National Aviary's 'Jingle Bell Flock' show brings high-flying holiday cheer

The National Aviary on the North Side is getting into the festive spirit, starting the day after Thanksgiving with its new “Jingle Bell Flock” immersive show.

At a media preview on Wednesday, birds swooped throughout the Aviary’s Helen M. Schmidt FliteZone Theater while bird-themed versions of classic Christmas songs played.

The new holiday show is called “Jingle Bell Flock” and lasts about 20-25 minutes with a whole array of animal guests. This show will temporarily replace the theater’s “Passport to Parks” show, which will return after Jan. 5.

Among the winged guest stars is a black kite, the world’s most numerous birds of prey, which live in Europe, Africa and Asia. The Aviary is one of only a few places in North America where one of the majestic birds can be seen. During the show, the black kite flies about the room, stopping at several perches, as a bird-themed version of “Let It Snow” (“Let Them Fly”) plays.

The new renditions of all of the holiday songs were sung by staff, volunteers and members of the Aviary community.

“It’s a lot of fun, the staff get together and we write all of the holiday carols, and we’re all super bird nerds, so it’s a lot of fun putting them together. And then we recorded them, we found people who had hidden talents we didn’t even know we had,” said Cathy Schlott, the Aviary’s director of animal programs and experiences.

The preview also included a flight from a crowned crane, a large bird that shows off her tufted head and impressive wings while “I’m Dreaming of a Crowned Crane” (a “White Christmas” sendup) coos over the speakers.

One of the most alluring aspects of the show is the addition of two crows who have never appeared in a National Aviary show before.

“This is exciting, we’ve been doing a lot of training with them,” Schlott said.

One is an African pied crow named Jon Snow, and the other is an American crow named Frejya. The duo of birds has an extra-special job — to retrieve a candy cane and a miniature present from trainers and then place them in a stocking that’s hanging from a decorative fireplace in the performance space.

Their routine is soundtracked by a newly written version of “The Christmas Song” called “Black Birds Resting by a Cozy Fire.”

While the crows have to be trained for the show, their part is a natural extension of their instinctual behavior.

“Crows are omnivores and opportunistic feeders, so they’ll go and they’ll forage and they’ll have little cache spots, they’ll cache their food. … So, we were thinking, they like to take things and hide them. We just translated that into taking something and putting it into the stocking,” Schlott said.

Bringing the brightest flash of holiday color are a pair of scarlet macaws. These flamboyant birds swoop overhead to a rocking version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” rewritten to fit their vibrant plumage.

“The music is a lot of fun, it’s very different. We have slow carols, then kind of country-ish sounding music, and then some old rock music. … A little bit of something for everyone, no matter what kind of music you like,” Schlott said.

Lyrics are also provided so that guests can sing along as the animals do their thing, and the set will be cheerfully decorated with showy light cues to go along with the music.

“Jingle Bell Flock” will be performed daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on days that the Aviary is open from Nov. 28 to Jan. 5, 2026. Tickets are $5 for each person in addition to Aviary admission, with $4 tickets available for AAA members and members of the Aviary. To get tickets, visit aviary.org.