Shorebirds, Gulls, and Terns in North America

This isn't directly related to current holdings, but while looking for something else I came across a very interesting paper from 2015 on gulls kept in North American and European zoos (https://www.researchgate.net/public..._of_Gulls_in_European_and_North_American_Zoos). It has information on their captive history (for example, the astonishing numbers of Grey and Silver Gulls bred in some North American zoos' free-flight aviaries throughout most of the 20th Century), and lists of species held and bred, and also hybrids produced in various zoos.
 
Thick-knees

Burhinus

Senegal Thick-knee (1 holder)

Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Spotted Thick-Knee (Cape Thick-Knee) (21 holders)

Audubon
Birmingham
Boise
Central Florida
Chehaw Park
Fresno Chaffee
Idaho Falls
Jacksonville
Lincoln Park
Living Desert
Los Angeles
Micke Grove
Milwaukee
National Aviary
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Riverbanks
Safari Niagara
Safari West
Seneca Park
St. Louis
Zoo Atlanta

Double-striped Thick-Knee (4 holders)

Jacksonville
Toledo
Toronto
Tulsa

Peruvian Thick-Knee (6 holders)

Assiniboine Park
Birmingham
Gladys Porter
Miller Park
San Antonio
Sedgwick County

Bush Thick-Knee (1 holder)

Blank Park


Egyptian Plover - Pluvianus (6 holders)

Blank Park
Milwaukee
Philadelphia
San Diego
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Toledo


Oystercatchers

Haematopus

Black Oystercatcher (6 holders)

Alaska Sealife Center
Bronx
Living Coast Discovery Center
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Seattle Aquarium

American Oystercatcher (5 holders)

Cape May Co
Jacksonville
Milwaukee
Save Our Seabirds
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Eurasian Oystercatcher (2 holders)

Bronx
Central Park


Avocets, Stilts

Recurvirostra

Pied Avocet (5 holders)

Bronx
Central Park
Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy
Pinola Aviary
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

American Avocet (7 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Lincoln Park
Milwaukee
Minnesota
Monterey Bay Aquarium
National
San Antonio


Himantopus

Black-necked Stilt (23 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Busch Gardens Tampa
Cameron Park
Fort Worth
Fresno Chaffee
Happy Hollow
Henry Vilas
Jackson
Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary
Lincoln Park
Los Angeles
Louisville
Milwaukee
Minnesota
Monterey Bay Aquarium
National
N.E.W.
Phoenix
Riverbanks
San Antonio
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Tracy Aviary
Tulsa


Plovers

Pluvialis

Black-bellied Plover (4 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Flint RiverQuarium
Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy
Monterey Bay Aquarium

Pacific Golden-Plover (1 holder)

Honolulu

American Golden-Plover (1 holder)

Columbus


Charadrius

Semipalmated Plover (2 holders)

Monterey Bay Aquarium
National

Wilson’s Plover (1 holder)

Zoo Tampa

Killdeer (7 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Columbus
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Oklahoma City
Seattle Aquarium
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Piping Plover (1+ holders)

Lincoln Park (rescue/release)
New England Aquarium
NEW (rescue/release)
Toldeo (rescue/release)

Snowy Plover (3 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Seattle Aquarium


Vanellus

Long-toed Lapwing (2 holders)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Blacksmith Lapwing (6 holders)

Birmingham
Honolulu
Milwaukee
Omaha
St. Louis?
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Spur-winged Lapwing (21 holders)

Bronx
Cincinnati
Dallas
Detroit
Idaho Falls
Living Desert
Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy
Los Angeles
Maryland
Minnesota
Oregon
Sacramento
Safari West
San Antonio
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
St. Louis
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Toledo
Tulsa
Woodland Park
Zoo Miami

White-headed Lapwing (3 holders)

National Aviary
San Diego
San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Wattled Lapwing (2 holders)

Hemker
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Masked Lapwing (33 holders)

Audubon
Birmingham
Blank Park
Brevard
Bronx
Busch Gardens Tampa
Cincinnati
Columbus
DAK
El Paso
Fort Wayne
Lincoln Park
Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy
Los Angeles
Milwaukee
National Aquarium
North Carolina
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Riverbanks
Safari North Wildlife Park
Salisbury
San Antonio
San Diego
Sedgwick County
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Toledo
Tracy Aviary
Wildwood Wildlife Park
Woodland Park
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Miami
Zoo Tampa

Southern Lapwing (5 holders)

Abilene
Buttonwood Park
Cincinnati
Sylvan Heights Bird Park


Painted-snipe

Rostratula

Greater Painted-snipe (1 holder)

Pinola Aviary


Jacanas

Jacana

Wattled Jacana (3 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
San Diego
Shedd Aquarium


Actophilornis

African Jacana (6-8 holders)

Cleveland? (listed as Wattled, but photo is African)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Houston
National Aviary
Omaha?
Pinola Conservancy
San Diego
Sylvan Heights Bird Park


Sandpipers, Snipes, Phalaropes

Numenius

Long-billed Curlew (2 holders)

Seattle Aquarium
Tracy Aviary


Limosa

Marbled Godwit (1 holder)

Monterey Bay Aquarium


Arenaria

Ruddy Turnstone (3 holders)

Cape May
Monterey Bay Aquarium
National


Calidris

Red Knot (2 holders)

Monterey Bay Aquarium
National Zoo

Ruff (1 holder)

Sylvan Heights Bird Park

Sanderling (2 holders)

Monterey Bay Aquarium
National Zoo

Dunlin (2 holders)

Monterey Bay Aquarium
National

Least Sandpiper (2 holders)

Monterey Bay Aquarium
New England Aquarium

Western Sandpiper (1 holder)

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Semipalmated Sandpiper (2 holders)


National
New England Aquarium


Limnodromus

Short-billed Dowitcher (2 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
National


Phalaropus

Red-necked Phalarope (1 holder)

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Red Phalarope (1 holder)

Monterey Bay Aquarium


Tringa

Willet (2 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Sylvan Heights Bird Park


Coursers & Pratincoles

Glareola

Collared Pratincole (1 holder)

Pinola Aviary


Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Rynchops

Black Skimmer (any holders?)

Bronx, Buttonwood Park, New England Aquarium recently but no longer.


Chroicocephalus

Bonaparte’s Gull (2 holders)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Santa Barbara


Leucophaeus

Silver Gull (3 holders)

Kansas City
National Aviary
Sunset

Gray Gull (5 holders)

Bronx
Brookfield
Hemker
Oregon
Sedgwick County

Franklin’s Gull (3 holders)

Abilene
Kansas Wildlife Exhibit
Tracy Aviary

Laughing Gull (9 holders)

Albuquerque Aquarium
Cameron Park
Dallas
Fort Worth
Hemker
Honolulu
Houston
Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary
Three Palms


Larus

Ring-billed Gull (5 holders)

Abilene
Cincinnati
San Antonio
Tulsa
Willowbrook Wildlife Center

American Herring Gull (1 holder)

Cameron Park

Great Black-backed Gull (1 holder)

Toledo


Hydroprogne

Caspian Tern (3-4 holders)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Denver Aquarium
Oklahoma City?
Tracy Aviary


Larosterna

Inca Tern (25 holders)

Assiniboine Park
Boise
Bronx
Brookfield
Cameron Park
Cincinnati
El Paso
Fresno Chaffee
Great Plains
Jacksonville
Lincoln Park
Louisville
Milwaukee
National Aviary
Omaha
Oregon
Rosamond Gifford
San Antonio
San Diego
Santa Barbara
Sedgwick County
Stone
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Tulsa
Zoo Boise
Zoo Tampa


Sterna

Common Tern (2-3 holders?)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary?
Bronx
New England Aquarium?


Thalasseus

Sandwich Tern (1 holder)

Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science

Royal Tern (3 holders)

Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
Sylvan Heights Bird Park


Skuas and Jaegers

Stercorarius

Pomarine Jaeger (1 holder)

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary
 
Last edited:
More edits I noticed for this one:

White-headed Lapwing (1 holder)
National Aviary

San Diego Zoo also holds this species in the Scripps Aviary.

Wattled Lapwing (4 holders)
San Diego
San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Neither San Diego parks have this species on display AFAIK.

Caspian Tern (3-4 holders)
Oklahoma City?

Ring-billed Gull (5 holders)
Abilene

Franklin’s Gull (3 holders)
Abilene

Bonaparte’s Gull (2 holders)
Santa Barbara

None of these are on display at their respective zoos either.
 
Thick-knees

Burhinus
Wildlife World has Water Thick-Knee (Burhinus vermiculatus)
Egyptian Plover - Pluvianus (6 holders)

Blank Park
Milwaukee
Philadelphia
San Diego
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Toledo
No longer held at Philadelphia Zoo
American Oystercatcher (5 holders)

Cape May Co
Jacksonville
Milwaukee
Save Our Seabirds
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
The bird at Cape May was moved to the Smithsonian National Zoo
Black-necked Stilt (23 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Busch Gardens Tampa
Cameron Park
Fort Worth
Fresno Chaffee
Happy Hollow
Henry Vilas
Jackson
Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary
Lincoln Park
Los Angeles
Louisville
Milwaukee
Minnesota
Monterey Bay Aquarium
National
N.E.W.
Phoenix
Riverbanks
San Antonio
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Tracy Aviary
Tulsa
Also at Florida Aquarium and ZooTampa
American Golden-Plover (1 holder)

Columbus
Also kept by Smithsonian National Zoo
Wilson’s Plover (1 holder)

Zoo Tampa
No longer held to my knowledge. Was not on exhibit when I went in April, unfortunately.
Killdeer (7 holders)

Aquarium of the Pacific
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Columbus
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Oklahoma City
Seattle Aquarium
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Also kept by Peace River Wildlife Center
Ruddy Turnstone (3 holders)

Cape May
Monterey Bay Aquarium
National
No more at Cape May. Probably also moved to National Zoo.
Laughing Gull (9 holders)

Albuquerque Aquarium
Cameron Park
Dallas
Fort Worth
Hemker
Honolulu
Houston
Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary
Three Palms
Also at Peace River Wildlife Center
Ring-billed Gull (5 holders)

Abilene
Cincinnati
San Antonio
Tulsa
Willowbrook Wildlife Center

American Herring Gull (1 holder)

Cameron Park
Both also at Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge
Inca Tern (25 holders)

Assiniboine Park
Boise
Bronx
Brookfield
Cameron Park
Cincinnati
El Paso
Fresno Chaffee
Great Plains
Jacksonville
Lincoln Park
Louisville
Milwaukee
National Aviary
Omaha
Oregon
Rosamond Gifford
San Antonio
San Diego
Santa Barbara
Sedgwick County
Stone
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Tulsa
Zoo Boise
Zoo Tampa
Also held by Philadelphia Zoo
Sandwich Tern (1 holder)

Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
I believe this bird has passed away as I haven't been able to find any pictures of it past around 2021 and I didn't see it in the aviary when I went in April 2022.
Royal Tern (3 holders)

Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary
Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Also at Peace River Wildlife Center and ZooTampa.
 
Houston Zoo has Southern Lapwing
Fort Worth Zoo now has Masked Lapwing
San Antonio no longer has Ring-Billed Gull, at the very least I did not see it or signage during my recent visit.
Houston Zoo doesn't have African Jacana anymore since they closed their bird house, unknown if it will return with the new bird exhibit.
ZooTampa has Royal Tern
 
As far as I know, the New England Aquarium doesn't hold a least sandpiper. There is however a sanderling and a semipalmated plover.
 
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