HOUSTON — The Houston Zoo's flock of flamingos have a brand new home! The Chilean flamingos moved into the new South American Wetlands aviary on Tuesday.
Two hundred zoo employees and volunteers helped direct dozens of flamingos to their new neighborhood by forming a human wall and walking behind them.
The stars of the show seemed to enjoy the attention as they paraded past the people lined up to make sure they didn't veer off course. With one boss bird leading the way, the rest of the flock followed behind and posed for the cameras along the way.
They seemed to get excited as they got closer to the aviary and ran down a path through some greenery, flapping their wings.
Their pretty new home is a large pond surrounded by lush tropical plants, flowers and towering trees.
It even includes a waterfall!
The aviary is also home to a historical sculptural tree created by Mexican American artist Dionicio Rodriguez, who was commissioned to make the artwork by the City of Houston in 1926.
When the immersive aviary opens to the public, they can walk through the area surrounding the flamingos.
The South American Wetlands, African Savanna and North American Woodlands are three new aviaries in the zoo's 1.3-acre, $13.5 million Birds of the World exhibit, which opens on August 30. Each one will house approximately 15 different bird species.