A smaller egret, the Eastern Cattle Egret is named for its habit of stalking insects and other small prey disturbed by herds of cattle moving through and grazing in grassland habitats. Egrets will fly to a grass fire from far away in order to catch fleeing insects, and they even forage at airports, waiting at the edges of the runways for airplanes to pass and blow insects out of the grass. A worldwide phenomenon, the Eastern Cattle Egret is renowned for having colonized without human assistance three continents in just the last hundred years! This world-traveling species inhabits a wide variety of open drier, grassy habitats such as fields, pastures, and rice paddies, and so has likely benefited from agricultural disturbances. The Eastern Cattle Egret nests colonially often and is sometimes present in mixed colonies with other species of herons, cormorants, storks, and ibises.

Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes are hawk-like songbirds. They have a strong hooked bill for capturing prey which they can carry in their beak or with their feet. They impale larger inspects and vertebrates on long thorns and even barbed wire fences. This action makes it easier for them to consume their prey and enables them to hunt prey in abundance – storing it for later consumption. The act of storing prey for up to a few days can degrade the structure of any toxins, making it safe to eat -a similar adaption can be found in Monarch Butterflies! 

Conservation:
The Eastern Loggerhead Shrike is one of Canada’s most endangered songbirds. Loss of Grassland habitats due to issues such as overuse of agricultural land and pesticides are contributing to their rapid decline. The National Aviary is collaborating with the Wildlife Conservation Partners (WCP) in a carefully coordinated breeding program to help increase this species’ population. The Aviary currently hosts one pair of Eastern Loggerhead Shrikes’ behind-the-scenes. The pair have hatched chicks that will be released by the WPC team, at the Napanee and Carden plains of Ontario to supplement existing wild populations. 

Eastern Screech-Owls are a very common owl species throughout North America, and they have gotten very used to living near humans. These pint-sized owls can be gray or a reddish-brown. They roost and nest in cavities in trees, but also make use of nest boxes. Males are smaller than females, but still have a deeper voice.

Eurasian Eagle-Owls have the largest wingspan of any owl species, reaching a whopping 6.5 feet! This species is widely distributed across Europe and Asia, and frequents a variety of habitats, from coniferous forests to grasslands and deserts. Eurasian Eagle-Owls are powerful flyers and soar on updrafts, similar to the flight style of many hawks. They are considered an apex predator, and have no natural predators, and they use a variety of hunting techniques to obtain prey. They are not picky eaters, and will eat anything from small mammals like voles to snakes and lizards, and occasionally even other birds of prey.

Widespread across parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the Eurasian Kestrel, or Common Kestrel, is a small, adaptable raptor, found in a great variety of habitats, including open or moderately wooded terrains with low shrubs, grasslands, steppes, and even subdesert. It may also occur in villages, towns, and even cities. The Eurasian Kestrel forages on small mammals, insects, and birds, and is able to see in ultraviolet light; this helps the birds to detect the urine trails around rodent burrows as they shine in an ultraviolet color in the sunlight. Nest sites for this species include natural ledges, holes in rock faces or trees, or old nests of other birds. Kestrels will also utilize nestboxes. This is the most common diurnal raptor throughout most of its range and is not considered threatened.

The Fairy-bluebird lives up to its name: this bird’s plumage is a deep brilliant blue. Males have glossy black feathers on the wings, chest, and tail, and the eyes of both sexes are bright red. Found in tropical forests throughout southeast Asia, the Fairy-bluebird mainly eats fruit, which it takes while perched or snatches from trees mid-flight. This species often joins mixed-species parties of insectivores hunting among foliage; it is observed in flocks of up to ten, but as many as 40 may gather at especially rich food sources. The Fairy-bluebird is not globally threatened and is more or less common throughout most of its range. However, local decreases and disappearances due to hunting, habitat loss, and the cagebird trade may soon require a reassessment and downgrading of its status to Near Threatened or Vulnerable.

The Golden Eagle, named for the golden feathers on its nape, is a resident of the New and Old Worlds, and occurs in a wide variety of open habitats, from desert areas to the edge of the tundra, and from sea-level to high alpine mountain levels. It is one of the largest birds in North America. It generally avoids forested areas, except in the winter, and nests on cliffs, isolated trees, or other structures. The Golden Eagle forages primarily on small to medium-sized mammals. Although not considered to be globally threatened, this species is frequently a victim of shootings and poisonings. Many are killed by collision with power lines and, in certain areas, wind turbines.

A small, understory specialist, the Golden White-eye is an Endangered bird restricted to the islands of Saipan and Aguijan in the Northern Mariana Islands. This species occurs in a wide variety of wooded and semi-wooded habitats, including suburban areas where it pursues a generalized diet of berries, seeds, nectar, and flower parts, as well as flying insects and other small invertebrates. Although still locally common, the introduction of the brown tree snake on Saipan has put this bird at extreme risk. The National Aviary is a partner with the Marianas Avifauna Conservation (MAC) Project, which is working to save this and other species in the region from extinction.

The Golden-breasted Starling is a beautifully colored bird, unmistakable and hard to miss! It inhabits the dry bush and savanna of the arid and semi-arid regions of northeastern Africa. This starling forages mainly on the ground for a variety of insects and some fruits, but termites are a favorite food. This species is a cooperative breeder, meaning multiple birds of the same species participate in the rearing of young. As many as nine helpers can assist at the nest of a pair of Golden-breasted Starlings. The nest itself is placed in a natural cavity in a tree, or in an abandoned barbet nest. The Golden-breasted Starling is not considered threatened at this time.

A native of lowland evergreen forest, deciduous and mixed woodland, open forest, and cleared areas with scattered tall trees of India and Indochina, the striking Golden-crested Myna forages for fruit and insects high in the canopy. A cavity nester, this species most frequently utilizes natural holes in trees. Although Golden-crested Mynas are often captured for the pet trade because of their ability to mimic human words and other sounds, this species is not currently considered threatened.

Native to East Africa, the Gray Crowned-Crane is featured on Uganda’s coat of arms and flag and is the country’s national bird; this bird also is a sacred symbol for Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa. The Gray Crowned-Crane is unique among the cranes in being one of only two species capable of perching in trees, owing to their having a long hind toe useful for grasping. Although this species has historically favored wetlands and open grassland or savannah, it is now found mostly in human-modified habitats, such as pastures, croplands, and ranches. Here the Gray Crowned-Crane feeds on seeds of sedges, fresh tips of grasses, crickets, locusts, and other insects and small animals. To hunt for food, the Gray Crowned-Crane stamps its feet on the ground to cause bugs to run out of the grass. This crane nests in or along the edges of their wetland homes, but young birds do not fledge for almost 100 days. The Gray Crowned-Crane has suffered a massive decline in population resulting from a plethora of impacts of human population growth and expansion of agriculture resulting in loss of wetlands, sedimentation, and contamination.

A fabulously majestic resident of tall, dry, primary, and secondary forests of the Indo-Malayan region, the Great Argus forages solitarily for fruit, seeds, flowers, and invertebrates on the forest floor. The bird’s taxonomic and common names both derive from Argus, the hundred-eyed giant, from Greek mythology (a reference to the many eye-like spots on the Argus’s wings and tail). Male Great Argus put on quite a courtship show on their “dancing grounds”: they carefully clear an area of all debris, then march in circles and stomp their feet loudly in front of the female. Then, he’ll show off his feathers in an incredible display, with wing feathers fanned out around his body and his two long tail feathers high up above him. The male’s call is a very loud and startling, “Kwow-wow!” Habitat loss from legal and illegal logging and hunting and trapping threaten the future of this remarkable pheasant.