There are currently only 18 species of bird currently kept at Wellington Zoo, according to the Zoo Website. Brolga Crane (1 Male – “Bruce”) Cape Barren Goose (1 female – name not on website) Domestic Chicken Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo (2 females “Puff” and “Jake” both imprinted on humans) Crested Pigeon (1 male “Colin”) Derbyan Parakeet ("Wellington Zoo is home to three Derbyan Parakeets – male Hima, female Laya, and their offspring, who hatched in 2013") Emerald Dove (2 males 1 female) Emu (1 male 3 female - "Moira is our oldest female, and you can tell her apart from her mate Mogo by her impressive pouffy hairstyle. They hatched two chicks in 2014, named Ellen and Georgia".) Helmeted Guineafowl Himalayan Monal ("Wellington Zoo is home to two Himalayan Monals. The male has multicoloured plumage, while the female is dull in colour – just like all other pheasants, and most birds".) Kaka (no numbers or sex given on website) Kea ("We care for a family of five Kea at Wellington Zoo – a pair of adults and their three chicks, hatched in late 2014") Kiwi (Wellington Zoo is home to three male North Island Brown Kiwi – Miro, Purere and Tahi.) Red-Fronted Macaw (1 male – “Swinger”). Morepork / Ruru (2 birds no sex given) Ostrich (3 birds all females) Little Blue Penguin (Kororā) (2 male, 1 female 1 unknown sex – all ex rescue birds unable to be released into the wild) Sun Conure (no numbers or sex given on website just mentions a "Flock" with some handraised who were friendly with their keepers.)
A review of some of the Annual Reports for Wellington Zoo shows a rapid decline in the number of Bird species kept. 1975 - 76 species 1991 - 61 2000 - 51 2016 - 18 Most of the 18 species are singletons or groups of the same sex. It seems that The Wellington Zoo Trust is more interested in play equipment, than in keeping viable breeding populations. Zookeepers in 2016 at Wellington Zoo, the oldest in New Zealand, now get little practical experience in breeding birds.
