Last Thursday marked the return of our female yellow-green grosbeak (Caryothraustes canadensis) to the rainforest bola after an absence of nearly a year. She’s been doing great; she joins the tanagers for their morning bath and then picks her favorite treats from the breakfast platter.

A change in the dynamics of the saffron finches (Sicalis flaveola) in our rainforest allowed us to try releasing her again…they previously bullied her too much. Here is a photo of the main culprit: saffron finch with the yellow band on its left leg.

After discussing it with our veterinarian Dr. Dunker, we placed her in a “howdy cage.” This is a cage within the rainforest where she can sit and observe what’s going on and the other birds can check her out. After a day in the howdy cage, we released her.

It was a tense couple moments knowing her history with the finches, and it didn’t help that saffron finch-yellow band immediately began displacing her. But after about 15 minutes the finches grew bored and she gained confidence. Now they just ignore eachother and she gets to hang out in peace. On your next visit to the rainforest, keep an eye out for the grosbeak and welcome her home!