Saturday, February 23, 2019

Birds' knees

They're not knees. The bird's leg joint that we see is more like a human's ankle than a knee. But it's fun to call them knees. The joint that similar to a knee is higher, under the bird's feathers.

This is one of my first photos of a zoo animal. I hadn't had a camera very long, and I had even less of an idea of what I was doing than I do now. I took a picture of a white-naped crane, and it wasn't a satisfying image because it was standing close to a fence. On a whim, I zoomed-in on a "knee" and a foot.



white-naped crane (Toledo Zoo, 2009)
 Later, I thought it might be amusing to take a series of photos of birds' knees.


This Caribbean flamingo has gray legs and pink knees.
Caribbean flamingo (Nashville Zoo)

This adult Caribbean flamingo has pink knees.
adult Caribbean flamingo (Columbus Zoo)

This juvenile Caribbean flamingo has black legs.
juvenile Caribbean flamingo (Columbus Zoo)
A magpie goose has orange legs.
magpie goose, I think (Cincinnati Zoo)
A sacred ibis has black legs.
sacred ibis (Columbus Zoo)
Ginger's knee braces are made from white and green tape and black mesh..
Ginger, a white-naped crane, had leg braces. (Columbus Zoo)



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