The Northern Red Bishop, sometimes called the Orange Bishop, is a small songbird found in the grasslands and wetlands of Africa. Some populations have become established in other areas, as well. This species forages in small flocks, primarily eating seeds. Males are a stunning orange. Females are less colorful but have beautiful streaking. Their song is a buzzy “zee-zee-zee” sound.

The Green Singing Finch is native to the diverse landscapes of Africa (south of the Sahara Desert). These birds thrive in various habitats, from lowland open woodlands to savannas, gardens, and farmyards – showcasing their adaptability in wild and human-altered environments. Their diet is just as varied, primarily consisting of seeds, buds, flowers, and leaves. They also occasionally consume insects such as termites. 

A charming aspect of the Green Singing Finch is their intricate nesting behaviors. They construct a small, deep, compact cup of grasses, plant stems, and fibers nestled in the fork of a tree or shrub (providing safety for their young). They are also a vocal species – known to produce melodic chirps and songs within their habitats. 

Despite their popularity in the pet trade, these birds are not considered globally threatened. 

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.

When most of us think of the canary, we think of a cheerful, bright yellow bird in a decorative cage. In reality, this common canary (Serinus canaria domestica) is the domesticated cousin of the “true” Island Canary (Serinus canaria), native to the Canary Islands just off the northwest coast of Africa.

Spanish sailors first brought the canary to Europe in 1478, where it was prized among those wealthy enough to afford one for the male canary’s silvery, twittering song. The brilliant yellow color that we associate with modern domestic canaries is the result of a genetic mutation that suppresses the melanin in the birds’ feathers, effectively “erasing” the dark banding and streaking found on wild birds. For the next century, the Spaniards controlled availability of canaries by only selling male birds to the rest of Europe. When a shipping accident in the 16th Century allowed a shipment of the birds to escape to Elba Island in the Tuscan Archipelago, the Italians were quick to take advantage of the situation. Soon canaries were being bred and sold all over the world outside of Spanish control.

The ready availability of domestic canaries made them ideal candidates when, in the late 1890’s, pioneering physiologist John Scott Haldane recommended the use of small, warm-blooded animals as “sentinels” for the build-up of toxic gases in coal mines. A build-up of toxic gases following “firedamp” and coal dust explosions was known to be what killed most miners, but reliable gas detectors were hard to come by. The flame of a “safety lamp” could be used to detect rising levels of methane and “chokedamp” (a combination of gaseous nitrogen and carbon dioxide), but no mechanical means of measuring carbon monoxide existed. With their small body size and faster metabolism, animals such as mice and canaries would succumb to a build-up of carbon monoxide more quickly than a human. Canaries came to be preferred over mice because the birds more visibly demonstrated signs of distress in the presence of even small quantities of carbon monoxide gas. This few minutes of warning gave miners time to put on protective gas masks, or even to leave the mines entirely. In their capacity as sentinels, canaries saved the lives of thousands of miners during the nearly 100 years they were in use. Today, we still use the phrase “the canary in a coal mine” when we talk about species who are biological indicators for the health of an ecosystem – species who, like the canary for the miners, begin to suffer and die as an early sign that something is wrong. Changes in the function, health, or population of these indicator species can reveal such things as the accumulation of pollutants (lamp shell brachiopods), changes in overall air quality (milkweed and some strains of white pine are sensitive to ozone), and the threat of rising ocean temperatures (corals and marine fishes worldwide).

The Meyer’s Parrot (also called the Brown Parrot), is a species native to tropical Africa, found throughout scrub, savanna, palm grove, and subtropical woodland habitats. This species relies on old-growth areas with large trees, because it nests in the excavated cavities left by woodpeckers. While the Meyer’s Parrot is similar to other parrots in its diet of fruit and seeds, it has also been observed eating the flowers of some trees and shrubs. This parrot is considered an agricultural pest because of the damage it can do to ripening food crops. Meyer’s Parrot populations are stable, given their large population and their wide range.

African Grey Parrots, a medium-sized parrot native to the forests of central Africa, are some of the best mimics in the bird world. In the wild, this species often copies the sounds of other animals in the forest. Around people, they may learn to copy a variety of sounds including laughter, a phone ringing, whistling, human speech, and many other sounds. Two African Grey Parrots roosting in Zaire were reported by researchers to have a repertoire of over 200 different sounds, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and even one of a bat! This species is widely believed the be one of the most intelligent bird species. African Greys can live to be 60 years old. While their charismatic personalities and mimicry make them popular, they can be very challenging to keep as pets. This species is vulnerable to the illegal wildlife trade and habitat loss and destruction.

White-throated Bee-eaters are colorful, social birds, named for their ability to pluck honeybees (and other insects) from the air with amazing agility using their long, curved bills. Found throughout central Africa, they breed in the dry sub-desert steppe and winter in woodland areas and farmlands. They are the only bee-eater species that has an elaborate aerial courtship display: they alternate gliding with their wings held high with bursts of loud calls. They are not globally threatened.

Blue-bellied Rollers are a colorful species native to central Africa. Males and females look identical, and have a brilliant royal blue abdomen, dark and light blue feathers on their wings, and a tan head. They are powerful flyers and have a loud, croaking call. During the breeding season, pairs of Blue-bellied Rollers engage in elaborate courtship flights, which include nosedives and the rolling action for which they were named.

The Southern Bald Ibis is a gregarious, glossy bluish-black ibis restricted to the southern tips of South Africa. This ibis resides in mountainous regions, where it prefers higher elevation short-grass habitats, as well as recently burned, plowed, mowed, or heavily grazed fields and cultivated lands. In these grasslands, the Southern Bald Ibis feeds frequently in large flocks, primarily searching for grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars. This species usually nests colonially, building a platform of sticks on ledges or cliffs where it may be safer from predators. This ibis has suffered from human disturbances at its colonial nest sites, and impacts on grassland foraging grounds.

The shimmery feathers of the Hadada Ibis isn’t the only attention-grabbing feature of this bird: its loud call can be heard echoing through the Wetlands! Hadada Ibises are found in sub-Saharan Africa in a variety of habitats and often in close proximity to humans. This medium-sized ibis uses its long, curved beak to probe the ground for insects and the occasional small frog or reptile. Their populations are not globally threatened and in fact may even be increasing with the spread of agricultural development and irrigated land.

Made internationally famous as the result of the animated character, Zazu, in Disney’s The Lion King, the Red-billed Hornbill is a bird of open savannas and woodlands, and dry thorn-scrub with sparse ground cover in the Afrotropical region. This species forages for a variety of small invertebrates, but will also take some fruit and seeds. Like other hornbills, this species is best known for its enormous bill, and for its nesting habits. Utilizing an old barbet or woodpecker cavity as a nest, the female hornbill seals the entrance with her own droppings and food remains, lays her eggs, and incubates them for 23–25 days. The female and chicks are fed throughout this time by the male through a small opening. While in the cavity, the female molts all her wing and tail feathers, and emerges when the oldest chick is about three weeks old.

The Hamerkop is a mostly brown bird of the wetlands of Africa and Madagascar, and are known for the huge stick nests which they build – sometimes make several or more each year! Hamerkops are found in a variety of wetlands, including estuaries, and lake margins, but they also require nearby trees important for roosting and nesting. Like other marsh-dwellers, Hamerkops consume frogs, fish and large insects. This species can be locally common and is not currently considered to be threatened.