Corvids in North America

Great Argus

Great Argus

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Once again a new bird holders thread from the Argus! I have a particular affinity for this group and so I wanted to do it, but going forwards sixteen lists is plenty, so quoth the Argus, "new holders threads are nevermore." (Obligatory, sorry not sorry! :p)

Anyways, this was an interesting one - several species were less prominent than anticipated or absent entirely.
Four species listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN occur natively - only one appears to be kept in captivity and at only a couple facilities (Yellow-billed Magpie); another one has been lost from captivity in semi-recent years (Pinyon Jay). Overall there seems to be a particularly high rate of lost species in the last decade or so - Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Purplish-backed Jay, Steller's Jay, Pinyon Jay, Curl-crested Jay, White-tailed Jay, and possibly a few more have all disappeared. Steller's and Pinyon could return.
If a species is ambassador only, that designation is useful here.

Couple taxonomic notes:
Cornell does not recognize the split of Inca and Green Jays (Cyanocorax yncas and luxosus, respectively) and I have followed that treatment here - however where possible I have added species identifiers.
Scrub-jay split and Pica magpie split are followed - not that either has much involvement here.
Due to identification difficulties I have generally taken facilities at their word on American/Fish Crow and Common/Chihuahuan Raven. The less common species have not appeared out of native range.
 
Perisoreus

Gray/Canada Jay

No holders of this cheeky species?


Calocitta

Black-throated Magpie-Jay (8 holders)

Aggieland Safari
Catoctin
Central Florida
El Paso
Hemker
Nashville
Safari North Wildlife Park
Sylvan Heights Bird Park

White-throated Magpie-Jay

None? They’re in the private trade


Cyanocorax

Green/Inca Jay (8-9 holders)

Bronx (Inca)
Caldwell
Fort Worth (Green)
Memphis (Inca?)
North Carolina? (Inca)
San Francisco (Inca)
Sylvan Heights Bird Park (Inca)
Tulsa (Inca)
Zoo Miami (Green)

Curl-crested Jay

Gone from DWA correct?

Plush-crested Jay (15 holders)

Bronx
Central Park
Elmwood Park
Greenville
Memphis
Milwaukee
Reid Park
Riverbanks
San Diego
SDZSP
St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Toronto
Zoo in Forest Park
Zoo Miami


Cyanocitta

Steller’s Jay

ASDM and CALM had just out of range, anyone still have them?

Blue Jay (7 holders)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Dallas
Flamingo Gardens
Florida Aquarium
Museum of Science (Boston)
Peace River Wildlife Center
Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge


Aphelocoma

California Scrub-Jay

CALM


Cyanopica

Asian Azure-winged Magpie (18-19 holders)

Bronx
Buttonwood Park
Cheyenne Mountain
Denver
El Paso
Fort Wayne Children’s?
Franklin Park
Houston
Idaho Falls
Louisville
Memphis
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
Sacramento
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Virginia
Woodland Park
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Miami


Urocissa

Red-billed Blue-Magpie (13 holders)

Bronx
Central Park
Cleveland
DAK
Fort Wayne Children’s
LA
Memphis
Mill Mountain
Rosamond Gifford
St. Louis
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Toledo
Zoo Miami


Cissa

Indochinese Green-Magpie (1 holder)

LA


Pica

Black-billed Magpie

Carolina Raptor Center
San Diego

Yellow-billed Magpie

LA?
Turtle Bay Exploration Park


Corvus

American Crow (15-16 holders)

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Cape May
Carolina Raptor Center
Cleveland Museum of NH
CuriOdyssey
Great Lakes Aquarium
Hawk Creek Wildlife Center
Maine Wildlife Park
National Aviary
NEW
Oklahoma City
Orange County
San Francisco?
Shalom Wildlife
Topeka
Zoo Knoxville

Fish Crow (4 holders)

Cape May
Flamingo Gardens
Peace River Wildlife Center
Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge

Hawaiian Crow

Not publicly visible anywhere, but as the species is extinct in the wild, it felt remiss to not mention it. Present only in two breeding centers on Hawai’i, operated by SDZ Global.

Chihuahuan Raven (3 holders)

Abilene
Amarillo
Hillcrest Park

Pied Crow (16-18 holders)

African Lion Safari
Animal Adventures
Bird Kingdom
Catoctin
Claws ’N’ Paws Animal Park
DAK
Irvine Park & Zoo
Jack R. Facente Serpentarium
John Ball
NEW
Oakland? (did they manage to recapture their birds?)
Safari North Wildlife Park
Shell Factory & Nature Park (hybrid?)
Roger Williams Park (ambassador)
Southwicks
Timbavati Wildlife Park
Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Boise

White-necked Raven (14 holders)

ABQ Biopark
African Lion Safari
Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo
Busch Gardens Tampa
Catoctin
DAK
Fort Worth
Kansas City
Keystone Safari
Memphis
Oklahoma City
Rosamond Gifford
Timbavati Wildlife Park
World Bird Sanctuary

Common Raven (28 holders)

Alaska
Audubon RI Nature Center
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Beardsley
Brandywine
Brookfield
CALM
Carolina Raptor Center
Cleveland Museum of NH
DAK
Ecomuseum
Folsom
Lake Superior
MacKensie Center
Maryland (ambassadors)
Miller
National
Navajo Nation
Potter Park
Roger Williams Park
San Diego
Santa Barbara
Sequoia Park
The Living Desert
Tracy Aviary
Turtle Back
Turtle Bay Exploration Park
ZooAmerica
 
Birmingham Zoo has a male Black-Billed Magpie, not sure if it’s a rescue animal but was very interested in showing nesting materials to me :p
 
Timbavati and Wildwood Wildlife Park both keep Black-throated Magpie-Jay.

If ASDM still has Steller's Jay they're off-exhibit, I'd be willing to bet they no longer have them.

I really wish some of those Canadian jackdaws had made their way into zoos, that'd be a cool species to have around.
 
Indianapolis has American Crows. Currently they are behind the scenes due to construction for chimpanzees, they are held in the Eagle Aviary, rotating with Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles. They might also rotate with Black Vultures.
 
I’m pretty sure Lake Superior Zoo doesn’t have Common Raven anymore

Shell Factory’s corvid is a hybrid.

Doesn’t Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo have a Hawaiian Crow?

Hemker received a pair of Red-Billed Blue Magpies a year or two ago. They may or may not still be there, but since their signage is so awful, it’s really impossible to know for sure
 
ASDM had Chihuahuan Raven in their free flight program, not sure if still present
 
Bird Kingdom has blue jay and common raven.
Rosamond Gifford Zoo has pied crow, not white-necked raven.
Roger Williams Park Zoo does not have an ambassador crow (it's possible they temporarily have one due to Natural Encounters, Inc. but not during the one bird show I saw).

It's unfortunate how rare this family is overall. As a student of animal behavior, it shouldn't take much explanation as to why these birds fascinate me! I'd especially love it if magpies were more common in zoos- Red-billed Blue Magpie in particular ranks amongst my favorite passerines, and I'm really surprised there aren't more holders of them out there. Since it's a native species, Clark's Nutcracker is one that I assumed would be out there in small numbers. It's a shame this is a species not present at all.
 
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Neil chace said:
Since it's a native species, Clark's Nutcracker is one that I assumed would be out there in small numbers. It's a shame this is a species not present at all.
Click to expand...

Many of the native species were far less present than I expected to find, several species have lost holders since I was last aware and others are gone entirely it seems. Clark's Nutcracker is one I have looked into a couple times in the past and never found any references to one being kept - very likely the affinity for high altitudes and being native to the region where zoos are less common likely don't help. Certainly a bit disappointing to not see much support for the threatened native species when we have multiple that would benefit from a program of sorts - particularly the Island and Florida Scrub-Jays.
 
Great Argus said:
Many of the native species were far less present than I expected to find, several species have lost holders since I was last aware and others are gone entirely it seems. Clark's Nutcracker is one I have looked into a couple times in the past and never found any references to one being kept - very likely the affinity for high altitudes and being native to the region where zoos are less common likely don't help. Certainly a bit disappointing to not see much support for the threatened native species when we have multiple that would benefit from a program of sorts - particularly the Island and Florida Scrub-Jays.
Click to expand...
Clark's Nutcracker is a species that's of particular interest to a lot of animal behaviorists due to their impressive memory, which is part of why they interest me and that I'd assume they could make a strong display animal. Altitude is a compelling explanation that could be why they aren't in collections- I know that there are some high-altitude species from other reasons who similarly haven't thrived in zoos (e.g. saiga).

The scrub jays would also be nice exhibits to see present in zoos. Unfortunately, I don't for see these species becoming more common (nor almost any passerine, for that matter), as the amount of space dedicated to small birds in AZA zoos, both on-exhibit and off-exhibit, is generally on the decline.
 
Neil chace said:
Clark's Nutcracker is a species that's of particular interest to a lot of animal behaviorists due to their impressive memory, which is part of why they interest me and that I'd assume they could make a strong display animal. Altitude is a compelling explanation that could be why they aren't in collections- I know that there are some high-altitude species from other reasons who similarly haven't thrived in zoos (e.g. saiga).
Click to expand...

Indeed, and fairly social too. I'd imagine at some point there have been studies done with captive birds, but I've yet to run across anything. Altitude is as much they typically live fairly far from rehab centers and zoos - there are nutcrackers in my area, but they don't start even appearing until nearly 6000 feet of altitude. They're more regular once you get about 7-8000 feet or so. They do irrupt occasionally into lower elevations, but it doesn't seem to be very common. Such an irruption event might be the most likely chance for a couple birds to enter rehab and make their way into a facility.

Neil chace said:
The scrub jays would also be nice exhibits to see present in zoos. Unfortunately, I don't for see these species becoming more common (nor almost any passerine, for that matter), as the amount of space dedicated to small birds in AZA zoos, both on-exhibit and off-exhibit, is generally on the decline.
Click to expand...

Even bts breeding programs for the two threatened limited-range species would be better than nothing, though no doubt complicated to set up due to legal hoops. I agree though that it's unlikely to see the interest push unless a species suddenly plunges towards extinction...
 
Great Argus said:
Common Raven (28 holders)

Alaska
Audubon RI Nature Center
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
Beardsley
Brandywine
Brookfield
CALM
Carolina Raptor Center
Cleveland Museum of NH
DAK
Ecomuseum
Folsom
Lake Superior
MacKensie Center
Maryland (ambassadors)
Miller
National
Navajo Nation
Potter Park
Roger Williams Park
San Diego
Santa Barbara
Sequoia Park
The Living Desert
Tracy Aviary
Turtle Back
Turtle Bay Exploration Park
ZooAmerica
Click to expand...
Also Lehigh Valley Zoo and Smithsonian National Zoo.
 
Bactrian Deer said:
Indianapolis has American Crows. Currently they are behind the scenes due to construction for chimpanzees, they are held in the Eagle Aviary, rotating with Bald Eagles, and Golden Eagles. They might also rotate with Black Vultures.
Click to expand...
They are also in the bird show.
 
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