Budgie Roost

Budgie Roost, a photo by BelchSpeak on Flickr.

At the Reston Zoo is a Budgie Aviary. About 400 flying parakeets fly around landing on your finger to eat honey sticks coated in bird seed. If you are nice and still several will land on your hand and gently nibble on the sticks.

If you are a jumpy screamy toddler, not so much. Several little kids were having tantrums because they didn’t have the quiet ability to attract little birds and one little boy, about a year old was dipping his honey stick into a mud puddle and swatting the budgies with it.

The smart ones, like the ones pictured here, just stay out of the way and avoid the risk of flailing toddlers.