Kay Panabaker Instagram – Today was a very exciting day for me. I spent about 20 minutes watching this metallic starling hang half its body outside of its nest, trying to decide if today was the day it would attempt to move outside of its comfy home. I was able to witness the moment it catapulted itself outside and right next to the ledge I was standing next to. After the initial shock, I grabbed it and took it to our office to be banded, feathers pulled for sexing, and got a weight on my new friend. At 50g, it is definitely the smallest animal I have had under my care, but that joy and excitement of watching animals thrive while under your care never gets old. I’m also lucky to be surrounded by people that share in my excitement of these little moments. We don’t name most birds in our aviary since we have over 200, but I look forward to getting to name this one once we know what it is. For now, please enjoy this grumpy muppet.
Edit: this bird was confirmed to be a boy. His name is Waldo. After this photo was taken, it was about 3 weeks until my coworkers and I saw him more than every other day. We typically see birds at least once a day, but he did not vocalize as much as is typical for fledglings, making it much more difficult to locate him. He will have this plumage until about summer 2022, when he will get his adult feathers on his chest. | Posted on 30/May/2021 07:48:28
