Avian ambassadors visit Marion Natural History Museum

Aug 04, 2026

Bethany Boucher holds Jinx, a blue and gold macaw who loves to hang upside down, during a presentation at the Marion Natural History Museum on Monday, Aug. 4. Photos by Grace Roche

Kids and their caretakers got a closer look after the presentation.

Boucher holds Dova the raven.

Ravens, like parrots, can "speak" by imitating voices.

Boomerang the kookaburra is an Australian native.

Kookaburras are part of the kingfisher family but are considered birds of prey.

Boucher shows off Boomerang's plumage.

Dracula the great horned owl perches on Boucher's arm.

Jinx poses for a photo.

While owls are often associated with wisdom, they have very small brains and rely on their senses rather than intelligence to hunt.

Jasper the red tailed hawk is mostly blind, and was rescued after being hit by a car.

Bethany Boucher holds Jinx, a blue and gold macaw who loves to hang upside down, during a presentation at the Marion Natural History Museum on Monday, Aug. 4. Photos by Grace Roche

Kids and their caretakers got a closer look after the presentation.

Boucher holds Dova the raven.

Ravens, like parrots, can "speak" by imitating voices.

Boomerang the kookaburra is an Australian native.

Kookaburras are part of the kingfisher family but are considered birds of prey.

Boucher shows off Boomerang's plumage.

Dracula the great horned owl perches on Boucher's arm.

Jinx poses for a photo.

While owls are often associated with wisdom, they have very small brains and rely on their senses rather than intelligence to hunt.

Jasper the red tailed hawk is mostly blind, and was rescued after being hit by a car.

MARION — Kids and their families flocked to the Marion Natural History Museum on Monday, Aug. 3 to learn about and meet several species of birds.

Bethany Boucher brought a red tailed hawk, great horned owl, kookaburra, raven and macaw to the museum as part of her program, Amazing Animal Ambassadors.

She taught the audience about how feathers grow, how different kinds of birds find food in the wild and how animals are rehabilitated when injured.

During the show, she introduced onlookers to her feathered friends and got some of them to do tricks and talk.