Animal Tales – October 2019

(^16) Animal Tales

C

allingallbirdlovers,

you’regoingtowant

tofollowin Jennifer

O’Neill’sfootsteps

whenyougrowup!She’s the

senioraviculturistat Discovery

CoveOrlando,whichmeansshe

getstohangoutwithhundreds

ofbeautifulbirdseverydayat

work.“I’vebeenanaviculturistfor

22 years,”Jennifertellsus.“I’ve

alwayslovedanimals,andI knew

at a veryyoungagethatI wanted

toworkin theanimalfield.Now

I gettodojustthatbycaringfor

over 200 birds!”

A DAY ON THE JOB

Beingsurroundedbyfeathery

friendsallthetimeis Jennifer’s

dream,butherjobisn’t allfunand

games.Shecaresformore than

comefromallovertheworld,and

that’sa lotof work.“I’musuallyat

workbeforethesunis uptoprep

allthebirds’dailydiets,”Jennifer

tellsAnimalTales. “Sincewehave

a varietyof differentspeciesto

feed,I makea differenttypeof fruit

mixeachmorningthathasthings

likeapples,melons,cucumbers,

sweetpotatoes,etc.in it. I also

andforthebirds

thateatmeat,I

makesuretheyget

foodslikefish,small

rodentsanddifferent

types of insects

throughout the day.”

Besides making

meals, Jennifer’s also

responsible for taking

inventory and checking

in onthebirds.“I doa rollcall

everymorningforthebirdsin the

aviary(thebirds’enclosure),”she

shares.“I locateeverysingleone

andmakesurethey’re doingwell.

I alsotendtoanyrescuedbirds

thatcomeourwayandcheckto

seeif anychickshavehatched.”

Oncesheconfirmsthatallthe

birdsare doingwell,Jennifer

cleansthecagesbeforeguests

starttoarrive,bringsthebirdsout

totheirperchesforthedayand

theneducatesguestsaboutthe

birdsoncethedoorstoDiscovery

Coveareopened.Whena dayis

especiallyhot,Jenniferevensets

upshowersforthebirdstokeep

themcoolwhilethey’reoutin the

hotFloridasunshine.Attheendof

eachday,shedoesa finalcleanup

beforeheadinghomeforthenight.

BIRD BONDING

Day-to-day,Jenniferperforms

lotsofessentialtasks,buttoher,

themostimportantpartofher

jobis formingrelationshipswith

thebirds.“Allbirdshavedifferent

personalities, so you have to work

to build a relationship with them,”

she tells us. “Each species is

different, so for some types, you

want to make sure you’re really

calm around them. For others, you

“It’s so

rewarding to

care for and

get to know

the birds!”

—JENNIFER

O’NEILL

Animal Jobs

What it’s like to be an

If you love

birds, this is

the job for

you!

AV ICULTURIST!

“I have so many favorite birds,
from Macaws to Turacos to
Tawny Frogmouths to Speckled
Mousebirds — I love them all!