Exotic Bird Escapes from Idaho Zoo

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Eastern Idaho resident Vanessa Winger was showing her 2-year-old grandson pictures of ducks on the Internet when a bird of a different feather caught the boy's eye: A 3-foot tall, black-and-red African ground hornbill had just landed in Winger's front yard.

The exotic bird escaped from the Tautphaus Park Zoo Wednesday morning, aided by a zebra who chewed a hole through the hornbill's zoo enclosure. Zoo superintendent Beth Rich told the Post Register the bird flew around Idaho Falls until it was sedated and caught a few hours later by animal control officers.

Rich says hornbills don't normally take to the skies, and even though the birds eat meat, they're relatively docile. Winger says the encounter is something she and Benjamin will never forget.