The Invisible Bird: The Northern Parula

This year there is one bird that I hear everywhere, but I don’t see it.  Not once have I seen this bird!  As soon as I hear it I start looking everywhere!  I probably look like a crazy person, but I don’t care.

 In my defense, every time that I hear this elusive bird I am caught without my binoculars.  I’m usually at work with the World Bird Sanctuary show and display at Grant’s Farm, holding an eagle for the family photo opportunity that we are a part of this year.  Often times I’m busy getting the display area all spiffed up for the day or getting ready for show time.

The Northern Parula (photo: wikipedia)

But, I digress.  The point is that I hear these birds singing all day long and by golly I would love to see one!  They have such a sweet little song and they’re such dapper little gals/guys. Even with binoculars, though, they would be pretty difficult to find unless you know where and what to look for.

Northern Parulas, Setophaga americana, are warblers that have a blue head and wings, a yellow chest, a white belly, and a green back.  You would think that they would be pretty easy to find with all those pretty colors, but the blue and yellow are great colors for camouflage.  The colors help to break up the outline of the bird’s body so that it might look like a leaf blowing in the breeze while the sun shines on it.  It’s helpful if you can zero in on its location while it’s singing.  Their vocalization sounds kind of like an ascending buzz.  Personally, I think it sounds like a zipper. 

The reason I have such a hard time finding them, next to lack of binoculars, is that they prefer to sing in the upper canopy where all those moving leaves block my view from the ground.  In mature forests near streams and swamps they can choose from the many insects that also rely on a water source to survive.  When insects are sparse they will feed on available seeds and berries.  It would really be a treat to view an active nest made from hanging moss and lichen, which are especially helpful for nesting. 

I feel confident that I will eventually see one this summer, but let my mistakes be a lesson for birding.  Never leave the house without your binoculars.

Submitted by Leigh French, World Bird Sanctuary Grant’s Farm Naturalist/Trainer

Birdlore: The Common Raven, Face of the Trickster

Imagine you are walking down the World Bird Sanctuary Display Line and it is a quiet weekday morning.  You’re glancing straight ahead, walking briskly, when a ‘Hello’ is echoed behind you.  Craning your head sharply to the right, no one is there.  In fact, you realize you’re utterly alone at that moment!

 Another ‘Hello’ sounds, and you follow the call to its source from a nearby enclosure.  Beady black eyes glare at you, glistening black tail feathers flex up and down, and a long, thick, pointy beak gapes open again, “Hello.”

Poe, the Common Raven, greets you with a tease.

Poe, WBS's Common Raven (photo: Gay Schroer)

Common Ravens (Corvus corax) are highly intelligent members of the corvid family.  They are described as having the brain capacity of a 3-5 year-old child and can use tools to gather food and solve puzzles.  This cleverness also allows them to outsmart or outmaneuver other birds.  A pair of ravens will work together to steal from seabird colonies.  One raven will distract a brooding adult on a nest and the other raven will make a grab for an egg or small chick.

Common Raven (Corvus corax) (photo: wikipedia)

Ravens are multifaceted characters in Native American culture.  They may be revered as a cultural hero, creator, or a being benevolent to humans.  Another side of the Raven is that of a trickster.  The raven will use his cunning and cleverness to obtain an object or goal, either for self-seeking or selfless reasons.

One story among the northwest tribes tells how raven reclaims the sun and moon hidden away from the rest of the world.

Raven Steals the Light

Once long ago in ancient times, a mighty chief lived with his beautiful daughter.  He took the sun and the moon from the sky and hung them in his house, leaving the rest of the world shrouded in darkness.

With the darkness, the people of the earth could not hunt or fish.  They had to crawl through the forest, with their hands as their guide, to hope to find wood to light the fires in their homes.  If they thought they had found firewood they would bite it to make certain indeed.

When Raven discovered the mighty chief had taken the sun and moon from the earth, he flew to the chief’s house to reclaim what had been stolen.  Raven asked the powerful chief to restore the sun and moon to its rightful place, but the chief refused.  Not the least bit discouraged, the clever black bird devised a devious plan.

He followed the chief’s beautiful daughter to a nearby stream which she visited every day.  There, Raven waited and hid until her return the next day.  As she approached the stream, Raven transformed himself into a tiny fish and leaped into the water.  The beautiful daughter filled her bucket and then dipped her drinking cup into the cool water.  In the form of a tiny fish, Raven swam into the cup and the girl drank the water and Raven unknowingly.

The girl became pregnant after Raven entered her body and transformed into a baby.  Time passed and the girl gave birth to a boy, who was in fact Raven.  The baby grew healthy and fast and soon was a young boy.  The mighty chief loved his grandson greatly and would spoil him.  One day his grandson began crying for something.

The chief asked his grandson what he wanted in order to make him happy.  The boy gestured to the sun and moon hanging from the ceiling of their home.  Reluctant at first, the grandfather relented and gave the boy the sun and moon if he would stop crying.  The child took them outside to play with for a time, whereupon he suddenly threw them high into the sky.  The mighty chief rushed outside of his house to see what had happened, but Raven had already returned to his true form and flew far away.

That is how Raven returned light to the world.

If you would like to learn more about the intelligence of Ravens and Crows, come to the World Bird Sanctuary and speak with one of our naturalists or visit Poe, the Common Raven, who lives on the Sanctuary’s Display Line.

As with all of the creatures that call the World Bird Sanctuary home, Poe is available for adoption in our Adopt A Bird program.  Click Here to adopt Poe, or call 636-861-3225 and ask for Marion to find out more about our Adopt A Bird Program.

Submitted by Jessica Bunke, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

Falconry of the Sea

Cormorants (derived from Latin corvus marinus, or "sea raven") are medium-to-large birds that stay near to larger bodies of water to fish. They dive from the surface, and propel themselves underwater like a torpedo with their webbed feet and sometimes their wings.

Traditional cormorant fishing scene (photo: wikipedia)

Cormorant fishing is a longstanding, traditional river fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants to gather fish. It is an old tradition in China, parts of Europe, and Japan.  Cormorant fishing on the Nagara River in Japan has continued uninterrupted for the past 1,300 years. It runs from May 11 to October 15 of each year, and started as a means for people to feed their families. Cormorant fishing (ukai) has changed from a way to live, to a commercial industry, and now into a major tourist draw which hasn't changed much in its traditions.

The season starts with a river opening ceremony (kawabiraki) as a memorial service for the fish caught in the river the year before, and to offer prayers for the safety of the boats and fishermen at the commencement of the fishing season.

The fishing masters (usho) usually use the Japanese cormorant (umiu), which are native to East Asia.  The cormorants used are well fed and cared for and are treated like family by the fishing master, which in turn typically triples to quadruples their life span (wild Cormorants usually live for 4-5 years, while these trained birds live anywhere from 15-20 years).

The usho chooses 10-12 cormorants to use that evening and then dons the same traditional clothing used for centuries (dark cotton kimono, headdress to fend off sparks (kazaore-eboshi), and a straw apron that repels water (koshimino)).  They prepare their boats (ubune), a small flat bottomed boat made to navigate the shallow waters of the rivers, and set off in teams of 3 people; the usho who guides and handles the cormorants as they catch the fish, the middle rider (nakanori) who helps pick up the fish that are caught, and the companion rider (tomonori) who pilots the boat down the river. 

When they begin their evening fishing run, they light a pile of split pinewood (matsuwariki) hanging in an iron basket (kagari) suspended in front of the boat, which is used to light both the usho's path and make it easier for the cormorants to find their prey, the sweetfish (ayu). 

You can see the ring around this cormorant's neck (photo: wikipedia)

When the cormorants catch a fish, they are brought back to the boat using a leash (tenawa) attached to a ring tied around their necks, and then the usho removes the fish from the birds' throats.  The ring around their neck prevents them from swallowing the larger fish, but the cormorants are still able to swallow smaller fish they catch or are rewarded with by the usho.  The ropes are strong, but the usho are able to quickly break them if a bird's leash gets caught beneath rocks, ensuring the safety of the birds.

Cormorant fishing has a longstanding tradition on the Nagara river which has inspired both famous English comic actor Charlie Chaplin and the greatest master of haikus Matsuo Basho.  I'll leave you with one he wrote about the experience.

Exciting to see

but soon after, comes sadness

the cormorant boats.

Submitted by William Oberbeck III, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

Bird Memories: Sandhill Crane, The Elegant Bird

Driving north across the eastern half of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) on Interstate-75, I can recall the southern rocky cliff shores of this great lake shifting to flatter rolling plains inland.  While the land and climate are not supportive of most agricultural crops Michigan is known for, the U.P. is heavily forested and the source of a logging industry that dates back to the mid to late 1800s.  The U.P.’s eastern half also contains many swampy and tall grassy habitats providng homes for a diverse range of wildlife.

Sandhill Cranes prefer flat open fields (photo: Gay Schroer)

On what is a rather monotonous stretch of driving for the average individual, I had a very close encounter with a native bird species.  I was driving south toward home during a college break, when, quite casually, the tall gangly form of a Sandhill Crane entered the road after leaving a section of tall grass.  I swerved around the crane in plenty of time, of course, and the Sandhill Crane carried on in its stroll unperturbed.  Just goes to show you deer aren’t the only large animal you need to watch out for on the road!

An adult Sandhill Crane (photo: wikipedia) 

Sandhill Cranes (Grus Canadensis) are a heron-size species with a height upwards of four feet and weighing as much as ten pounds.  They have a larger body tapering off to a long slender neck and small head.  Atop their head is a red patc, and their body is mostly slate gray with an overlay of reddish-brown on their upper body.  The crane’s long legs are black.

The long and slender body of the cranes creates a gangly gracefulness in its movements.  During the breeding season, the male dances elaborately to impress his desired female.  The courting male will stretch and raise its wings, bob and bow its head, and jump up and down.

These elegant birds live in open habitats of prairies, grasslands, and wetlands during the breeding season, while spending the winter near deeper waters.  They probe through shallow waters and soft ground with their long beaks for seeds, grains, berries, insects, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and nestling birds.

Two Sandhill Cranes foraging in a grassy field (photo: wikipedia) 

The Sandhill Crane is known for its trumpet-like rolling call.  The call is loud enough to be heard from miles away when they gather into very large flocks (tens of thousands) for migration.  To hear the Sandhill Crane’s vocalizations Click Here 

If you would like to learn more about Sandhill Cranes, come visit the World Bird Sanctuary to talk to our naturalists and meet our resident Sandhill Cranes, Shawnee and Menomenee, which live on our display line.

WBS’s resident Sandhill Cranes, Shawnee & Menomenee (photo: Gay Schroer) 

As with all of our resident animals, Shawnee and Menomenee are available for adoption through our Adopt A Bird program.  To adopt Shawnee or Menomenee Click Here.

 

Submitted by Jessica Bunke, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

Free to Read

We need your help at the World Bird Sanctuary library.  Five years ago we started a free library as an answer to what we could do with a building made for our docent program, which is along our exhibit line. 

WBS's docent center/library (photo: Gay Schroer)

A volunteer had some books he asked us to give away during an event.  This generous act got us to thinking…why not develop our docent building into a free library made up of books about wildlife and the environment.  We also had pallets of posters in our warehouse that we no longer sold and were considering recycling.  Instead we decided to give them away.

The library is a great kid's activity center (photo: Sandra Lowe)

So as a thank you to the public for all the years of support, we opened our library with free books and free posters.   We also have made the entire area into a great kid’s activity center.  We have sidewalk chalk, a puppet show area, coloring sheets, crayons, and touch items such as wings and claws.  We hope it all can educate and inspire old and young alike.

The help we need is twofold; first we need volunteers to run the library. This is a very rewarding activity giving away books and posters.  In return you get smiles and people looking a little stunned when they realize it really is free. 

We need books to replenish our shelves and volunteers to staff the library

The second thing we need is books about the environment and wildlife.  These can be new or gently used books for all age levels.  We need animal books for infants and toddlers the most.  It seems these disappear quickly.  We ask people to share or return the books when they are done with them, but they can also keep them and cherish them forever.  Every year we collect hundreds of books from the public. 

We also receive books from the St. Louis book fair and would like to thank them and encourage everyone to go to the book fair each year.  We have given away close to four thousand books since the library started.  We are very proud of all the staff and volunteers who have donated their time and books to this effort.

If you have any books about wildlife or the environment that you wish to donate or you know a source that would donate books to our library, please contact Joe Hoffmann at 636 861-1392.   You can also drop books off at our new donation drop-off building near the World Bird Sanctuary Wildlife Hospital.

Submitted by Joe Hoffmann, World Bird Sanctuary Rehabilitation Hospital Manager

Raising Young Birds For Programs

Baby birds, especially Owls, are a favorite for most people.   One of the amazing and fun benefits of working at World Bird Sanctuary is to assist in raising young birds for the World Bird Sanctuary education programs. 

Currently I am assisting with raising a young Barred Owl.  This young Barred Owl was brought in to our Wildlife hospital after a storm.  Our vet was looking over this bird before we moved it to an outside enclosure for later release to the wild, and found that this youngster has eye problems.  It is blind in one eye and has poor vision in the other eye so he would not survive in the wild and could not be released.  The education department was asked if we were interested in a young Barred Owl and we said yes. So now begins the socializing part of the job.

When we socialize an owl we take the owl home and introduce them to human life--TV’s, music, activity, other people, and sometimes pets--with lots of supervision.  This is to get the owl exposed to many different things so they become more accustomed to the situations they may experience at programs.

 

As the owl gets older we start introducing the equipment, such as anklets and jesses.  Then the last step is to introduce perches. 

When we introduce the anklets and jesses we put them on and then leave the bird alone to become accustomed to them.  We then handle the bird on the glove.  We pick them up standing on the glove and holding them.  At first we sit with them on the glove for a few minutes.  Over time we increase the amount of time they are on the glove.  This gets them comfortable with the glove at a young age.  Then we introduce the perch.  The perch is introduced slowly so they become accustomed to being tethered.

All during this training time we enjoy the cute moments--the great looks, the playfulness they exhibit, such as pouncing on shadows, pouncing on toys, and also falling asleep in “interesting” positions.  Of course, we all take lots of photos of our little charge during this stage. 

Keep watching for more information on this new little star and information on adopting him.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

All Owl photos by Cathy Spahn

Zoo Show “Radar”

When sitting in the audience of a World Bird Sanctuary bird show at a zoo, the setup may appear simple enough; one person is talking (the Speaker) while two others are mostly backstage (the Trainers) cueing perches for birds to fly to or walking birds offstage.

While memorizing a roughly twelve page long script and fifteen or so different bird flight patterns (the places on stage a particular bird flies to) may not seem too bad, we have a lot more than just script and patterns on our radar!  Like the birds we work with, we must be acutely aware of anything and everything going on around the theater, and react to those things at a second’s notice.

Locust, the Red-legged Seriema, pausing to watch a plane

The main things that we are watching are the behaviors of the avian members of the team.  On the occasion a bird goes to an incorrect perch or is not flying to the next one, it is our job to determine why.  It’s often as simple as trying to look at whatever the bird is looking at!  A plane flying overhead may have caught their attention for a moment, or an audience member sifting through a purse across stage.  Usually re-pointing to a location is all we have to do to re-catch a bird’s attention, and as the Speaker we always have extra facts ready to share to fill in the time.

Riley taking off to fly to his next cue in the bleachers

The second thing everyone has an eye on is the audience.  One of my favorite parts of our show is getting into the bleacher seats and flying Riley, an American Barn Owl, right above and very close to the audience.  As you are walking to the set of bleachers in Riley’s pattern, you have a few sentences to decide where exactly you should go.  A giant snake stuffed animal resting in the back row?  To Riley that looks like a Godzilla-sized predator…not a good spot!  Everyone must keep an eye on the extra-antsy young members in attendance as well.  Emergency bathroom trips are quite common.  Trainers know when the Speaker delays saying a release cue (a point in the script that signals the next bird to appear), it’s a signal that audience members are making their way out of the theater.  Norbert the Bald Eagle should definitely not fly through the entryway at that moment.

Our radar expands to outside the theater too.  Sometimes wild raptors make an appearance in the sky above us.  While a wild Red-tailed Hawk gliding by is no threat to the eagles in the show, stalling is sometimes required if the next bird just so happens to be a smaller species.  It’s almost a guarantee the wild raptor won’t attack any of our birds, but the smaller birds could still react like the wild bird would attack.

The classic “All’s Clear!” sign

This leads to another thing all the human members of the show team are watching--each other!  A Trainer arm appearing above the fence could signal several things to the Speaker.  Pointing skyward, for example, means a wild predator is overhead.  The ever-changing and always-different environment of zoo shows is one of the things I love about them.

Now, after reading this you may be thinking that an awful lot of things can cause a Speaker to stall for time during a show.  However, if you watch a World Bird Sanctuary zoo show at Stone Zoo or Milwaukee County Zoo this summer, you probably won’t be able to tell if anything out of the ordinary is happening!  Our goal during zoo shows is to educate and entertain the audience about the amazing birds of our world.  After all, “stalling” really just means sharing more cool facts!

Submitted by Carmen Volante, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer

The Language of Feathers

In the bird world, special coloration of feathers and quality of feathers plays a great role in the choice of mates for breeding purposes. Ornithologists call this process “sexual signaling”.

An English Budgie and a Common Parakeet (photo: Dawn Griffard)

The female bird will make a careful selection of a potential mate by examining the quality of his feathers along with the brightness, iridescence and saturation of their hues.  Female birds are so judgmental because they instinctively want to choose the healthiest male to mate with in order to ensure the continuation of their species.

High quality feathers require a lot of energy and strength to create and maintain. Weak and sickly males cannot afford such flashy feathers, as they must use every ounce of their energy for mere survival.  Therefore, that showy male is the best choice with which to create strong, healthy babies.  However, the cost of such flamboyance is high.  Bright colors and an often long, heavy tail mean that the male is more conspicuous to predators and may have a harder time escaping through flight due to the added weight.

Because of the high cost of these bright colors, some species’ spring molt creates what is called an “alternate plumage”, which allows them to have brighter feathers for just the breeding season.  This can be seen in the bright spring colors of buntings, grosbeaks and wood-warblers.  This spring molt may be just a partial molt which replaces feathers in only certain areas.  This requires much less energy than a complete molt.

While we humans can see many of those gorgeous feather colors that birds can display, some birds can see so much more.  Humans can see only a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.  The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.  The “visible spectrum” is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye.  Birds can see the same visible spectrum that we can, but they can also additionally see the ultraviolet spectrum.  The ultraviolet spectrum is invisible to the human eye.  The fact that the ultraviolet light can be seen by birds opens up a whole other world of possible “sexual signaling” coloration.

A photo sowing the fluorescent feathers of a parakeet under a blacklight (photo: Dawn Griffard)

Just like those colors that can be seen in the visible spectrum, colors that can be seen only in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum can be difficult for the birds to create and maintain.  Therefore, they are also proof of the strength and excellent health of the bird that displays them with gusto.

Recent studies have found that it is mainly parrot species that display these ultraviolet colorations.  Most species of parrot are not sexually dimorphic, which means that males and females have similarly colored feathers.  For example, the northern cardinal is clearly sexually dimorphic – the male bird is bright red, while the female is dull brown/gray with somewhat red wings and tail.  Most parrot species do not have these noticeable differences in coloration.  Perhaps this is why they have the added ability to create the different colors in the UV spectrum in addition to the visible spectrum – to prove their virility.

A male and female Blue Front Amazon Parrot (photo: Dawn Griffard)

In addition to the UV reflective plumage, many of these parrots also have “fluorescing” plumage.  Fluorescent and UV reflective plumage on parrots are often found adjacent to each other and are most often found in body regions associated with active courtship displays.  Although it has not yet been proven, it follows that this coloration is probably also used in sexual signaling for breeding purposes.

Coloration and feather quality is not always the way that males (and sometimes females) prove their worth.  Sometimes it also involves an elaborate song or a complicated dance.  But a beautiful song or dance without a fitting costume is a pale performance.

Submitted by Dawn Trainor Griffard, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Birds on The Line: Scoop the White Pelican

For today’s walk down the line I would like to introduce you to a bird that has a great nickname and seemingly loves to show off during our summer concert series.  This is none other than Scoop the White Pelican, or as he is nicknamed, “Super Scoop”.

Do you feel you’re being watched?  (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Scoop is an American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos.  He was rescued from a pond in West Alton, MO, near Ameren Missouri’s Portage des Sioux Energy Center in October 2004.  Scoop managed to survive for 3 months without the ability to fly.  He had to be rescued when winter weather approached.

Meet Scoop—sporting the distinctive “horn” on top of his bill which only appears during breeding season, and is then shed later in the year. (photo: Gay Schroer)

Upon examining Scoop our veterinarian, Dr. Stacey Schaefer, found the bird’s shoulder had been badly broken, healed improperly, and now required the tip of the wing to be amputated.  Scoop now has his home in one of our outdoor avian exhibits.  He has adapted well to life at World Bird Sanctuary and is a visitor favorite.  If you are lucky enough to see him fully open his bill, you will quickly understand how he got his name.  It takes a lot of fish to fill the pouch below that will!!

Scoop has a very distinct “personality”.  He challenges his trainers, but once you have set up a relationship with him and are a part of his flock he will follow you like a big puppy dog.

Scoop has learned that if he hits his target (the blocks or his stick) he will be rewarded with a tasty treat (photo: Gay Schroer)

Scoop is trained with positive reinforcement to “target” to special perches and a stick with a tennis ball on it.  He will follow that stick anywhere as long as you have some fish for him.  However, when training, you must always pay close attention to Scoop.  If you ignore him, even for a second, he likes to remind you of what you are doing and will whack you with that long bill.  That bill does not look fearsome, but pelicans have sharp edges on the sides of the bill to help them hold onto fish, and the tip of the bill has a hook to it.  So when he whacks you, yes it does hurt.  I do not know how many times that has happened and people always ask “Does that hurt?”  My answer—yes it does.  Think of two razors hitting your arm and you will have some approximation of what it feels like.

Scoop and his friend Mudflap in their breeding colors (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Scoop lives with his friend Mudflap.  He is protective of Mudflap and they can be seen sitting together, swimming together and also vocalizing.  Please stop by and see these amazing birds the next time you visit WBS.

As with all of our resident animals, Scoop is available for adoption in our Adopt A Bird program.  Your adoption fee will help feed, house and care for Scoop in the coming year.  To adopt Scoop Click Here to go to the Adopt A Bird program on our website—or call 636-861-325 and ask for Marion to set up an Adopt A Bird over the phone.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

The Moody Eagle

When people ask, "What is your favorite bird at the World Bird Sanctuary," my answer has always been the Bateleur Eagle. I've had the immense pleasure to work with both Tsavo and Shadow, WBS’s Bateleurs, and I can't help but smile each time I get to handle one or the other.

Bateleur sunning at Veszprém Zoo, Hungary – Notice the beautiful wing pattern and short tail (photo: Wikipedia)

A little background on the species.

Their scientific name, terathopius ecaudatus, says a lot about them.  The name originates from the Latin words teratos ("marvel"), opos ("appearance"), and ecaudatus ("to lack a tail").

Bateleur is the French word for "street performer". The bateleur eagle got this name for its distinctive flying style, because they rock side to side (as if to regain balance like a tight-rope walker) while gliding at low-altitudes in search of prey. They also do amazing aerial acrobatics for courtship and mating displays, which is only possible because of their short tail (3-4 inches long) and long, narrow wings (5.5-6 feet). They only gain their distinct adult plumage after 6-8 years.  The juvenile eagles begin life with longer wing and tail feathers (makes it easier to learn to fly), but after each molt the feathers grow back in just a little shorter than before.

Tsavo – One of the World Bird Sanctuary’s stunningly beautiful Bateleur Eagles. (photo: Gay Schroer)

Now for why we've nicknamed them the moody eagles of the sanctuary.  The first thing you will see (and hear) is their territorial display when you get "too close" to their perch(s).  All the following antics would be performed in the wild if a rival Bateleur came into their territory.  They start off with a soft "kau kau kau", and when that doesn't scare you away they raise their half spread wings and scream a loud "koaagh koaagh". Most of the time this is just how they greet you when you enter their territory, but their face will tell you if it is okay for you to handle them or not.  Their face is typically a pale red to orange when calm and relaxed, but can turn bright red when really excited. If their face turns yellow, get away as soon as possible, because that is when they're really angry about something and need space to calm down.

Shadow - One of this bird’s most striking features is its beautiful facial coloration (photo: Gay Schroer)

Bateleur eagles are indigenous to Africa (sub-Saharan open woodlands and grasslands) in which they are on the near-threatened list due to loss of habitat, poisoning, and illegal captures. There are no ongoing conservation efforts known because they are a common sight in conservation areas, even though they are scarce elsewhere. I believe we need to start keeping a closer eye on this amazing species before they become just a memory for those lucky enough to have seen/worked with one.

Be sure to look for this stunning eagle when you visit one of our zoo shows or come to one of our special events. This summer Tsavo will be entertaining the crowds at the Milwaukee County Zoo, and Tsavo will be wowing the crowds at Grant’s Farm in St. Louis.  There is no mistaking this unusual looking raptor.  As with all of our resident animals, Shadow and Tsavo are available for adoption through our Adopt A Bird program.

Submitted by William Oberbeck III, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist/Trainer