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The Mežaparks Stop on the No. 11 Tram

Riga's Zoo (Zoodarzs)The Birdies!

The first inhabitants you meet as you enter the zoo are the birds. Since we've already met the flamingos, we'll start our tour with them and continue on to the rest of their feathered cohorts! (Click on the thumbnails to view full size!)


The flamingo flock was surprisingly large!
Watchful eye
One in particular seemed to be keeping a watchful eye on me.
Black kormorants?
The second one from the right is saying, "Hey you! With the camera! You can hurt yourself carrying something that heavy!"
Black goose?
Here was something new! I had no idea swans came in all-black! (I've been corrected, I thought it was a goose...I ran afoul...)
Ostriches!
My favorites!

(My childhood ostrich doll "Fifijs" is still around the house somewhere!)
Egret egress
These two were busy working at the netting, putting their escape plan into action!
Guna Vitola wrote us that these active fellows are baby cranes, hatched at the Zoo's incubator. They are the common crane, grus grus. The predisposition for children to get into everything (or attempt to get out of it!) appears universal!
Cockatoo
The exotic bird habitats had a corporate sponsor (larger and more "natural" quarters). This guy's working off some energy!
What colors!
This pair wouldn't stay still long enough (that blur in front is a second parrot!). But we can admire them just for their colors!
More parrots!
This somewhat less colorful pair seemed quite content in their outdoor habitat.
Here's looking at you!
Even if ostriches are my favorite, the owls were the most captivating.
Three plus a bashful one
Once again, someone is keeping an eye (one) on me! His apprentice isn't quite sure of me, either!
More owls...
The way some of them stare back, you wonder whooo's watching whooom.

It's meal time for this white owl, undoubtedly the most beautiful of all owls!
Enough already!
"Hey buddy! Enough already with the pictures! How's an owl to eat in peace?"
The Vulture
Opposite the owls, in an aviary which saw the rise and fall of the Soviet empire, the vulture. Thick necked and broad shouldered, he looks like a gangster surveying the prison yard scene.
Snowy...??...egret?
Someone is staking out lunch!
I think I'm projecting my own rumbling stomach!
Stakeout
These fellows look hungry, too!
Meanwhile, the humans stop for ice cream. It's zoo tradition, of course!
Crowning glory
There's definitely more than a mere feather in this fellow's cap!

  • The Rīga Zoo, Introduction to our day-trip
  • "Birdies", Our feathered friends, even flamingos, are well represented
  • Next "Fuzzy Wuzzies", Some of our furry friends are cute, some not, and some, perhaps, are merely misunderstood—plus a mystery animal quiz
  • "Baldies", No feathers and no fur are the key to variety! plus, a collection of conservation links

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