Avian Hospital

Avian Hospital

Birds at the National Aviary receive the highest level of care from our team of dedicated, caring veterinarians. In our Avian Hospital, birds as small as Owl Finches and as large as Andean Condors, as common as a dove and as rare as the Extinct in the Wild Guam Kingfisher, receive care that is specialized for each individual bird’s needs and stage of life.

Dr. Pilar Fish, Senior Director of Zoological Advancement and Veterinary Medicine, and her outstanding team provide the National Aviary’s birds with dedicated prenatal, natal, and preventative care, as well as customized medicine and cutting-edge surgical and emergency treatment.

Each senior and special needs bird has a customized natural habitat designed for their preferences and with helpful aids such as ramps. The National Aviary staff prioritizes every bird’s comfort and daily well-being for these birds who play an important role in training the next generation of veterinarians. The mission of our skilled team is always to provide the very best and most thorough treatment and therapies to every bird, young or old.

African Penguin checkup at the National Aviary

Birds are amazing creatures, displaying an incredible diversity in size, behavior, diet, and physical attributes. But, they are also fragile creatures with complex respiratory systems that are prone to infections, delicate bones that fracture easily, and bodies too small for typical veterinary drug doses and surgical equipment. Their unique physiology requires that we be innovative in caring for them, and their care can be costly.

Donate today to help us continue to provide uncompromised care to the National Aviary’s flock.

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National Aviary Teaching Hospital

Our renowned Veterinary Teaching Hospital offers valuable opportunities to students interested in pursuing careers in veterinary medicine, wildlife biology, bird conservation, and environmental education. Through workshops, presentations, and publications, our veterinary expertise and technical advancements not only benefit students but also aid other veterinarians and wildlife rehabilitators worldwide.

We are dedicated to supporting the next generation of professionals through internships that provide training in field research, monitoring techniques, animal care, environmental education, and conservation practices. These experiences have had a profound impact here and in Latin America, South Africa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

An intern feeding a Fairy Blue-bird chick
Interns looking at x-rays alongside a National Aviary veterinarian.

In The News

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The Aviary’s sloths celebrated their birthdays with help from local families | Kidsburgh

The National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Side is home to all kinds of feathered and furry friends, including three Linnaeus’s two-toed sloths.

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National Aviary celebrates birthdays of its 2 sloths | Yahoo! News

Vivien, a Linnaeus’s Two-toed Sloth, turned eight years old, while Wookiee celebrated his 25th birthday, marking a quarter of a century.

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National Aviary celebrates birthdays of its 2 sloths | WPXI

The National Aviary celebrated the birthdays of two of its resident sloths, Vivien and Wookiee, on Thursday, drawing nearly 300 guests to the event.

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National Aviary launching fall theme, offering whimsical encounters with feathered friends | WPXI

The National Aviary is launching its fall seasonal theme, ‘Forests Presented by Peoples,’ starting Sept. 3 and offering visitors an immersive experience with a diverse array of feathered friends.

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Extinct-in-the-wild Guam kingfisher hatches at National Aviary | KDKA News

A bird that's extinct in the wild recently hatched at the National Aviary.

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