Birds of Prey

Ambassador Animal Facts

Name: Frieda Red tail Hawk ​(Buteo jamaicensis) Age: 21 (estimated) Current Location: Outside area of Ambassador Animal building Diet: Mice/Rats Size: 3.6 lbs

Name:Tabi Red tail Hawk​ (Buteo jamaicensis) Age: 2 (estimated) Current Location: Outside area of Ambassador Animal building Diet: Mice/Rats Size: 3.9 lbs

Name: Grace Barred Owl (​ Strix varia) Age: 15 (estimated) Current Location: Outside area of Ambassador Animal building Diet: Mice/Rats Size: 1.6 lbs

Name: Ty Merlin ​(Falco columbarius) Age: 7 (estimated) Current Location: Outside area of Ambassador Animal building Diet: Mice Size: About 0.3 lb

Visit us at Http://www.Uticazoo.org/kazoo . ​ ​ Mission: Utica Zoo creates unique experiences and promotes public appreciation of wildlife through education, conservation and recreation.

Bird Facts

● All have feathers, wings and a beak ● All lay eggs ● Either the male or female will care for the young before and after hatching ● Have lungs and need to breath air ● Warm blooded -homeothermic - they maintain a stable internal body temperature regardless of external influences. ● Has a backbone and vertebrate

Most scientists agree that birds evolved from reptiles millions of years ago. The earliest known bird was Archaeopteryx. It lived about 150 million years ago. Archaeopteryx had many reptile-like features, including bones in its tail, sharp teeth and hooked claws. But it also had feathers, which is why it is considered a bird.

Did you know birds live all over the world, on all seven continents? Scientists say that there are roughly between 9,000 and 10,000​ species​ of birds. There are over 493 different species of birds in New York State.

The largest birds living today are the ostriches. Males can grow to a height of over eight feet and can weigh over 345 pounds. We have three Ostriches at the zoo - Boomer, Bina, and Bushara. The largest bird that holds the record for having the largest eggs of any living bird is also the ostrich. The tiniest eggs belong to the tiniest bird- hummingbirds. Their eggs are smaller than jelly beans!

A hawk has a very good sight. It can see about eight times more than any of the keenest eyed humans can see. Another type of bird is called a Golden Eagle. This bird can see a rabbit from half of a mile away!

Some Owls have asymmetrical (different on each side) ear openings. One opening is higher and one is lower to aid in locating prey at night. Not only do they hear which side the sound is coming from, but how high or low the sound is. Most owls also have very soft feathers , which makes them quieter when they fly. Both of these adaptations are very helpful when they hunt prey at night.

Our Ambassador Birds

All of our Ambassador Raptors are rescue animals- they were injured in the wild and given to rehabilitators to help them mend. Because their injuries would make it difficult to hunt and fly, they were not able to be reintroduced into the wild and were given to the zoo to be taken care of. Frieda started living at the zoo in 2000 after she was injured by a hunter. Grace has been living at the zoo since 2011 while Ty joined the zoo in 2013. Both of these birds were hit by cars, which commonly happens when young birds are still learning to hunt. Tabi is our newest raptor and started living at the zoo in 2019. She had west nile virus and has some visual deficits when tracking, and can not hunt on her own. All birds of prey are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which “makes it illegal to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird​, or the parts*, nests, or eggs of such a bird​​ except under the terms of a valid Federal permit.”

What should you do with an injured wild bird? If it is a small bird collect the bird gently and sit it in the box. Keep the bird warm inside your home and then call a wildlife rehabilitation clinic/shelter or your local veterinarian. If it is a larger bird, reach out to the DEC conservation officer, the wildlife rehabilitation center or a vet. They will give you instructions from there. You can find a wildlife rehabilitator at https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/83977.html

Conservation status

Red-Tailed Hawks - Widespread and common. They have increased in some areas since the 1960s, and numbers are now stable or still increasing. In several regions of North America, Red-tailed Hawks are adapting to nesting in cities.

Barred Owls - Still widespread and common, although may have declined in parts of the south with loss of swamp habitat. In recent decades it has expanded range in the northwest, and is now competing there with Spotted Owl.

Merlins - Has increased in numbers in some parts of range, especially the northern plains, and has expanded into new nesting areas, where it often nests in towns and suburbs. Most North American populations seem to be either stable or increasing.

Conservation information was taken from https://www.audubon.org/bird-guide​