A Little Piece of the Outback in Atlanta

I got such a kick out of taking this picture at Zoo Atlanta yesterday:

We did see a few Australian animals. The funniest moment was when we were looking at the kookaburra. My mom asked what they sounded like. I tried to do an impression, which sounded something like "ee-ee-ee...err...eee???" This was woefully lacking, especially since, if you want to do it correctly, it needs to be both very loud and painfully obnoxious. The place was overrun with schoolchildren and self-respecting Southerners, so I had no desire to do either. Following my pathetic attempt, I was suddenly startled by the real call of a kookaburra, which sounds rather like a pack of angry monkeys. "EEEE-EEEE-EEEE-EEE-EEEE!!!!"Since the one I was looking at was sitting there quiet and disinterestedly, I was momentarily confused. Turns out that a few steps away, there was an interactive display where you could push a button to activate a recording of several Australian animals, and a nearby visitor had just pushed that "kookaburra" button, as if on cue. "Hmmm," I told my mom, "It actually sounds just like that." (Then she knew just how bad my impression had truly been).

We also spent some time in the Bodacious Budgie Ball display (it wasn't really called that, but I wish it had been). These adorable birds were about the size of a fist and had the most beautiful colors of green, blue, yellow, and turquoise. They just flitted around the place like it was a magic fairy land.

And sometimes made out with each other.

Beware, though, when you go into this Prodigious Parakeet Party:

Now, dear readers, all your collective good wishes will be appreciated as I await my visa, so that I can return to the land of the kangaroos, kookaburras, and budgies ... oh my! And, until then ... imagine me saying G'day Mates in a Southern accent!