Discover 7 Animals You’ll See Flying and Crawling Around the Statue of Liberty

She holds a torch in her right hand as she raises it toward the sky and a tablet in her left hand, held close against her ribs. The Statue of Liberty is an iconic gift that represents both freedom and independence. In fact, on the tablet she holds, the date July 4, 1776, is written in Roman numerals to commemorate the date of the Declaration of Independence. Discover where she stands tall and proud and learn what kinds of animals you’ll see flying and crawling around the Statue of Liberty.

Where is the Statue of Liberty?

The Statue of Liberty is on Liberty Island in the city of New York. It’s a massive sculpture that commemorates the peace achieved between France and the United States at the start of the American Revolution. A French sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, designed it and Gustave Eiffel built the iron framework. It was a gift from the French and though the statue is green due to oxidation, its exterior is made from copper. To see this beauty up close on Liberty Island, you must hop on a short ferry ride first! Let’s see what animals you’ll find around the Statue of Liberty.

7 Animals You’ll See Flying and Crawling Around the Statue of Liberty

1. Great Horned Owl

Scientific name: Bubo virginianus

The great horned owl is common throughout all seasons in North America and the northern portions of South America. This owl is known for its incredible power and forceful hunting abilities. They are so determined when hunting that they’ll attack porcupines repeatedly, and while managing a kill the porcupine, also manage to kill themselves! Other animals this owl preys on include snakes, skunks, and hawks.

2. Turkey Vulture

Scientific name: Cathartes aura

Turkey vultures are found throughout North America up to the southern region of Canada and down to the southernmost point of South America. It’s part of the new world vultures classification (as opposed to old world vultures). These are scavengers, feasting primarily on carrion. Dead flesh is quite stinky, and turkey vultures use their sense of smell complemented by their sense of sight to spot these food sources when flying low.

3. American Black Duck

Scientific name: Anas rubripes

Contrary to its name, the American black duck’s plumage has several different colors, including beige, brown, and tan. All those colors muddle together and make it appear dark, which contrasts its yellow bill and light-colored face. These ducks have a beautiful purplish blue wing patch (speculum) that is only visible when they’re in flight. Its legs add more pops of color with a reddish-orange tone.

4. Clouded Sulphur

Scientific name: Colias philodice

The clouded sulphur is a beautiful, lemon-yellow butterfly that started as a northern U.S. species but made its way south. They enjoy sunny, open areas as well as roadsides and fields where they enjoy various flowers. Both female and male adults have a single black spot on each of their forewings.

5. Asian Lady Beetle

Scientific name: Harmonia axyridis

The Asian lady beetle is initially from Asia but was introduced both intentionally and accidentally throughout the years to the United States. The color patterns of Asian lady beetles vary. Sometimes they have more of a solid orange color and other times, they have the black spots that you think of when you picture a North American ladybug.

6. Yellow Garden Spider

Scientific name: Argiope aurantia

The yellow garden spider is just as bright and proud as the Statue of Liberty, choosing open fields for its web. They find sunny, wind-free places to create their homes, sometimes around the eaves of buildings. Unlike other spiders that leave the center of the web open, yellow garden spiders hang out right in the center of their zigzag webs.

7. Bald-Faced Hornet

Scientific name: Dolichovespula maculate

The bald-faced hornet goes by several names, including the bull wasp and bald-faced aerial yellowjacket. Despite its name, it’s not a true hornet but rather part of the yellowjacket wasp species. Bald-faced hornets are distinguished by the white markings on their faces and the black-and-white colors on the rest of their bodies, unlike other wasps of the same species, which are often black and yellow.  

Other Wildlife Around the Statue of Liberty

The list above isn’t exhaustive. There are a variety of other birds and critters you can spot when visiting the Statue of Liberty. Some of the other birds include the rock pigeon, ring-billed gull, common tern, herring gull, laughing gull, brant, bufflehead, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, American crow, and eastern phoebe. Butterflies include the common buckeye, black swallowtail, eastern tailed-blue, and monarch. Other flying insects include the blue dasher, western honey bee, brown-belted bumble bee, and Nearctic blue mud-dauber wasp.