Vibrant Green Birds are Taking Over the Vancouver Aquarium's Amazon Gallery

By Samantha Kent

Vancouver, Canada - Two new, vibrant green birds are taking over the Vancouver Aquarium’s Amazon gallery, swooping from tree to tree and even from perch to perch. The pair of crimson-rumped toucanets, the first toucanets ever to join the Aquarium family, is making their presence seen and heard.

Hatched and raised in the Emerald Forest Bird Garden, an award winning natural breeding facility in California, the toucanets now live alongside a blue-fronted Amazon parrot, hyacinth macaws and other charming tropical birds that call the Aquarium’s Amazon rainforest home.

“Toucanets are active and inquisitive birds,” said Lee Newman, Tropical Waters curator. “They are talkative and have a natural sense of curiosity that makes them well-suited to join our Amazon bird family.”

With a new tree perch to call their own, the birds are settling in well to their new environment and fearlessly discovering their new home and guests. Much to the surprise of Gino and Cosmo, the Aquarium’s two Amazon parrots, the toucanets even settle on the parrots’ own perches cozying up right next to Gino and Cosmo.

Despite their vibrant green feathers, the toucanets camouflage well and seem to disappear into the trees of the Amazon. However, their inability to carry a tune (as toucanets grunt more than sing) may just give them away. Their “ggruks,” guttural “gaaks” and nasally “cua, cuas” are intended to help the toucanets defend their territory, send a warning or court a mate.

Once they spot them, visitors can watch these naturally active, crow-sized birds flit from tree to tree throughout the Aquarium’s Amazon rainforest exhibit.

About the Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium is a global leader in connecting people to our natural world, and a self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, conservation practices, education, research and direct action. Learn more at www.vanaqua.org.

To view Vancouver Aquarium's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:  http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-40-Vancouver_Aquarium