Standing 16 inches in height and weighing three pounds, this is the smallest penguin species. It is estimated that over a million live in Southern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, sometimes not far from large cities. “Penguin parades”, where they march across the beach from the surf to their burrows in the sand, are popular tourist attractions. Several Fairy or Blue penguins have been hatched at the DWA, where they have been kept since 2002.
Unknown to science until 1912, this gorgeous starling was first bred in captivity in 1931. Since the 1960s, thousands have been bred in zoos around the world (including the DWA), resulting in a self-sustaining genetically healthy population. On its native island of Bali, in Indonesia, its population fell to a dozen by 1999, due to illegal trapping. Recent attempts to reintroduce it to the wild have been encouraging.
This magnificent parrot is found in New Guinea, Australia’s Cape York Peninsula and nearby islands. Unlike some other cockatoos, it is a true forest bird. The skin on its cheeks can change color rapidly. It has proven more difficult to breed in captivity than most parrots.
The largest members of the pigeon and dove family, the three species of crowned pigeons are found only in New Guinea and small nearby islands. All have powder-blue feathers and red eyes, but this species is distinguished by the unique “tabs” on its crest. Though capable of flight, it is usually found on the ground. It does well in captivity and has been bred in many collections.
This bird is dependent on the continued existence of old growth forests in Southeast Asia. Outside the breeding season, it eats a wide variety of fruits, supplemented with small animals while it raises chicks. The nest is a deep hole in a tall tree into which the female is sealed by the male, with a cement-like mixture of mud, feces and fruit; she remains inside for weeks. Except for their eye color (males have red eyes and females have white eyes), males and females look alike. Not bred in captivity until 1986, this species is now managed as an international zoo population.
Found only on the Indonesian islands of Seram, Saparua and Haruku, this parrot has long been popular with collectors. It was kept in Europe as early as 1601 and centuries before in China. Trapping for the pet trade had made it a highly endangered bird by the 1980s but many are now bred in captivity. It can live more than 60 years.
The 23 species of Green pigeons are found in Africa, Asia and the Lesser Sundas. They are usually found in trees, where they eat fruit, especially figs. The green coloration is due to carotenoid pigments similar to those that produce the red and pink plumage of flamingos. While common over a wide area of Tropical Africa, this species is not often seen in zoos.
One of a number of rather similar looking mostly green turacos that have black facial markings, this species is distinguished by the broad rose-red margin to its crest. Found only in coastal forests, from Somalia to Tanzania, as well as Zanzibar, it was not bred in captivity until the 1990s. It is very rare in US zoos, but commonly displayed in Europe. Captive turacos easily live more than 20 years.
Although it is the most widely distributed of all of the 23 species of turacos, with a broad range in the forests of West and Central Africa, the Great blue turaco was very rare in zoos until the 1990s. In recent years, it has been bred repeatedly at several collections. This is one of several species of turacos that does not have the bright red wing feathers otherwise typical of this family.
Turacos are an entirely African family. Traditionally considered distant relatives of cuckoos, it has been proposed these fruit and bud-eating birds may be more closely related to owls. Found almost coast to coast across Africa, in a narrow ribbon of forest habitat, this species is popular in zoos and private collections because of its “Groucho Marx eyebrows” contrasting with its unique white head. Many have hatched since the first captive breedings in the 1970s.
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