National Aviary

The National Aviary is America’s only independent indoor nonprofit zoo dedicated exclusively to birds. The Aviary’s diverse collection comprises more than 500 birds representing more than 150 species from around the world, many of them threatened or endangered in the wild. 

The Aviary was one of the first zoos to present its collection in free-flight rooms and natural exhibits with over 25,000 square feet of space. It was privatized in 1992 and a year later, by declaration of the U.S. Congress, the Pittsburgh Aviary was designated honorary national status and renamed the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. In 2009, the Aviary began a $17.5 million expansion. The expansion included the Helen M. Schmidt FliteZone Theater, the addition of a rooftop Sky Deck for bird of prey lure-flying demonstrations and releases, a café, classrooms, new facades, new exhibits, and a new grand entrance and lobby space.