Many common food and spice plants are found in the Conservatory. Many different growth habits are found from climbing vines to epiphytes. An epiphyte is a plant that grows on the surface of other plants. Unlike parasitic plants, they do not draw nutrition from the host plant. All birds in the Conservatory were domestically raised.
Canaries range in color from brown to orange to yellow and are the size of a parakeet.
They are native to the Canary Islands near the northwest coast of Africa. Waxbills are native to Central Africa. Coturnix quail are brown and gray and stand about eight inches in height. They are native to Asia. The canaries and waxbills are often seen flying around the treetops or roosting in the taller trees or feeding at a feeder station.