgary Zoo. "The Vulturine Guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum) is the largest extant species of guineafowl. Systematically, it is only distantly related to other guineafowl genera. Its closest living relative, the White Breasted Guineafowl, Agelastes meleagrides inhabit primary forests in Central Africa. It is a member of the bird family Numididae, and is the only member of the genus Acryllium. It is a resident breeder in northeast Africa, from southern Ethiopia through Kenya and just into northern Tanzania. The Vulturine Guineafowl is a gregarious species, forming flocks outside the breeding season typically of about 25 birds. This species' food is seeds and small invertebrates. This guineafowl is terrestrial, and will run rather than fly when alarmed. Despite the open habitat, it tends to keep to cover, and roosts in trees." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulturine_Guineafowl www.arkive.org/vulturine-guineafowl/acryllium-vulturinum

This is just a small part of the large, condominium-style birdhouse that a family built and placed in their garden, east of the city. I was out south and east of the city with a friend for a good part of today and was thrilled to see some of these beautiful birds for the very first time. I had seen and heard reports of Purple Martins being seen, so it was a thrill to finally see some ourselves. The lady to whom this birdhouse belongs was so kind and welcoming to us, which we appreciated greatly. These birds are uncommon in Alberta (May to August). They live in colonies in these fancy birdhouses (will post a photo showing the whole birdhouse another time).