Riverbanks Zoo and Garden celebrates hatching of critically endangered birds

April 20, 2023

Bird Care and Conservation Soar to New Heights with Award-Winning Program

The flock at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is pleased to announce its first-ever hatchings of two rare blue-billed curassows. The significant milestone comes on the heels of Riverbanks receiving the Plume Award from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Avian Scientific Advisory Group. Riverbanks has long served as a leader in aviculture among the AZA community, and these achievements underscore the Zoo’s outstanding work in bird care and conservation.

Blue-billed curassows are found only in a few tropical forests of Colombia, South America. The species is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a total population estimated between 150–700 individuals, making the hatchings at Riverbanks a major win both for genetic diversity for those in human care and awareness of this species at risk.

Riverbanks’ Curator of Birds Colleen Lynch says, “Curassow chicks are precocial—they can fly, perch, eat and drink on their own on day zero. But they do need protection and brooding from their parents. Carl and Claudia are first-time parents and failed to incubate their eggs.” Luckily, the bird team at Riverbanks has substantial expertise in artificial incubation. “That’s when the keepers stepped in to care for the eggs in the Bird Conservation Center. We hope to reunite our growing curassow clan as soon as possible,” continues Lynch.

Riverbanks continues to make significant advancements in bird husbandry and chick rearing. In March, Lynch accepted the 2022 Plume Award recognizing the success of the Zoo’s exceptional flamingo program. The Parent-Assist Rearing of Caribbean Flamingos Project was hatched in 2011 by then senior keeper of birds at Riverbanks, Kate Lyngle-Cowand, to optimize care for flamingo eggs and chicks by mimicking parenting behaviors seen in wild flamingo flocks. While Lyngle-Cowand has since moved to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City, Utah, the bird team at Riverbanks carries on her work to this day and shares the honor with the Tracy Aviary.

This is the second time Riverbanks received the Plume Award. In 2021, Riverbanks was honored for significant contributions to the sustainability of bird populations in an AZA facility.

For those planning a visit to Riverbanks, guests may notice an abundance of nesting activities around the park. From flamingos to fairy bluebirds, vultures to penguins, many plumed residents at the Zoo are actively engaging in nesting behaviors (or will be soon). While nest building does not guarantee eggs or chicks, with so much fluff and circumstance, the Zoo remains hopeful for some new feathered friends to join the Riverbanks family in the not-too-distant future.

Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is home to more than 3,000 magnificent and fascinating animals and one of America’s best public gardens. The Zoo opened on April 25, 1974, and for nearly five decades, has connected individuals, families and school children with the natural world. Riverbanks is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is recognized as a global leader in animal care and welfare, education, recreation, science and wildlife conservation. It is the mission of the Zoo and Garden to create meaningful connections and inspire actions that will have a lasting impact on conservation. For more information, visit riverbanks.org.