We got the beasts

Quaker parrots, Brooklyn College

Photograph: Steve Baldwin/BrooklynParrots.com

Flashy and feathery

Peacocks, St. John the Divine
Flamboyant fowl have been roaming the cathedral’s gardens since 1973, when former students donated some to their alma mater. An early Christian symbol of everlasting life, peacocks actually live about 15 years. The three preening and fanning their tail feathers on the grounds these days arrived in 2002. Take a tour ($5, students and seniors $4, babies free) to get a good gander at the birds, or watch them from the street.

Butterflies,  city gardens
More than 1,000 brilliantly colored butterflies flutter around the conservatory at the Bronx Zoo. But right now, nature’s hang-gliders can be found just about anywhere—New York City is on the migration route of more than 90 species. For sightings, the zoo suggests Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx; Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn; Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan; Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Queens; and Sailor’s Snug Harbor, Staten Island. To learn how to lure the insects to your own yard or balcony, go to thebutterflysite.com/newyork-butterflies.shtml.

Rare birds, reptiles and fish, Uptown Birds
This store, the largest bird shop in Manhattan, stocks rare galah cockatoos, Solomon Island eclectus, yellow-bibbed lories and blue-fronted amazons, as well as the more commonCongo African gray parrots and lovebirds. The shop also has rare crested geckos and poison dart frogs, exotic lionfish and green wraffe fish. Call for monthly wildlife workshops, run in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History. 522–526 Amsterdam Ave between 85th and 86th Sts (212-877-2473, uptownbirds.com). Subway: B, C, 1 to 86th St.

Parrots, Brooklyn College
No, those aren’t radioactive green pigeons (but good guess). No one knows exactly how these Quaker parrots, also called monk parakeets, wound up in the city. It’s believed that in the late 1960s a crate of parrots from Argentina was accidentally opened at JFK, liberating the birds. They are often spotted on Brooklyn College’s Athletic Field. (For more information, check out the well-kept site brooklynparrots.com.)

Wild turkeys,  Staten Island University Hospital
Wild turkeys like those roaming around the hospital’s 40-acre campus used to be plentiful all over the Northeast’s woods. (Until recently, you could even see some in Manhattan’s Morningside Park.) The Parks Commission petitioned the state to relocate the fowl, but the request was denied—so hospital visitors have to make way for turkeys, which are often found in the parking lot. Look for the turkey crossing sign near the hospital’s entrance. 475 Seaview Ave, Staten Island (718-226-9000). Travel: From the Staten Island Ferry, take the S52 bus to the hospital.

Bird watching, citywide
NYC’s many waterways and marshes make it a favorite breeding spot for migrating birds. More than 325 species have been spotted in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, including osprey, herons, egrets, ibis and barn owls. Most species are more active in the early morning and late afternoon. Little naturalists may also see snakes, turtles, raccoons, muskrats and dragon flies. (brooklynbirdclub.org/jamaica.htm)
• Prospect Park’s Audubon Center at the Boathouse hosts free bird-watching workshops for kids on Saturdays at noon.

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