APPLE VALLEY, Minn. — The Minnesota Zoo says three African magpie shrikes escaped from its tropics building, and zoo officials are asking the community to help bring back two birds that are still missing.
The birds flew out of a door that had been mistakenly left open, according a statement from a zoo official. The zoo is asking people to look out for the birds still missing so they can be safely recaptured and returned to their exhibit.
"If we can get a live sighting, we can respond immediately and have better luck in recapturing these tropical birds before winter," Minnesota Zoo Assistant Curator of Birds Benjamin Hubred said in a letter to the Minnesota Orinthologists Union.
The birds are short-bodied, have an "unusual" black and white color with long tails, and each have both a metal and color band. They are not considered a threat to Minnesota's ecosystem, and "are part of an all-female group that will be unable to reproduce," according to zoo officials.
The zoo is asking anyone who finds a bird fitting that description to call 952-431-9200 as soon as possible with the date, time and specific location of the bird sighting.
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