The rhinoceros hornbill is a large species of forest hornbill. In captivity, it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates, and in mountain rainforests up to 1,400 metres in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and southern Thailand.
Here is a close-up of one in Sylvan Heights Bird Park.
Rhinoceros Hornbill
The Cape Barren Goose, at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, is a very large, pale grey goose with a relatively small head. Its stubby triangular bill is almost concealed by a very prominent greenish-yellow cere (skin above the bill). It has rows of large dark spots in lines across the scapulars (shoulders) and wing coverts. The legs are pink to deep red and the feet black.
Cape Barren Goose
Flamingos spend about 15% to 30% of their time during the day preening. This is a large percentage compared to waterfowl, which preen only about 10% of the time. Flamingos preen with their bills. An oil gland near the base of the tail secretes oil that the flamingo distributes throughout its feathers.
Here is a Lesser Flamingo preening at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.
Lesser Flamingo Grooming
The Lesser Flamingo, at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, is a tall, large-bodied bird with a long neck and small head. Most flamingos, including this species, have pale pink plumage, legs, and bills. The lesser flamingo is one of the smallest and brightest of the flamingos. The smallest of the Flamingo species is the Lesser Flamingo. This native of India, Southern Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa can live for over 50 years in the wild.
Lesser Flamingo
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The masked lapwing is a large, familiar, and conspicuous bird native to Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea. It spends most of its time on the ground searching for food such as insects and worms, and has several distinctive calls.
This is one at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.
Masked Lapwing with Open Mouth
Masked Lapwing
Male peacocks, also known as peafowl, are easily recognizable by their vibrant blue or green plumage and long, ornate tail feathers, also known as trains. This long tail is a key feature for courtship displays to attract peahens (female peacocks). The term “peacock” refers to the male bird, while the female is a peahen, and the whole group is called peafowl.
Here is one looking away at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.
Peafowl
The bright red reflection of the Scarlet Ibis at Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck. North Carolina
Scarlet Ibis Reflection
Known for its eye-popping red plumage, the scarlet ibis is a medium-sized wading bird often found near freshwater and brackish water marshes. Adult scarlet ibises have bright red feathers with black wingtips. Their head, neck, and underparts are pale pink. They have thin, curved bills and long pink legs with webbed feet. Immature birds are brown with a white belly and rump. As time progresses, they will begin producing scarlet feathers.
Here are the scarlet ibises at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.
Scarlet Ibis Profile
Scarlet Ibis Looking Down
Hawaiian Duck, also known as Koloa, is a medium-sized duck, similar to a female Mallard in appearance, but smaller and darker. Both sexes have spotted tail feathers. The bill is dark greenish, with an orange tip in some females. This duck is a native species found exclusively in the Hawaiian Islands; this one is at Sylvan Heights Bird Park. This beautiful duck exhibits a stunning combination of mottled brown plumage and a distinctive white eye-ring.
Hawaiian Duck
American Oystercatchers are boldly patterned shorebirds with red-yellow eyes and a vivid red-orange bill. They survive almost exclusively on shellfish, including clams, oysters, and other saltwater mollusks. The American oystercatcher received its name for its unique ability to open oysters and other small shellfish. Using its knife-like bill, the bird quickly “stabs” the oyster to break open its shell to eat the soft inside.
One here at Sylvan Heights Bird Park in North Carolina.
American Oystercatcher
Red Shoveler is indigenous to Argentina, but there is one at Sylvan Heights Bird Park. It has beautiful plumage, which is light copper or light rusty and speckled with moderately sized black spots. The male has a pale gray head with pale yellow eyes and a “red” body with black spots. The female is mottled brown overall, but note the white sides to the pointed tail and big black bill.
Argentine Red Shoveler
Whistling ducks are a distinctive group of about eight species of brightly colored, oddly proportioned waterfowl. The Fulvous Whistling Duck is a mix of rich caramel-brown and black. It is a long-legged and long-necked creature found in warm freshwater marshes across the Americas, Africa, and Asia. These ducks are notable for their distinctive squealing sounds when taking off and their loud, shrill whistles during flight.
Here is one at Sylvan Heights Bird Park.
Fulvous Whistling Duck
Fulvous Whistling Duck Profile
The Knob-billed Duck is a large, bicolored waterbird. Both sexes are iridescent purplish-green above with a white or buff breast—a female knob-billed duck at the Sylvan Heights Bird Park. The female is similar to the male but smaller and duller than male, and she lacks the fleshy knob. Her plumage is less glossy.
Knob-billed Duck
The Laughing Kookaburra is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large, robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown, but there is a mottled light-blue patch on the wing coverts. A kookaburra is also known as the laughing jackass. It got its name from its distinctive laugh, which can be heard at sunrise and sunset.
Here is one at Sylvan Heights Bird Park in North Carolina.
Laughing Kookaburra
Mandarin Ducks, at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, are native to Eastern Asia (Siberia, China, Japan). They were introduced to other parts of the world, including Europe and North America, and some populations established themselves. Mandarin ducks are sexually dimorphic—the males are elaborately colored, while the females have more subdued colors.
Mandarin Duck
Mandarin Ducks
Saddle-billed Stork is a tall, lanky, black-and-white stork with a unique red, yellow, and black bill. The male has dark-brown eyes, and the female has yellow eyes. It is named after the yellow “saddle” across their multi-colored bill.
Here is one at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, North Carolina.
Saddle-billed Stork
The American wigeon, at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, also known as the baldpate, is a species of dabbling duck found in North America. American Wigeons are medium-sized, relatively compact ducks with a short bill and a round head.
Wigeon
American Wigeon
Toco Toucan is the largest species of toucan and has a distinctive appearance: a black body, a white throat, chest, upper tail covers, and red undertail. Toucans are native to the Neotropics, from southern Mexico through Central America, into South America, and south to northern Argentina.
Here is one at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, North Carolina.
Toco Toucan Side Look
Toco Toucan Looking Away
Spoonbills, specifically the roseate spoonbill, are native to Florida and are common in coastal areas, marshes, and lagoons throughout the state. A roseate spoonbill is not a flamingo. While both are wading birds with bright pink plumage, they are not closely related. Roseate spoonbills are closely associated with ibises, pelicans, herons, and egrets.
Roseate Spoonbill Closeup
The roseate spoonbill is a social wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family. It is pink due to the carotenoid pigments it ingests from its diet of shrimp and other crustaceans. These pigments, which are also responsible for the color of many fruits and vegetables, are absorbed into the bird’s feathers, giving it its distinctive pink coloration.
There is one sitting on the sign at Sylvan Heights Bird Park depicting that they are the residents of South America.
Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill on Sign