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Category: Birds

Ring-neck Parakeet (Ambassador Animal)

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Ring-neck Parakeet

(Psittacula krameri)

Seneca Park Zoo is the home to one female ring-neck parakeet named Stella. Her habitat is inside the annex as part of the program animal collection.

Animal Facts

Ring-neck parakeets have a green body with a red beak. They have a long, pointed tail that can be up to 10 inches long, more than half of the body's length.
Gregarious and loud. These birds use a shared roost throughout the year. The number of parakeets in the roost during spring decreases dramatically because the female birds stay on their nests while the males return to the roost. They do not migrate and are well adapted to living in areas that are affected by humans.
They have been kept as pets since ancient Greek and Roman times. Alexandrine parakeets (a close relative of the ring-neck parakeet) are named after Alexander the Great, who transported these birds from India to Europe.

Diet

Ring-neck parakeets  are herbivorous, feeding on buds, seeds, grains, fruits, vegetation, and nuts.

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Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Ring-neck parakeets range widely throughout Central Africa, India, and neighboring countries.

This parrot is not very picky when it comes to its habitat, inhabiting light secondary forest, riparian woodland, mangroves, savanna grasslands, and deserts. They are often found on farms, in urban and suburban environments, and in parks and gardens.

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Buffalo Weaver

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Buffalo Weaver

(Dinemellia dinemelli)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two white-headed buffalo weavers. They reside in the aviary, which can be found inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Flocks and family groups can sometimes include starlings.
Other bird species, such as the African pygmy falcon, often prefer to use weaver nests instead of building their own.
Weavers typically live in small flocks and build multiple nests, and it is common to see a large number of nests in a single tree.
They are noisy and conspicuous when climbing about in trees and are reminiscent of parrots with their acrobatic maneuvers and habit of hanging upside down.
Nests may have several rooms, with a soft inner lining and thorny branches on the outside to help guard them from predators.

Diet

Buffalo weavers are omnivorous, foraging for fruits, seeds and invertebrates such as beetles and butterflies.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The range of buffalo weavers extends throughout eastern Africa, from Tanzania to Somalia.

They prefer savanna and shrubland habitat, using grass and thorny branches to weave elaborate nests in trees. Potential threats for this species are habitat loss and fragmentation.

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Golden-Breasted Starling

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Golden-Breasted Starling

(Cosmopsarus regius)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one golden-breasted starling. It resides in the aviary inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

The golden-breasted starling is regarded as the most beautiful bird in the world, spurring large-scale capturing for the pet trade.
Their tail makes up about 60% of the bird’s length.
Golden-breasted starlings are cooperative breeders, which means all group members assist with building nests and feeding young.
Will often nest in old woodpecker holes
Diurnal; don’t migrate; very social and noisy like all starlings

Diet

Though primarily insectivores, golden-breasted starlings may also eat snails, spiders, seeds and fruit.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Golden-breasted starlings are found throughout eastern Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

They prefer arid or semi-arid climates, and are usually found in savannas and shrublands. Although their population trend is stable, they are facing a threat from overcollection for the pet trade.

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Red-Tailed Hawk

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Red-Tailed Hawk

(Buteo jamaicensis)

The Zoo is home to one female red-tailed hawk who came to the Zoo in May 2014. The red-tailed hawk is a medium-sized bird of prey. Its head is distinguished by a hooked beak and supraorbital ridge over the eyes.

Animal Facts

Red-tailed hawks may live about 25 years in captivity.
Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and may mate for life.
These diurnal hawks are primarily solitary but will be social during breeding season and during migration.

Diet

Red-tailed hawks feed mostly on small- to medium-sized mammals such as voles, squirrels, rabbits and hares. They rarely take (but have been observed consuming) birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, large insects and carrion.

Status in natural range

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Red-tailed hawks are widespread and the most common hawk throughout North America.

In Alaska and Canada, they migrate to avoid severe winters, with migration peaking in October/November. Habitats vary but include rural and urban areas that contain woods, open country, deserts and mountains.

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Snowy Owl

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Snowy Owl

(Bubo scandiaca)

The Zoo is home to two snowy owls, a male named Tundra and a female named Flurry. Tundra was hatched in July 2013 and came from the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2014, he was confiscated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission from a private citizen. Because he was imprinted on humans, he was deemed unable to be re-released. Flurry was born at the Akron Zoo in May 2023 and came to us in February 2024 on a breeding recommendation. 

Animal Facts

Snowy owls are carnivores; they hunt by sitting on an elevated perch that gives them good visibility; visual scanning of their hunting area is made possible by their ability to rotate their head three quarters of the way around.
Snowy owls are generally monogamous for one breeding season at a time, although cases of polygamy for a few seasons have been seen when prey is extremely abundant.
The niche of a snowy owl in their ecosystem is controlling lemming populations. A snowy owl may consume three to five lemmings a day, or approximately 1,600 lemmings in a year!

Diet

Lemmings, mice, rabbits, rodents, waterfowl, other birds and fish.
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Status in The Wild

  • Vulnerable

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Snowy owls are found circumpolar, most often in Arctic habitats where they breed including coastal Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.

They can also be found in northern Scandinavia, Russia, southern Novaya Zemlya (a large island off the northern coast of Russia) and northern Siberia. During the winter season, some snowy owls migrate south to more temperate habitats. Snowy owls usually inhabit open tundra during summer months. They also inhabit lowland grasslands (saltwater grass meadows and freshwater wet meadows), especially for hunting.

They are protected, however, under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act and CITES Appendix II. Snowy owls are victims of collisions with vehicles, gunshot wounds, utility line and airplane collisions, electrocutions and entanglement with fishing lines.

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Speckled Mousebird

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Speckled Mousebird

(Colius striatus)

Seneca Park Zoo is the home to speckled mousebirds. Their habitat is inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Speckled mousebirds are a highly social species. They forage, preen, and dust-bathe together.
When predators are close, speckled mousebirds crash land into thick bushes and freeze until the danger has passed.
Speckled mousebirds occasionally swallow pebbles to help grind up the vegetation they eat, which aids in digestion.

Diet

Speckled mousebirds are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, leaves, nectar, and occasionally termites and ants.
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Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Speckled mousebirds range widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

They prefer forest and savanna habitats but adapt well to other habitats and are often seen in urban areas containing gardens and orchards. Their current population trend is increasing.

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Cape Thick-Knee

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Cape Thick-Knee

(Burhinus capensis)

There are two cape thick-knees (also known as spotted dikkops) that reside at the Zoo, one male and one female. The male, born in 2010, arrived at the Zoo in 2011. The female was born in 2011 and arrived in 2012. The birds can be found in the aviary inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

The cape thick-knee can live up to 20 years in natural range.
Within one breeding season, the cape thick-knee often has two to three broods.
When threatened by a predator, young chicks will crouch down and remain motionless while the parent will pretend to have a broken wing, back or leg to distract the predator away from the chicks.

Diet

The cape thick-knee eats mostly insects; foraging for them by repeatedly running forward, stopping, then jabbing the prey with their bill. Cape thick-knees will eat a variety of different beetles, weevils, moths and butterflies. They will also eat small amphibians, small mammals, thread snakes and white-fronted plover eggs and chicks.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

From sub-Saharan Africa, the cape thick-knee is mainly found in open, flat habitats of southern Africa.

This species prefers dry grassland and savanna habitat, although it has been known to live in wetland areas and can be found in woodland fringes, low stony hills and urban habitats (parks, playing fields, etc.). Cape thick-knees show a remarkable ability to adapt to habitats altered by humans and because they are no longer considered a gamebird, they are unlikely to face any general decline in population.

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Superb Starling

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Superb Starling

(Lamprotornis superbus)

The Zoo is home to one superb starling, a male, who resides inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Superb starlings have long, loud calls made up of trills and chatters. They can also mimic other birds.
Superb starlings are almost identical to Hildenbrandt’s starling, but have white eyes rather than red.
This species feeds on the ground.

Diet

Superb starlings feed on insects, small invertebrates, fruit and seeds.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

These birds are found throughout East Africa, ranging from Sudan and Ethiopia, south through Kenya and Tanzania.

They prefer open country and savanna areas, but have become accustomed to people among surrounding villages and cities.

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Bald Eagle

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Bald Eagle

(Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

There is one male bald eagle, Maverick, at Seneca Park Zoo. Maverick was born around 2012 and arrived at the Zoo in 2016. He had suffered wing injuries in their natural habitat and cannot fly. Only bald eagles that have been determined to be unable to live in their natural habitat are kept in conservation care, where they can thrive without threats to their survival.

Animal Facts

Bald eagles have a brown body and a snow-white head and tail, a feather coloration which is not attained until the bird turns 5.
The bald eagle builds the largest nest of any North American bird, up to 13-feet deep, 8-feet wide and 1 ton in weight.
“Bald” in the English name is derived from the word “piebald,” and refers to the white head and tail feathers in contrast to the darker body, not a state of being featherless.
A bald eagle has a 6- to 7-foot wingspan.

Diet

The bald eagle is carnivorous and eats fish, birds, rodents, snakes and carrion.

Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

Bald eagles live in North America from Florida to Alaska. They roost in tall trees near clean, fish-filled water in undeveloped areas.

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Sandhill Crane

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Sandhill Crane

(Grus canadensis)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to one male sandhill crane who joined the Zoo in July 2019 and one female who joined him in September of 2022. Their habitat can be found in the Rocky Coasts area.

Animal Facts

Family groups may join together with non-mated cranes to form survival groups that feed and roost together at migratory stop-over sights.
Some of these migratory stop-over sites may have as many as 40,000 birds.

Diet

Sandhill cranes are omnivorous. Seeds, plant tubers, grains, berries, insects, worms, mice, snakes, lizards, frogs and crayfish comprise their diet. Unlike other wading birds, sandhill cranes do not fish.
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Status in The Wild

  • Least Concern

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

North America, except for the northeast U.S. Summers in the arctic of Alaska and Canada and winters in Florida, Texas, northern Mexico and southern California. Sandhill cranes live in open grasslands, wet meadows, freshwater marshes and bogs.

Loss and degradation of riverine and wetland ecosystems are the most important threats to sandhill crane populations. For the migratory subspecies (Lesser, Greater and Canadian), this is of greatest concern in staging and wintering areas in the southern United States and northern Mexico. Spring staging areas along the Platte River in Nebraska are of special concern because of their importance to the migratory subspecies and the development pressures facing this region. Approximately 80% of all sandhill cranes utilize a 75-mile stretch of the Platte River in spring migration. Elsewhere, small breeding populations can face disproportionate mortality on fall staging areas due to over-hunting. Residential and commercial development pressures facing lands occupied by birds belonging to non-migratory subspecies (Mississippi, Florida and Cuban) also pose significant threats.

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