Despite its small size as a watercourse, the Rio is home to numerous bird species that we all know: pigeons, moorhens, ducks, and swans passing through the lakes; but it also hosts some bird species that are little-known and unusual in this environment. This is the case of the Yellow Ballerina. This small bird, the size of a sparrow, built its nest a couple of years ago and raised its brood in various points of the Rio: one clearly visible on the Lungorio Near the Pescherie, under a door that's always closed in the Palazzo delle Telecommunications: the nest is sheltered in a corner of the base step at water level. A second site was identified in the stretch of the Rio visible from Piazza Cavallotti, in one of the first houses. The bird is likely still visible in other parts of the Rio.
Alongside this nesting species, other birds, which are seasonal presences, find food and rest in the Rio: the kingfisher, a flash of blue that during the summer, in the stretches of the Rio furthest inside the city, such as the stretch between the Pescherie bridge and the bridge on Via Massari, dives quickly into the water to catch small fish and crustaceans; the great white heron, A migratory bird that uses the large Lebanese cedar tree as a resting place. It stands in a private garden across the water from Vicolo Sottoriva, in the aforementioned stretch. From spring to late summer, the large birds gather for the night in the shady, protective branches of the cedar: struck by the rays of the setting sun, they become bright, white lanterns.