National Aviary - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - large independent and non-profit aviary

In 1952, the city of Pittsburgh decided to build The National Aviary as a part of the Pittsburgh Aviary-Conservatory. They continued to fund the facility until 1991, when lack of urban tax funds made it financially impossible for the city to continue with the project. A group of leaders in this area of Pittsburgh founded Save the Aviary, Inc. to help raise money to keep the aviary open, and it went private and is now run by a board of directors. In 1993, Congress approved renaming the Pittsburgh Aviary the National Aviary.

The National Aviary is home to over 800 birds. Outside the main facility are two large areas - one for bald eagles and another for Andean condors. Both are extremely popular exhibits. The main building has a trail that takes guests through hornbill hall, a tropical rainforest exhibit, an atrium, the wetlands, a cloud forest, and a main hall with more eagles, red-crowned cranes, parrots, and toucans. Some of the tropical species found in the rainforest area include seed snips, potoos, woodcreepers, rheas, and tapulos. Afrian birds found in the aviary include ostriches, grey parrots, African penguins (new to the facility in 2009), starlings, helmet shrikes, and guineafowl.

Some of the most popular exhibits, however, are those that are native to the United States. These include cranes, cuckoos, wood warblers, sparrows, crows, robins, blue jays, loons, grouse, ducks, mocking birds, hawks, doves, and cardinals.

The National Aviary also is a leading facility in bird health. They have a state-of-the-art bird hospital to provide care to all of their 200+ species found at the aviary, along with injured birds found in the wild near the Pittsburgh area. Along with vets and surgeons, there are also staff members who run teaching programs at the aviary to help pre-veterinary, veterinary, and veterinary technician students learn more about birds from around the world.

There are a number of daily events that take place at the aviary in which guests can participate. In hornbill hall, the lories are fed every morning and afternoon, and guests can purchase a cup of nectar to have the lories eat out of their hands. There's also feedings in the wetlands section of the facility at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM every day and feedings in the tropical forest section of the aviary every morning at 11:00 AM and every afternoon at 3:30 PM. Daily, there are Bird Walks with tour guides starting in the Atrium, as well as flight shows in the rose garden and tropical showers in the wetlands so that birds can bathe. Along the main hall, guests can also see through a window to the facility's kitchen to learn about what the birds at the aviary eat. There are also interactive programs where participants can learn more about lories, penguins, becoming a trainer for the day, and more.

The National Aviary is open to the public every day except December 25, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. They have slightly extended hours during the summer, but because they are an indoor facility, guests can see all of the birds even during the cold Pittsburgh winters. The facility can also be rented for special events, and there are special discounts for groups. For more information, visitors can call 412-323-7235.