In addition to the panda base, we also went to an amusement park. We were surprised to find massive bird cages in the middle of the park with peacocks, parrots, and other birds in them.
The coolest thing that I saw in nature this week were peacocks with their tail feathers fanned out. I've seen many peacocks in my life time - for example, there are peacocks in the zoos in New York City that are allowed to just run free all over the grounds, but I have never seen one with its tail feathers all fanned out. What was even cooler was that I saw an all white peacock doing the same thing! I've never seen an all white peacock in person! What a treat.
Did you know that the animal itself is called a peafowl? Peacocks are male and the female birds are called peahens. The peacocks are the colorful ones, with blue and green feathers. Peahens are generally mostly brown. Why? Because when they lay eggs, they rely on their brown feathers to camoflauge into the bushes in order to protect their precious hatchlings from predators. Nature has it all figured out.
There is a large pond on my school campus filled with goldfish, turtles, frogs, and other wildlife. Since midterms are approaching, I've found that feeding goldfish allows me to relax and take a break from studying. There are many parks in Chengdu with goldfish ponds, where you can buy fish food and feed the fish. The fish grow to be HUGE. The biggest one I've seen must have been at least two feet long!
