Smithsonian National Zoo’s New Bird House Highlights Migratory Birds’ Incredible Journeys

“We don’t want to be in a situation—the California condor is a good example—where it got down to, like, 20 birds, and all of the sudden they’re pulling these birds in from the wild into a captive setting [to save them],” Hallager says. “We don’t want to be down to 20 indigo buntings and realize, oh my gosh, we have to rescue these birds from the wild. So we’re figuring this stuff out now. It’s very much a proactive approach to looking ahead. 

“Now’s the time to learn about these animals while we can still learn about them.”