New aviary set to take off at Zoo Atlanta

In the wild, parakeets whose coloring stray from the predominant green are easy prey for predators.

But at Zoo Atlanta’s new aviary, having yellow, blue, white and mauve feathers isn’t a detriment — it’s a celebration for the eyes.

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LOUIE FAVORITE / lfavorite@ajc.com

Zoo Atlanta’s new aviary will open on April 3 and feature about 500 parakeets.

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The Grant Park attraction will open its new parakeet exhibit April 3 with 500 birds in what officials said will be one of the biggest aviaries in the country.

And one of the most interactive. The zoo will encourage visitors to use feed sticks to encourage the birds to eat while clinging to a guest’s arm or sitting on his shoulder. The birds’ food includes basic bird seed, spray millet and various fruits and vegetables such as apples, broccoli and kale.

“What’s cool about these birds is they are so active,” James Ballance, the zoo’s curator of birds, said during a recent tour of the 2,200-square-foot aviary. “They are so acrobatic. They are so fun to watch.”

The aviary will open at a time when attractions across the country are looking for more ways to lure guests, whose discretionary income has been severely reduced by the recession. Some attractions have cut entry fees, while others are joining discount programs like CityPass, which gets visitors into the zoo, Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and other destinations.

“We’re expecting a very big day,” Ballance said.

Swooping from limb to limb, hanging upside down in a show of skill and creating rainbows of quick movement, the zoo’s parakeets squawked in a continuous, loud chatter. Weighing only 1.5 ounces and just 7 inches in length, the parakeets will be hard to ignore.

“They are never silent,” Ballance said. “They are very social birds. Their chattering is simply interactions.”

Hailing from central Australia, the parakeets can be found in flocks of up to 10,000 birds, he said. They follow the rains in search of food in grassy areas.

They are generally green but have been bred in America to offer more variety.

The zoo’s aviary will include trees (placed strategically to avoid bird droppings on visitors) on which the birds can perch, a waterfall, a babbling brook running through its center and small grassy areas. All will be under a 20-foot-high net enclosure.

Visitors can walk throughout the aviary, which has generous concrete walk areas. The entire area is made of material that is easy to scrub down daily given the high volume of birds, Ballance said.

“This is built from scratch,” he said. “This is designed for that 25 years from now it should be in great shape.”