Native Birds in Australian Zoos

A

aves2003

Member
I've been looking over the threads regarding the status' of mammals, birds and reptiles in Australian zoos for a while now but I was just wondering if there is any native birds list?

I know it would be a huge undertaking but even if it was just focused on the rarer species I still think it could be a really good insight into the captive populations whilst opening up some conversations regarding captive breeding programs for threatened species with little to no representation in captivity (red goshawk, grey falcon, alberts lyrebird etc)

Let me know if this has already been done
 
No, there isn't a native birds list for Australia. The lists for exotic animals are "relatively" easy to do because the number of species is pretty restricted and therefore straightforward to compile, and the majority of species are held largely in ZAA collections. But even in the exotic bird list for Australia, many of the groups (the parrots and "finches" in particular) are just naked lists of species because there is no way of knowing which little bird collections hold which species, or even which species are kept in any public collections (as opposed to just in private aviculture).

With regards to native Australian species there are large numbers of non-ZAA private wildlife parks all around the country for which there is no good way of compiling the data. This is why the native Australian mammal list has just been done as categories (e.g. "rare" or "common") because it is basically impossible to list all the collections which hold Eastern Grey Kangaroos or whatever. There are also no lists for native Australian reptiles or amphibians for this exact reason. It wouldn't be impossible to do it, but they would be ridiculously incomplete and kind of useless.

For New Zealand the situation with listing native birds is much easier because there are relatively few native species, of which an even smaller number are held in captivity, and almost all species need DOC permits to be held. This isn't the case in Australia where there are something like 700 native species (and apparently about 45% of those are endemic to Australia), and loads of native species are kept in private aviculture. The reason I never did an Australian native bird list is because it would just be a list of species - many of which would only "probably" be held somewhere - and with no usable information except for a few select species
 
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Chlidonias said:
No, there isn't a native birds list for Australia. The lists for exotic animals are "relatively" easy to do because the number of species is pretty restricted and therefore straightforward to compile, and the majority of species are held largely in ZAA collections. But even in the exotic bird list for Australia, many of the groups (the parrots and "finches" in particular) are just naked lists of species because there is no way of knowing which little bird collections hold which species, or even which species are kept in any public collections (as opposed to just in private aviculture).

With regards to native Australian species there are large numbers of non-ZAA private wildlife parks all around the country for which there is no good way of compiling the data. This is why the native Australian mammal list has just been done as categories (e.g. "rare" or "common") because it is basically impossible to list all the collections which hold Eastern Grey Kangaroos or whatever. There are also no lists for native Australian reptiles or amphibians for this exact reason. It wouldn't be impossible to do it, but they would be ridiculously incomplete and kind of useless.

For New Zealand the situation with listing native birds is much easier because there are relatively few native species, of which an even smaller number are held in captivity, and almost all species need DOC permits to be held. This isn't the case in Australia where there are something like 700 native species (and apparently about 45% of those are endemic to Australia), and loads of native species are kept in private aviculture. The reason I never did an Australian native bird list is because it would just be a list of species - many of which would only "probably" be held somewhere - and with no usable information except for a few select species
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I thought that would be the case. I think the main thing wanted to know about were the rarer species in captivity, those that are in small numbers or even just singular specimens like the grey falcon. Thanks for the reply anyways!
 
aves2003 said:
I thought that would be the case. I think the main thing wanted to know about were the rarer species in captivity, those that are in small numbers or even just singular specimens like the grey falcon. Thanks for the reply anyways!
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I can tell you Moonlit Sanctuary has a pair of grey goshawks, not falcons I grant you but rare in captivity nether less.
 
aves2003 said:
I've been looking over the threads regarding the status' of mammals, birds and reptiles in Australian zoos for a while now but I was just wondering if there is any native birds list?

I know it would be a huge undertaking but even if it was just focused on the rarer species I still think it could be a really good insight into the captive populations whilst opening up some conversations regarding captive breeding programs for threatened species with little to no representation in captivity (red goshawk, grey falcon, alberts lyrebird etc)

Let me know if this has already been done
Click to expand...

I won’t be able to get a comprehensive list but I’ll do what I can
 
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aves2003 said:
Thank you!
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It might take me over a week and I’ll be missing plenty of birds from zoos.

My cutoff date for data collected is 1st of Jan 2019 and I’ll be using the following ways to get information.

Zoochat Gallery
Zoo Facebook pages (and other social media)
Personal photos and experiences (in the date of course)
Input from other Australian Zoochaters.
 
Yoshistar888 said:
I won’t be able to get a comprehensive list but I’ll do what I can
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To help you on your way here is the list of species currently at Moonlit Sanctuary:

Emu
Australian shelduck (eight other species of waterfowl normally present are wild)
Bush stone-curlew
Pied stilt
Wedge-tailed eagle
Grey goshawk
Peregrine falcon
Barn owl
Barking owl
Tawny frogmouth
Owlet nightjar
Sacred kingfisher
Major Mitchell’s cockatoo
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Gang-gang cockatoo
Yellow-tailed black cockatoo
Red-tailed black cockatoo
Eclectus parrot
Swift parrot
Superb parrot
Australian king parrot
Orange-bellied parrot
Rainbow lorikeet
Regent honeyeater
Helmeted honeyeater
Satin bowerbird
White-browed woodswallow
Eastern whipbird
Zebra finch
 
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MRJ said:
To help you on your way here is the list of species currently at Moonlit Sanctuary:

Emu
Australian shelduck (eight other species of waterfowl normally present are wild)
Bush stone-curlew
Pied stilt
Wedge-tailed eagle
Grey goshawk
Peregrine falcon
Barn owl
Barking owl
Tawny frogmouth
Owlet nightjar
Sacred kingfisher
Major Mitchell’s cockatoo
Sulphur-crested cockatoo
Gang-gang cockatoo
Yellow-tailed black cockatoo
Red-tailed black cockatoo
Eclectus parrot
Swift parrot
Superb parrot
Australian king parrot
Orange-bellied parrot
Rainbow lorikeet
Regent honeyeater
Helmeted honeyeater
Satin bowerbird
White-browed woodswallow
Eastern whipbird
Zebra finch
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Thanks for your help @MRJ I had most of these species down although I was shocked to see peregrine falcons on there.
 
Yoshistar888 said:
Thanks but I had already compiled the data for Moonlit. You also embarrassingly forgot Tawny Frogmouths. I also had no idea the sanctuary had peregrines l!

Does the sanctuary no longer have Green Catbirds, Pied Stilts or Banded Lapwings?
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That is far for all I forgot so much more enbassesment - all correct now. Never had green catbirds, maybe you were mistaking a female satin bowerbird. Banded lapwings have all left the collection.
 
MRJ said:
That is far for all I forgot so much more enbassesment - all correct now. Never had green catbirds, maybe you were mistaking a female satin bowerbird. Banded lapwings have all left the collection.
Click to expand...

I’m certain it was a green catbird around where the rainbow lorikeet was held.
 
aves2003 said:
I've been looking over the threads regarding the status' of mammals, birds and reptiles in Australian zoos for a while now but I was just wondering if there is any native birds list?

I know it would be a huge undertaking but even if it was just focused on the rarer species I still think it could be a really good insight into the captive populations whilst opening up some conversations regarding captive breeding programs for threatened species with little to no representation in captivity (red goshawk, grey falcon, alberts lyrebird etc)

Let me know if this has already been done
Click to expand...

Also while I’m at it I’ll post a progress report on the list.

Its been going well with the help of many other members it should hopefully be at a point in two weeks where have found every species in Australian zoos, although listing holders of certain species will never be complete and will have to be continually updated with more research poured in.
 
Would it perhaps be easier to make a list of native birds that are t kept in captivity.

I feel like that would be a shorter list than native species that are kept in captivity.
 
animal_expert01 said:
Would it perhaps be easier to make a list of native birds that are t kept in captivity.

I feel like that would be a shorter list than native species that are kept in captivity.
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If talking about parrots and finches certainly but beyond that...

in any case that is mostly the avicultural community. Zoos don’t display many finches and the days of long lines of aviaries with comprehensive parrot collections has past. There are 733 or so resident species in Australia and while I imagine this list might get to 10% I wonder how much further it will go.
 
MRJ said:
That is far for all I forgot so much more enbassesment - all correct now. Never had green catbirds, maybe you were mistaking a female satin bowerbird. Banded lapwings have all left the collection.
Click to expand...
And of course I forgot kookaburra
 
Hi Yoshistar888,
As requested here is my list of native birds sighted at Halls Gap Zoo on my 2 visits. 26 Oct 2019 and 05 June 2020. I have based this list from Photos taken of signage / birds and exhibits. I may have missed some enclosures so can't be 100% certain I have everything. (Species name has been transcribed from photo of signage)
Australian Bustard Ardeotis Kori
Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata
Barn Owl
Black Swan Cygnus atratus
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus
Brolga Grus rubicunda
Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius
Cape Barren Goose
Diamond Firetail Finch Stagonopleura guttata
Eclectus Parrot Eclectus rerafus
Emu
Galah
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
Nankeen (Australian) Kestrel Falco cenchroides
Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
Plumed Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna eytoni
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematadus
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii samueli
Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
Southern Boobook
Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Tawny Frogmouth
Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax
White-browed Woodswallow Artaimus superciliosus
Wild Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulates
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus

The Following Native Birds were sighted at Ballarat Wildlife Park on my visit 16 June 2020
Eclectus Parrot Eclectus raratus
Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus
Noisy Pitta Pitta versicolour
Emu
Little Blue Penguin Eudyptula minor
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
Southern Cassowary
Unfortunately I didn't spend any time looking at the water birds on the lake - so I can't confirm if any birds are maintained onsite or if they are just free flying wild birds.

From my visit to Mogo Zoo - I can confirm that they do not keep any native birds.

I can look at my Melbourne Zoo Photos for you if you would like.
 
kiwimuzz said:
Hi Yoshistar888,
As requested here is my list of native birds sighted at Halls Gap Zoo on my 2 visits. 26 Oct 2019 and 05 June 2020. I have based this list from Photos taken of signage / birds and exhibits. I may have missed some enclosures so can't be 100% certain I have everything. (Species name has been transcribed from photo of signage)
Australian Bustard Ardeotis Kori
Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata
Barn Owl
Black Swan Cygnus atratus
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus
Brolga Grus rubicunda
Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius
Cape Barren Goose
Diamond Firetail Finch Stagonopleura guttata
Eclectus Parrot Eclectus rerafus
Emu
Galah
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
Nankeen (Australian) Kestrel Falco cenchroides
Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
Plumed Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna eytoni
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematadus
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus banksii samueli
Rose-crowned Fruit-dove
Southern Boobook
Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Tawny Frogmouth
Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax
White-browed Woodswallow Artaimus superciliosus
Wild Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulates
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus

The Following Native Birds were sighted at Ballarat Wildlife Park on my visit 16 June 2020
Eclectus Parrot Eclectus raratus
Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus
Noisy Pitta Pitta versicolour
Emu
Little Blue Penguin Eudyptula minor
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
Southern Cassowary
Unfortunately I didn't spend any time looking at the water birds on the lake - so I can't confirm if any birds are maintained onsite or if they are just free flying wild birds.

From my visit to Mogo Zoo - I can confirm that they do not keep any native birds.

I can look at my Melbourne Zoo Photos for you if you would like.
Click to expand...

What a legend, I’ve already got data from Melbourne Zoo so I don’t need anything there.

Thanks a ton @kiwimuzz
 
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