Disney's Animal Kingdom® Park Winged Encounters

[MJMcB]

A new show is coming to the Animal Kingdom. Flocks of macaws will fly around Discovery Island. There will be about 20 birds per flock and there will also be a chance for handlers to give close up talks on the birds.

The show is being done by the same people who do Flights of Wonder

The macaws in the show/parade will be hyacinth, green-winged, blue and gold, scarlet, blue-throated and military

 

[Ituri]

Here's a blurb from Disney about the show.

Wildlife Wednesdays: Colorful Macaws Take Flight in New Experience Coming This Summer to Disney?s Animal Kingdom Disney Parks Blog

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing this program and quite frankly it blew me away. Too often the circumstances involved with experiencing macaws in captivity make it quite difficult to understand the macaw as a wild animal. They are usually looking like a pet in a "parrot on a stick" scenario or looking like a performer in a highly staged bird show.

This experience is quite different than either of those. The birds come flying in as a group from 1/4 of a mile away outside the park. When they arrive on Discovery Island some go directly to the designated perch to receive their reinforcement but many take their time lingering in trees. Presenters talk about wild macaws and the conservation challenges they face. At the end of the program the birds decide to head back, flying over the heads of those gathered to watch. As when they came in, some linger a bit before taking off. The impression left after that show was truly one of wild macaws moving about at their own volition.

 

[elefante]

This sounds like a neat display. The parrots don't live in small cages when they aren't flying though do they?