Not at all a desert bird, but I'm guessing that the Zoo didn't have a better place to keep it. It's quite possibly the only Worm-eating Warbler in a U.S. Zoo.
I believe this and several other species housed in the Desert are holdovers from the Forest Aviary that were then subsequently moved to the Desert. The zoo really does not have any other place where they can exhibit these birds.
I know Superb Starlings, Emerald Starlings, and Crested Coua were all previously housed in the Aviary. Other than the Superb Starlings, none of these, along with the Red-capped Cardinal and White-rumped Shama, are desert species either.
@Astrotom3000 That makes a lot of sense that they would have been moved over from another exhibit for space issues. I haven't been to the NC Zoo so I don't know whether the Forest Aviary is still open or is under renovation.
@Summer Tanager The (Rain) Forest Aviary has been permanently closed since 2022 due to structural deterioration; it was originally temporarily closed due to Avian Flu, but I'm guessing an inspection revealed major issues with the building that rendered it no longer suitable for housing animals.
The birds have since been either moved behind the scenes (such as their Eclectus Parrot), moved to the Desert (the Coua, Starlings, Cardinal), or moved to other zoos (for example, their Chilean Flamingos have been moved to Greenville Zoo in SC).
