Aviary’s new rainforest is for the birds
Among the 80 exotic birds that live in the National Aviary’s Tropical Rainforest, Benito stands out. The hyacinth macaw with bright purple and blue feathers often sits on a perch near a new 15-foot waterfall. He seems content, maybe because of the new companion at his side, a female hyacinth macaw named Sapphira.
Benito’s history is as colorful as his plumage. He came to the National Aviary on the North Side in 1993 after Pittsburgh Police detectives confiscated him in Operation Bird Roundup. State prison inmates had used stolen credit cards to steal exotic birds and other items. The aviary seldom accepts donated birds, but hyacinth macaws are highly endangered in Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, and saving endangered species is part of the bird zoo’s mission.
Sapphira recently came to Pittsburgh from another zoo. “She and Benito liked each other right from the start,” said Teri Grendzinski, supervisor of animal collections. “Parrots are social animals, and they usually like their own kind. Butnot always.”
Amid much fanfare, a military macaw named Mac was released into the habitat on July 13 when the aviary reopened the Tropical Rainforest after $1.2 million in improvements. Mac has been at the Aviary for 25 years and, like Benito, has made many public appearance in educational programs.
“Benito and Mac actually like people more than they like other birds,” Ms. Grendzinski said. That explains why they sit quietly on perches just a few feet from visitors who talk to themand snap their pictures.
Bufflehead ducks and other birds play and bathe in the pond beneath the waterfall. Birds can spread their wings and fly, or they can rest and nest in the lush, live foliage that includes 400 new tropical plants and trees, including cacao and coffee plants.
The renovated living exhibit is now home to one mammal, Wookie, one of the aviary’s three sloths. He used to live in a glassed-in exhibit near the entrance. Staff encourage visitors to “Lookie for Wookie.” It took me 10 minutes to find him in the large habitat. As is usually the casewith sloths, he wasn’t moving.
“Every few days, Wookie moves a little bit to another part of the rainforest,” Ms. Grendzinski said.
Look for the critically endangered palm cockatoo (Bubba), great argus pheasants (Gus and Mrs. Gus), flocks of Victoria crowned pigeons, a pair of laughing thrushes, and Guam rails, which are extinct in the wild. The rails are dark brown and live on the ground, so they’re hard to see.
If you’re lucky, you’ll see Benito engaging in the behavior that has made him popular with the public for all these years.
“Benito will hang from a perch by his beak or by one toenail,” Ms. Grendzinski said. “Then he will yell to get attention. Visitors come running, which is what he wants.”
The Tropical Rainforest renovation was funded by the Colcom Foundation and the Allegheny Regional Asset District.