"The National Zoological Park (SNZP) exhibits living animal and plant collections to provide educational and recreational opportunities for the visiting public and conducts research in conservation biology and reproductive sciences. Our mission is to celebrate, study, and protect the diversity of animals and their habitats. The Zoo is a beautiful urban park offering families fun and excitement, stimulating education programs, and a peaceful place to enjoy nature. The 163-acre park in the heart of Washington, D.C., is home to a wonderfully diverse animal collection, ranging from hummingbirds to elephants......" -Smithsonian's National Zoo Mission Statement
The Zoo's bald eagles eat dead rats and chicks sprinkled with a vitamin and mineral supplement.
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The Zoos Butterfly Garden is located behind the Invertebrate House.
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Butterflies see a broad range of colors including shades of red, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and lavender.
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This is a Zebra Longwing Butterfly.
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They prefer clusters of tubular shaped flowers or larger flat flowers that can support their weight while feeding on nectar.
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Greater Flamingos are usually 42 inches long from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail, and are as tall as five feet.
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They weigh five to six pounds, and have a wingspan of 55 inches.
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Greater Flamingos eat algae, mollusks, larvae of chrysalides of brine-flies and brine-shrimps, which give them their pink color.
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The Double-wattled Cassowary is one of the largest birds in the world.
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This is a Greater Rhea
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To the casual observer, the massive Marabou Stork, with its balding, scabby head and pendulous pink air sac, may appear to be one of the ugliest creatures in the world.
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The Red-crowned Crane is a stately long-legged, long-necked bird whose immaculate snow-white plumage is accented by black secondary feathers, a black neck with contrasting white nape, and a red crown.
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They stand 1.5 m tall, average 7-10 kg in weight, and have a 2.5 m wing span.
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The white cranes are the most aquatic of the world's 15 crane species.
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They inhabit wide open marshes, bogs, and wet meadows where high visibility in daylight leaves them with less need to remain inconspicuous from predators.
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