Jimmy Pichner, a 30-year veteran at the Minnesota Zoo, manages the wild birds, including more than 300 from Asia that live in the 1.5-acre aviary.
"We want things to act natural. I want a visitor to be able to come in here and see the Nicobar pigeons courting and building a nest and incubating the eggs. They won't do that if they're too keyed into what we're doing.
"The birds are much more at ease with the keeper staff than they are with me. I walk up here, and all the birds do one of these looks -- 'Oh no, why is he here? When he is here, bad stuff happens. Birds disappear, and we never see them again.' If something is sick ... I come up, we chase it around, we catch it. We take it down to the lab to have the vets look at it. All the bird is thinking, even though we're trying to make it feel better, is 'This is the worst day of my life.' But there are a few birds that are around from when I was a keeper, and they still think I'm OK."
Pictured: Annoyed that he'd gotten too close to their nest, a pair of spurwinged lapwings scolded Pichner.
Singing, ceremonies and straw hats: Olympics opening ceremony in Tahiti centers Polynesian culture
![Viva Froeming, left, touched the face of friend Virginia Goering as her twin sister Vera Sims looks on. The three ladies, all 101 years old, have been](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ZRFTXJFYUVHBTFGD4UNQNYTEGI.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Three 101-year-old friends recall fond memories in 1940s Alexandria
Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade
![Former Gophers diver Sarah Bacon, right, will compete with Kassidy Cook in the women's 3-meter synchronized springboard competition at the Paris Olymp](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/N37HMV3KY5CYPB4SIMTKQVIH7M.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)