The Spotted Whistling-duck is a distinctive duck species found in southeast Asia. Also known as the tree duck, it has long legs and a long neck compared to other ducks, and is very comfortable perching high up in trees. They favor low-lying wetlands, where they both dabble and dive for food which includes seeds and invertebrates; they are most active at night. This species is not globally threatened.

The Steller’s Sea Eagle is a fierce, impressive raptor with chocolate-brown plumage and striking white shoulders and tail. With its deep, strongly arched bill and massive yellow feet, it’s no wonder that the Japanese call this bird O-washi (The Great Eagle). At nearly four-feet in length and an average weight of 13-20 pounds, Steller’s Sea Eagles are one of the largest eagle species in the world, outweighing both the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) and the Philippine Monkey-eating Eagle (Pithocophaga jefferyi), and with a wingspan (up to 6 – 8 feet) second only to its near-cousin the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Not surprisingly, an adult Steller’s Sea Eagle has no natural predators.

The species is vulnerable to changes in its habitat and food supplies, however. This huge eagle needs an equally huge territory, so the Steller’s population (which is not large) is widespread and particularly sensitive to habitat loss due to climate change. Threats to already declining Pacific Salmon populations translate into potential prey shortages during the all-important breeding season.

Striped Skunks are nocturnal mammals found across North America, known for their distinctive black and white fur pattern and bushy tail (which is about half the length of its body!). They are typically active at night, foraging for food such as insects, small mammals, and plants.

Infamous for their strong, musky odor, skunks can spray as a defense mechanism when threatened. This pungent spray is produced by glands near the tail and serves as a potent deterrent to potential predators. But don’t worry – you won’t smell that at the National Aviary. As this defense mechanism is not needed for skunks in expert care, our resident Striped Skunks were “de-scented” before their arrival to the Aviary – meaning their scent glands were safely removed. 

Often misunderstood, skunks play a crucial role in their ecosystems by controlling insect and rodent populations. In turn, this is beneficial to agriculture as it reduces pest damage to crops. This behavior also helps maintain a balance in the food chain, which can benefit ground-nesting birds and other wildlife. Additionally, skunks’ foraging activities can expose critical food sources – such as the dispersal of various seeds – that attract bird species.

The Sunbittern is an unusual bird of forested streams of Central and South America. This species is perhaps best known for a characteristic display involving large “eyespots” in the plumage of their wings. Sunbitterns have a characteristic “Frontal Display” that they use when they are threatened.  The spread and tilt their wings forward, exposing two large eyespots.  The tail is lifted and fanned out to fill the gap between the wings. Overall, the posture dramatically increases the apparent size of the displaying bird while exposing the fake eyes.  Both sexes use the display, and young Sunbitterns practice the display in the nest when they are just 10 days old.

The Sunbittern is at home on both swift and rocky streams, and slower moving, sandy or silt-bottomed streams, where is stalks fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. and then captures them with a quick lunge. The Sunbittern is currently listed as a species of Least Concern.

Superb Starlings are dark iridescent blue on the back of their head and chest, a black face that sets off their bright white eyes, metallic blue-green back and wings, and a dark orange belly bounded by bright white under the tail and in a band across the breast. The Superb Starling occurs in open woodland, including very arid country, as well as cultivated areas and gardens around human habitations of East Africa. This starling forages mostly on the ground where its diet consists mostly of insects, but it will also eat berries, small fruits, and human food scraps from around settlements and picnic sites. This species practices cooperative breeding, with helpers assisting in nest-building and feeding young. The helpers are most often males from a previous brood. The Superb Starling is not considered threatened.

The Taveta Golden Weaver occurs in East African in Kenya and Tanzania. They are found in swampy lowland areas during the breeding season. Outside of the breeding season, they are found in adjacent dry bush country. They build impressive spherical nests hanging over water. The intricately weaving strips of reed leaf blades that make up their ovoid-shaped nests are hung from bulrushes or from overhanging trees. While the Taveta Golden Weaver is very localized, it occurs in large numbers, and is not globally threatened.

Tawny Frogmouths are comical looking birds with large eyes and wide mouths. They are found throughout Australia in a wide variety of habitats, from Eucalyptus forests to city parks. They inhabit areas with extreme temperature variation, with very cold nights and very hot days. To stay cool, Tawny Frogmouths engorge the blood vessels in the mouth, which helps to cool air as it is inhaled. In the winter, pairs roost together to share body warmth, and they will often sunbathe in the daylight, opening their beaks wide and moving their heads from side to side for sunlight to penetrate their thick feathers. In the winter, they spend much of their days and nights in torpor.

One of a number of species of toucans, popular for their enormous, colorful beaks, the Toco Toucan is the only one which is adapted to drier, more open habitats. These include a mosaic of natural forested, agricultural, and successional habitats, including gallery forests, palm groves, open woodlands, secondary forest, savanna and thorn-forest, plantations, and orchards. Toco Toucans use their bills to feed on a variety of fruits and insects, but are also well-known for preying on the eggs and nestlings of other bird species. This toucan nests in hollow trees. While many bird species in tropical South America are threatened by the conversion of natural forests to agriculture, the Toco Toucan is more flexible in its habitat requirements and is not currently of conservation concern.

The Turquoise Tanager occurs in the Amazon Basin and nearby habitats of South America where it favors forest edge, clearings with scattered trees, tall second growth, riparian forests, and parks and gardens. It consumes about equal proportions of fruit and insects, but in particular, mistletoe berries are a very important part of the diet of this tanager. The Turquoise Tanager is not globally threatened, and may even be increasing because of its ability to occupy different stages of second growth.

The Venezuelan Troupial is the national bird of Venezuala. It is found in northern South America and several Caribbean islands. It occurs in dry woodland of acacia and tree-like cacti, but also in pastures and savanna, dry or seasonal woodlands, and sometimes old fruit plantations. The Venezuelan Troupial is omnivorous, feeding on nectar, fruits, seeds, arthropods and small vertebrates. This species usually pirates the nest of some other species, and can often be aggressive in taking over nests. Although Venezuelan Troupials are trapped for the cage bird trade, they are not considered threatened.

Named for the British Monarch Queen Victoria, the Victoria Crowned Pigeon is without doubt a royal bird. Its dusty blue-grey feathers may remind one of the pigeons found on any city street, but the Crowned Pigeon’s elegant blue lace crest, scarlet eyes, and rakish black mask are unlike anything you’ll find pecking around in the city park. Add in the fact that this largest of all pigeons is nearly the size of a turkey, and you know you’re seeing something special.

Victoria Crowned Pigeons like to be in pairs or small groups, wandering the forests of New Guinea in search of the seeds and fallen fruits that make up most of their diet. Males will sometimes spar with each other during the breeding season — flaring their wings and puffing up their chests to look larger and more impressive for the females — but they tend to live peacefully together the rest of the year. Groups of Crowned Pigeons spend most of their time on the ground, only flying up into the branches of trees when startled, or when they want somewhere safe to roost overnight.

Hunting and habitat destruction have already extirpated the Victoria Crowned Pigeon from many of its traditional territories in New Guinea. And the population continues to fall. Based on current estimates, there are only 10,000 – 20,000 Victoria Crowned Pigeons left in the wild.

The Vietnam Pheasant, also called the Edwards’s Pheasant, is a little-known species which may be Extinct in the Wild. It has not been observed in the wild since 2000 and is currently listed as Critically Endangered. Much of the species’ potential habitat was destroyed as a result of herbicide use during the Vietnam War, and subsequent logging and clearing of land for agriculture further contributed to the loss of suitable habitat. Hunting has also been a problem for the species.

The Vietnam Pheasant is considered by many to be the most endangered of all pheasant species. An elusive bird not seen in Central Vietnam’s dense, evergreen forests since 2000. While it’s is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Critically Endangered, but many believe the species could be Extinct in the Wild.