Since it opened in 2001, the Bird Gardens has acquired over 1 241 birds, reptiles and mammals.
They house 173 different species of bird including endangered species like grey-crowned cranes, Buffon’s macaw, double yellow-headed amazons, Manchuria cranes, red-fronted macaws, vinaceous amazons, hyacinth macaws, sun conures and green-cheeked amazons.
Some of their critically endangered birds include blue-throated macaws, red-vented cockatoos, lesser sulphur-crested cockatoos and citron-crested cockatoos. Since the Bird Gardens opened, 1 622 birds have hatched on their premises.
Some of the incredible avian residents the gardens house include the bar-headed goose which is capable of flying through mountainous regions at heights of 13 000 feet with winds of 320 kilometres per hour and temperatures low enough to freeze exposed human flesh instantly, even helicopters cannot fly at this height.
The Bird Gardens are also home to flamingos who get their distinctive pink colouring from the crustaceans they eat, and make nests which look like mounds of mud; as well as pelicans, whose young are born sooty black and turn white later and whose beaks can hold up to 13 litres of water or 40 sardine-sized fish.
Details: education@montebg.co.za; www.montecasino.co.za
Are you an avid bird watcher? Post photos of your best sightings in the Fourways area on Twitter for National Bird Day and tag @Fourways_Review
