IUCN: Least Concern
- Animals & Habitats
- Our Animals
- Least Concern
FUN FACT
Also called vulturine fish-eagle, or simply fishing vulture, this species is sufficiently unique to be classified in a monotypic (only one species) genus of its own.
A striking black and white vulture of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Palm-nut Vulture is found along the edges of tropical forests, large rivers, lakes, and seashores, especially where oil palms abound. Unlike other vultures, the Palm-nut Vulture feeds only occasionally on smaller carrion – and rarely at large animal carcasses – and instead specializes its feeding on the fleshy fruit and husks of the oil palm, and on the palm-fruits of Raffia palm. These fruits make up more than 60% of an adult bird’s diet and more than 90% of a juvenile bird’s diet. Unlike the situation with many vultures in the Old World, the Palm-nut Vulture’s population is stable or even increasing.
Habitat
Edges of tropical forests, large rivers, lakes, mangroves, estuaries and seashore, and cultivated areas where oil palms abound
Diet
Mainly the fleshy fruit-husks of the oil palm and on the palm-fruits of Raffia palm; insects, crabs, mollusks, frogs, fish, small mammals, and reptile eggs and hatchlings; occasionally smaller carrion, but, unlike other vultures, rarely at large animal carcasses
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
A Palm-nut Vulture pair performs acrobatic aerial courtship displays and are highly territorial around their nest, which both sexes build out of sticks in the open fork or crown of a tall tree 6–60 meters above ground. They use the same nest year after year, laying a single egg that is incubated by both sexes for 35–50 days. The nestling is cared for by both adults and fledges in about 90 days.
FUN FACT
King Vultures have one of the strongest beaks out of all the American vultures, being able to open a carcass that the others cannot. This is why they often eat first, with the other vultures eating what remains.
The third largest of the vultures of the Americas, the King Vulture has one of the strongest beaks out of all the American vultures and is able to open carcasses that the others cannot. While some of its food may be dead fish or lizards, other times it feeds on sloths, monkeys, or cattle. This is a vulture of the tropical lowland forests of Central and South America. Like other vultures, the King Vulture requires variety in its habitat so that it combines open areas where carrion can be found, isolated nest sites such as rock outcrops, and undisturbed stands of large trees for roosting. Although not considered threatened at this time, there are few data on population trends and some concern that the King Vulture may be declining as a result of habitat destruction.
Habitat
Lowland dry or humid tropical forests and other wooded areas, as well as more open areas adjacent to forest, and generally well away from human habitations
Diet
Feed on carcasses of many sizes ranging from dead fish, lizards, sloths, and monkeys up to cattle. They have been reported to occasionally kill small reptiles, wounded animals, and newborn calves.
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
One egg is laid directly on the ground or the bottom of a tree cavity or rock ledge anywhere from ground level to 70 meters up on a rock ledge; the species has been documented nesting within Maya ruins.

FUN FACT
Turacos are the only birds in the world whose green feathers derive from a pigment, turacoverdin, which is named after the birds.
A beautiful multicolored bird with flashy white cheeks, the White-cheeked Turaco is native to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, where they inhabit higher elevation Podocarpus and juniper forests, as well as tall gallery trees and thick bush along watercourses at lower elevations. Here the turaco favors the fruits and berries of Podocarpus trees and junipers.
Habitat
Typically occurs in high elevation Podocarpus and juniper forest (2200-3200m); also in tall gallery trees and thick bush along watercourses at lower elevations
Diet
Fruits and berries of Podocarpus trees and junipers
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
The White-cheeked Turaco's nest is a thick but very loosely constructed platform of dry twigs built some 7–10 meters above ground. Both sexes incubate 2 eggs for 22-23 days. Hatchlings are covered in black downy feathers. They begin to explore the branches around the nest at 18-19 days, and can fly at 25-26 days.











FUN FACT
At almost two feet long and weighing one and a half pounds, the Toco Toucan is the largest of more than 40 species in the Toucan family.
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.
Habitat
Uses 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
Diet
Fruits, insects, bird eggs and nestling birds
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
Toco Toucans nest in tree hollows. Both parents incubate a clutch of 2-4 eggs for 17-18 days. They feed nestlings insects at first, then fruit. Young fledge at 43-52 days.











FUN FACT
This species has very unusual curlicue feathers on top of its head that make it look like it has a perm!
The Curl-crested Aracari is an eye-catching small toucan found in lowland forests in parts of Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia. It is very colorful, with bright yellow, red, and green feathers and a multi-colored bill. Its most distinctive feature is the glossy black curlicue feathers atop its head. They eat mostly fruits but occasionally will eat the eggs of other birds. This species is not globally threatened but is vulnerable to human hunting activities.
Habitat
Occurs in lowland wet forest, forest edges, and clearings, and lower hill forest
Diet
Fruits; also eggs and nestlings of other birds
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
The breeding information about this species is almost completely unknown! Curl-crested Aracaris have been observed bowing and calling in courtship displays. It is thought that they may nest in groups.











FUN FACT
Barbets are related to toucans and woodpeckers.
The Bearded Barbet derives its name from the distinctive bristles that sit at the base of its bill, which both males and females possess. This handsome bird, with bright red underbelly and glossy black feathers on its back, is native to the tropical habitats of western Africa. Bearded Barbets are often found in groups, moving from one fruiting tree to another and clipping fruits with their powerful bills. The Bearded Barbet is not globally threatened.
Habitat
Occurs near acacia, baobab, fig, and other fruiting trees in gardens; also in open woods and thickets and secondary growth associated with abandoned farmlands
Diet
Little known, but includes fruit, and perhaps chiefly figs
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
Bearded Barbets excavate a nest in a dead stub or dead branch of a tree, such as acacia or palm. Their nesting habits are little studied. They are reported to lay 2 eggs. In human care, Bearded Barbets incubate their eggs for at least 16 days and nestlings remain with parents for about 40 days.











FUN FACT
The Sunbittern is perhaps best known for a characteristic display involving large “eyespots” in the plumage of their wings.
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.
Habitat
Forested streams and rivers with sandbars and pools. Uses both swift and rocky streams and slower moving, sandy or silt-bottomed streams.
Diet
Fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. Hunts by looking intensely and patiently for prey and then lunging with a rapid thrust, similar to a heron.
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
The Sunbittern's nest is a globular structure made of decayed leaves, sticks, and green moss, and held together predominately by mud. Nests are built on on bare branches 2-3 meters above ground, usually near streams but not directly above water. Both parents incubate the clutch of 2-3 eggs for 27 days. Chicks fledge in 17-24 days.











FUN FACT
Sloths do everything upside down! They eat, sleep, mate, and even give birth upside down.
Linnaeus’s Two-toed Sloths are expert climbers. When you visit the Tropical Rainforest, you may catch Wookiee hanging upside down high in the canopy, or moving slowly along branches and vines. They have two claws on their hands and three claws on their feet, all measuring about 4 inches in length, that help them to hang. Sloths only come down from the trees once every week or so to defecate. Sloths live life in the slow lane, moving about 0.2 miles per hour in the trees, and sleep upwards of 15 hours each day! Sloths are anything but lazy, though. All of this sleeping helps them to conserve energy—an important thing for an animal whose diet of leaves, shoots, and barks is not very nutritious. They have a large, multi-chambered stomach that can hold huge quantities of food. It can take up to a month for a sloth to digest one meal!
A symbolic sloth adoption is a great gift, and helps us care for our flock!
Adopt Today!Habitat
Tropical lowland and mountain rainforests
Diet
Leaves, twigs, buds, fruits, flowers, and occasional insects
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
Two-toed sloths have a 10-month gestation period and give birth to a single offspring.











FUN FACT
These striking pigeons can weigh more than a pound.
The Pied Imperial-Pigeon is a very large inhabitant of coastal forests, mangroves and coconut plantations, principally on islands in the Indo-Malayan region. This species travels in flocks at dusk and dawn and nests in colonies of up to tens of thousands of birds. They are among the most powerful and agile flyers in the bird world, and they have very large flight muscles. This has enabled them to colonize many different islands across expansive stretches of open water.
Habitat
Coastal forests, mangroves and coconut plantations. Typically nests and roosts on small offshore islands, but this strong-flying bird will visit coastal mainland and large islands to feed.
Diet
Frugivorous; feeds on a variety of fruits and berries, including wild figs and the large fruits of wild nutmegs
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
The Pied Imperial-Pigeon usually breeds in colonies on offshore islets. In Sumatra, they nest mainly in mangroves. The nest is a flimsy platform, and they usually lay only one egg.
The Green-winged Dove, also called the Asian Emerald Dove or the Grey-capped Emerald Dove, is found in a wide range of forest types, including rainforests, mangroves, and bamboo forests, throughout Southeast Asia. It primarily eats seeds and fallen fruits on the forest floor, but occasionally eats insects including termites and snails, and can sometimes be found on farmyards feeding alongside pigs and domestic fowl. The Green-winged Dove is not globally threatened, but predation by rats and feral cats poses a danger.
FUN FACT
This species is also called the “black headed fruit dove,” although only the male has black on the nape of his neck. The female and young are about as solid bright green as any bird could be!
Black-naped Fruit-Doves are colorful birds, common on the islands of Java, Bali, and Sulawesi. Males are a rainbow of colors, with a yellow throat patch, purplish wing tips, red undertail feathers, and a silvery head topped with a black cap. Females are almost entirely green. They forage for berries and fruits in pairs or small flocks, plucking fruits directly from the trees. Black-naped Fruit-Doves may eat as many as 36 different fruits, making this species ecologically important as a seed disperser. This species is not globally threatened.
Habitat
Inhabits forest, forest edge, and patches of scrub and forest; will visit fruiting trees in open country, agricultural areas, and suburban parks and gardens; mangroves are important habitat for the species on small islands
Diet
An obligate frugivore, known to take fruits and berries directly from branches
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
Black-naped Fruit-Doves build a simple platform of twigs, usually placed low, and lay one egg.











FUN FACT
This dove is beautiful because it is extremely colorful. It has been described as having a “red crown, whitish throat, a greenish-yellow bill and purplish-red feet…blue-grey breast and yellowish orange belly, with a reddish purple patch in between,” which is pretty much every color of the rainbow!
The Beautiful Fruit-Dove is appropriately named! This dove has gorgeous coloring, from its purplish-red crown to its green wings and orange underbelly. The Beautiful Fruit-Dove is found in New Guinea, where it lives in all levels of primary and secondary forests, from understory to canopy. They are frugivorous (fruit-eating), and forage either alone or in pairs. The Beautiful Fruit-Dove is not globally threatened, and appears to be adaptable to human-altered habitats.
Habitat
Primary and secondary forest; prefers high rainfall areas. Uses all levels of the forest from the understory to the canopy, and can also be found occasionally at the forest edge and in native gardens
Diet
Frugivorous, taking fruit from a variety of trees, shrubs, palms and vines. Can swallow fruits as big as 2 cm in diameter. Generally is very active and acrobatic when feeding.
Status
Least Concern
Breeding
The Beautiful Fruit-Dove's nest is a loose, slight platform of twigs and a few leaves, placed on lateral branches near the top of a slender understory tree, or on a palm frond or other low platform. They lay a single white egg.











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