Audubon Zoo Welcomes First Chick in Wings of the World

Audubon Zoo is excited to announce that a magpie shrike chick hatched on April 4, 2023. This is the first chick to hatch in the Zoo’s Wings of the World exhibit, which opened in March.

This chick is the first successful offspring for the magpie shrike parents. Mom is nine years old, and Dad is six years old. Both parents participated in the incubation and rearing of this chick, which is ideal to promote more natural behaviors.

 Magpie shrikes are native to Southern Africa and live in the Savanna woodlands. They eat small prey items like insects and rodents. Magpie shrikes suffer from habitat loss in the wild and have low numbers within Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) facilities. Once this chick reaches sexual maturity it will go to another AZA facility to be an ambassador for its species and breed with a genetically viable partner.

The chick fledged the nest on April 27, 2023, and Zoo guests can now see the chick in Wings of the World. This chick’s sex is still unknown, Audubon Zoo will update on social media as the chick grows.