Franklin), who hatched in September 2006. Franklin can be seen with one of the trainers, making visits around the Aviary to teach visitors about Spectacled Owls. The National Aviary also takes part in Species Survival Plans designed to enhance conservation efforts for species including the Bali Myna (nearly extinct in the wild), the Guam Kingfisher, the Indian peacock, and the African Penguin. Its first two African Penguin chicks hatched in February 2012. On March 13, 2013, the Aviary celebrated another success of its breeding program, when a female Eurasian owlet hatched, and within five days, doubled in size. In January 2021, an endangered African Penguin chick hatched to first time parents Buddy and Holly; this chick is the eleventh to hatch at the National Aviary. In 2019, the Guam Rail was downgraded by the IUCN from extinct-in-the-wild status to critically endangered. More Guam Rails have been hatched at the National Aviary than at any other North American zoo. History and funding The National Aviary began as part of the Pittsburgh Aviary-Conservatory, built by the city in 1952 on the site of the original Phipps Conservatory and consisting at first of a single structure of 3,640 square feet. In 1967 an expansion that included the "wetlands room" increased space to 25,000 square feet. Pittsburgh's dwindling urban tax base forced the city to cease funding the institution in 1991. Public to private In 1991, neighborhood leaders founded Save the Aviary, Inc. and began an intense public campaign to raise money and develop a plan to privatize the Aviary. Jill Sims, an active volunteer at the Aviary, became the first chairperson of the organization. Mark P. Masterson, a Northside community leader, developed a business plan and secured funding from the Buhl Foundation to produce a capital improvement plan and recruited additional board members. Save the Aviary, Inc. took over the facility and began operations soon after the board of directors hired Dayton Baker as executive director. National status On October 27, 1993, by declaration of the U.S. Congress, the Pittsburgh Aviary was designated honorary national status and renamed the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. This was later signed by President Bill Clinton on November 8, 1993. A successful capital campaign was undertaken in 1995 to raise funds for essential renovations, completed in 1997, that thoroughly modernized the facility. In January 2005, the National Aviary created the Department of Conservation and Field Research, which so