Aviary crows over ugly, smelly Mel
NZPA-PA London It’s ugly and it smells awful, but a British aviary is crowing over the arrival of the first Abyssinian ground hornbill to be hatched in England, after a 12-year wait. “He’s just a big, bald blob,” said Kate Price, one of the owners of the aviary. “We named him after Mel Smith, the comedian.” While Mel is thriving on a diet of mice and chicken at Birdworld, near Farnham in Surrey, his keepers have to hold their noses when they enter his nursery. Not only is Mel on the nose; keepers also think he is one of the ugliest birds in the aviary. “He was bald for a while but then, overnight, he seemed to sprout feathers. He’s a cute little .thing but the smell is unbelievable,” said Mrs Price. The parents have yet to see two-month-old Mel, who was hatched in an incubator and then moved to an indoor nursery.
The main problem is Mel’s droppings, which have to be removed immediately for fear of upsetting the other birds.
There was no immediate comment from Mel Smith.
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Press, 1 September 1989, Page 8
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186Aviary crows over ugly, smelly Mel Press, 1 September 1989, Page 8
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