Come and join us these July holidays and see our newest
additions. We have recently acquired a pair of Marabou Storks, Blue-grey Tanagers,
Luzon Bleeding-heart Doves, Vinaceous Amazon Parrots and Grey Peacock-pheasants
as well as a Green Aracari, Red-faced Mousebird, Lesser Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo, Plum-coloured Starling, Green-winged Dove and Violet Turaco. This is
in addition to a Narina Trogon, Buff-spotted Flufftail, African Crake and
Red-chested Cuckoo which also went on display at the end of June.
We are in the process of constructing 9 new enclosures which
were damaged during the installation of our storm-water drainage system last
year and these will be open within the next 2 months. These enclosures will
house a collection of “softbills” which are birds with a predominantly fruit,
insect and grain diet. Some of the birds planned for these new enclosures are
Toco Toucans, Nicobar Pigeons, Pied Imperial Pigeons, Guira Cuckoos,
Scheepmaker’s Crowned Pigeon, Violet Turacos, Lady Amherst’s Pheasants,
Ring-neck Pheasants, Silver Pheasants, Crested Wood Partridges, Malay Crestless
Fireback Pheasants, Siamese Crested Fireback Pheasants, Reeve’s Pheasants,
Swinhoe Pheasants, Palawan Peacock-pheasants, Kalij Pheasants, Golden Pheasants
and Grey-peacock Pheasants among others.
The opposite side of the pathway will be home to some of our
larger meat-eating birds like the Silvery-cheeked Hornbills, Trumpeter
Hornbills, Black-casqued Wattled Hornbills, Pied Crows, Laughing Kookaburras, Blue-winged
Kookaburras, Crested Guineafowl, Helmeted Guineafowl and Common Barn Owls.
We are constantly changing and improving the park and
encourage you to keep coming back to see the changes. With more than 700 birds
from 180 species on display, there is something for everyone at the Umgeni
River Bird Park.
