By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
There’s a dance party at Jenkinson’s Aquarium — a parrot dance party. 25-year-old Scarlet likes showing off her moves.
“She is a scarlet macaw, normally found in Central and South American rainforests,” said Education Assistant Claire Patterson.
Scarlet lives with three other parrots in the aquarium. Louie, a Moluccan cockatoo, likes nabbing the attention.
“Normally they would be found in the wild in the Molucca islands near Australia and the Pacific and rainforests there,” Patterson said.
They’re fed seeds, vegetables, fruits and nuts. The colorful birds get a spray down or bath and show off their bright feathers. They molt in the spring and fall.
“Molting means they lose their feathers and then they new ones will replace them. When they start to lose a feather on say one wing, within a couple of days you will lose the same feather on the other wing. So that way in wild they maintain their balance when flying,” she said.
The Jenkinson’s Aquarium parrot keeper says the birds often repeat words and sounds they hear on a daily basis, like ‘hello.’ They also laugh along with staffers and visitors and if someone coughs or sneezes, they make that sound, too.
These parrots have to share the limelight with two Eastern Screech Owls — who don’t actually screech.
“It’s one of the smaller species of owls. They are found in New Jersey. They’re actually found in the Eastern part of the United States,” said Jenkinson’s Aquarium Director Cindy Claus.
The brothers moved in this past spring. While in a rehab they got an infection that left them both blind in one eye.
“They are nocturnal so you won’t technically see them during the day, they are crouching up against the bark of the tree trying to elongate themselves, trying to make themselves tall and blend in and camouflage,” Claus said.
The screech owls use their excellent vision and hearing to hunt at night.
“Their powerful beak is designed to pull the food apart. The problem is they can’t digest all the bones and fur that they’re eating, so they’ll make that into a hairball, basically, and regurgitate that,” she said.
Leaving behind owl pellets, Cindy says these 1-year-olds are expected to live about 20 years in captivity.
“And between 12-15 years in the wild. Right now their species doesn’t seem to be having too much difficulty surviving in the wild. What they do have to watch out for is habitat loss and pesticide use,” Claus said.
As for the parrots, their keeper hopes these birds will still be here 50 years from now.