(KRON) — Only one bird remains on the loose this week after a storm-toppled tree smashed into the Oakland Zoo’s Savanna bird aviary.
Five of the six escaped birds have been recovered. But a black-and-white pied crow, named Diego, is still flying free somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“If people see it … call us and let us know so we can try to get him,” zoo spokesperson Erin Dogan told KRON4 Monday.
Diego’s species is native to Africa. Thanks to his fancy feathers, the bird looks like a well-dressed black crow wearing a white vest.
Whipping wind gusts from last week’s storm damaged the zoo’s newest bird habitat. Three iridescent blue and orange superb starlings flew back into the aviary 48 hours later.
Oliver, an endangered hooded vulture, was also recovered. And on Saturday, an eagle-eyed Oakland resident found a pied crow, named Deauville, in their neighborhood a few miles away from the zoo. But Diego’s whereabouts remains unknown.
Oakland Zoo officials wrote on Twitter, “We have one last bird to recover. If you spot him, please don’t try to catch him — he’s a very shy bird that startles easily — but do call our rescue hotline 510-703-8986.”
Oakland isn’t the only zoo with a bird on the lam. At New York’s Central Park Zoo, a majestic Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco has eluded capture for nearly two months. The search for Flaco was launched after vandals cut stainless steel meshing at the owl’s enclosure. The Eurasian eagle-owl is one of the larger owl species, and Flaco has since become a New York City celebrity.
New York zoo officials tried to lure Flaco with bait and recordings of eagle-owl calls. He showed some interest but didn’t fall for the ruse.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.