An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages or bird cages in some places in the United Kingdom. Aviaries often contain plants and shrubbery to simulate a natural environment.
Large aviaries are often found in the setting of a zoological garden (for example, the London Zoo, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the San Diego Zoo). Walk-in aviaries also exist in bird parks, including the spacious Bird Paradise in Singapore, or the smaller Edward Youde Aviary in Hong Kong. Pittsburgh is home to the USA's National Aviary, perhaps the most prominent example in North America of an aviary not set inside a zoo. However, the oldest public aviary not set inside a zoo in North America, the Hamilton Aviary is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Tracy Aviary is an example of a bird park within a public urban park, Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. [1] Some smaller sized aviaries can often be found in European manorial gardens, such as Waddesdon Manor, UK, and Versailles, France. Some public aquaria, such as the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, or the Monterey Bay Aquarium, have aquatic aviaries. [2] [3]
Home aviaries are popular with some bird fanciers who have the space for them. Many bird breeders list themselves as "aviaries", since most bird pairs breed best in aviaries in contrast to breeding cages. Home aviaries may be built by the owner or obtained from a commercial supplier.
There are two main subcategories of home aviaries: grounded aviaries and suspended aviaries. Grounded aviaries are affixed to the ground with a concrete base to prevent rats and other vermin from entering. Suspended aviaries are suspended in the air with only the 'legs' of the aviaries affixed to the ground; hence, the need for a protective base is eliminated in suspended aviaries. Most grounded aviaries typically feature a woodwork or PVC frame unlike the metal frame of public aviaries; however, it isn't uncommon for suspended aviaries to feature a metal frame. Aviaries are also used for research purposes in ornithology institutes.
An aviary, a large cage to house and display birds, dates as far back and possibly earlier than the 1500s found in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan as noted by Hernán Cortés when he and his men arrived in 1521. Also the Raven Cage (created in 1829), is regarded as one of the oldest structures in the London Zoo. [4]
The first large aviary inside a zoological garden was established in 1880 in the setting of the Rotterdam Zoo. Aviaries were an important aspect for the many Rothschild houses that proliferated across Europe in the 19th century. This was a recalling of the aristocratic custom from the late 1600s, which involved the elite society displaying their power, status and wealth through the exhibition of exotic birds and animals. For instance, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild built his aviary in 1889 at Waddesdon Manor, UK, erected in the style of Versailles' trelliswork pavilions. [5]
In 1902, a flying cage was completed in the setting of the National Zoological Park of the Smithsonian Institution. A new Great Flying Cage was built in 1964. [6]
The Saint Louis Zoo is home to the 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage. It is one of only two permanent structures built for the World's Fair which still remain (the other is the Saint Louis Art Museum's Cass Gilbert building). In 1904, it was the largest bird cage ever built. It remains one of the world's largest free-flight aviaries. The 69 m (228 ft) long, 26 m (84 ft) wide, and 15 m (50 ft) high cage was built by the Smithsonian Institution specifically for the St. Louis World's Fair. Local pride in the giant cage motivated St. Louis to finally establish a zoo in 1910.
In 1937, the San Diego Zoo's aviary designed by architect Louis John Gill opened; it was then the largest in the world. The mammoth steel structure, 55 m (180 ft) long, 18 m (60 ft) wide and more than 30 m (100 ft) high, funded by the Works Progress Administration at a cost of $50,000, had no beams, cross or guy-wires to impede the flight of the birds. [7] [8]
With the Antwerp cage system (1948), birds are only separate from public with a light system used indoor the Bird Building at Antwerp Zoo. [9]
At the Frankfurt Zoo, the bird house was built in 1969. Its Bird Halls presented birds for the first time in large glassed miniature habitats. In diving exhibits, darters and kingfishers could be seen hunting under water, and in the free-flight hall visitors still walk amongst tropical birds in dense vegetation. [10] In 1963, the same principle was used outdoors to construct the Bird Thicket, ten aviaries surrounded by dense bushes and designed in various habitat settings, which visitors can enter through wire netted doors and curtains of cords. [10]
The Snowdon Aviary in London Zoo was designed by Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, Cedric Price and Frank Newby, and built in 1962–1964. [4]
The Bronx Zoo's World of Birds, a two-story bird house completed in 1972, is a huge, landscaped, indoor free-flight exhibit. The one-way flow pattern in the exhibit moves the visitors through twenty-five birds habitats, ranging from desert to tropical forest. Each setting recreates with impressive fidelity the microculture of the birds that fly merrily about within their diorama world, complete with living plants. Five of the aviaries are completely open: in two of the largest the uncaged public walks through the habitat with birds freely overhead. [11]
The Henry Doorly Zoo's Simmons Aviary opened in 1983 and is one of the world's largest free-flight aviaries. About 500 birds from all parts of the world occupy the area of the aviary. In this 16,000-square-metre (4-acre) exhibit, visitors see flamingos, ducks, swans, storks, cranes, spoonbills, ibis and egrets. The Aviary is 240 m (800 ft) long and rises to 23 m (75 ft) at the center. The structure of two-inch nylon mesh is supported by a system of cables and poles. The use of nylon instead of wire is a unique concept. [12]
Birds of Eden bird sanctuary, located in the Western Cape of South Africa, is possibly the largest free flight aviary in the world. The aviary opened in 2005 and covers an area of 21,761 m2 (234,230 sq ft) with a total volume of 375,372 m3 (13,256,100 cu ft). It is home to around 3,000 individual birds from 200 species.
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The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, originally named the San Diego Wild Animal Park until 2010, is an 1800-acre zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in San Diego County. The park houses a large array of wild and endangered animals from every continent, except Antarctica; this includes the largest, most comprehensive collection of hoofed mammals (ungulates) in the world. The park is in a semi-arid environment, about 30 miles (48 km) inland from the Pacific Ocean, giving it a year-round ‘feeling’ of being in Africa, with one of its most notable attractions being the Africa Tram, a half-hour guided tram ride which showcases the expansive ‘grassland’ exhibits. These free-range enclosures house the majority of the park's larger species, such as numerous antelopes, giraffes, buffalo, cranes, and rhinoceros, among others. The park is also noted for its California condor breeding program. When booked in-advance, the park also offers several longer, more in-depth safari options, some of which involve riding in an open-top truck to feed the animals in the field enclosures.
London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. In 1831 or 1832, the animals of the Tower of London menagerie were transferred to the zoo's collection. It was opened to the public in 1847. As of December 2022, it houses a collection of 14,926 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom.
The Saint Louis Zoo, officially known as the Saint Louis Zoological Park, is a zoo in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Admission is free based on a public subsidy from a cultural tax district, the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District (ZMD); fees are charged for some special attractions. A special feature is the 2 ft narrow-gauge Emerson Zooline Railroad with passenger trains pulled by Chance Rides C.P. Huntington locomotives that encircle the zoo, stopping at the more popular attractions.
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4,000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on 100 acres (40 ha) of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a private nonprofit conservation organization, and has one of the largest zoological membership associations in the world, with more than 250,000 member households and 130,000 child memberships, representing more than a half million people.
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is a zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In August 2014, TripAdvisor rated it the "world's best zoo", ahead of the San Diego Zoo and Loro Parque, based on an algorithmic assimilation of millions of reviews for 275 major zoos worldwide.
A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden.
Melbourne Zoo is a zoo in Melbourne, Australia. It is located within Royal Park in Parkville, approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the centre of Melbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. As of 2021 the zoo contains 3742 animals comprising 243 species, from Australia and around the world. The zoo is accessible via Royal Park station on the Upfield railway line, and is also accessible via tram routes 58 and 19, as well as by bicycle on the Capital City Trail. Bicycles are not allowed inside the zoo itself.
The National Zoological Garden of South Africa is an 80-hectare (200-acre) zoo located in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the national zoo of South Africa, and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. Pretoria Zoo is one of the eight largest zoos in the world
The Franklin Park Zoo is a 72 acres (290,000 m2) zoo located in Boston, Massachusetts and is currently operated by Zoo New England, which also operates the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The zoo is located in the northeast portion of Franklin Park, Boston's largest park and the last component of the city's famed Emerald Necklace.
The National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only independent indoor nonprofit aviary in the United States. It is also the country's largest aviary, and the only one accorded honorary "National" status by the United States Congress.
A zoo is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
A public aquarium (pl. aquaria) or public water zoo is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, as well as smaller tanks.
The chestnut-backed thrush is a ground thrush species endemic to Lombok, Timor and the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The species is rapidly declining and it is already extinct on Lombok and possibly on Lesser Sunda. There are a number of European institutions that hold this species, including: Berlin Zoological Garden, Birdworld, Bristol Zoo, Royal Burgers' Zoo, Chester Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Durrell Wildlife Park, Waddesdon Manor aviary and Zoo Basel. Six of these zoos have successfully bred them since October 2011 and there are now 91 of them in these institutions. Private Members of the Foreign Bird League in the UK are participating in the breeding scheme for this species and are being particularly successful.
The Zoological Garden of Hamburg was a zoo in Hamburg, Germany that operated from 1863 until 1930. Its aquarium, which opened in 1864, was among the first in the world.
Walsrode World Bird Park, known as Jubs in English until 2010, is a bird park located in the middle of the Lüneburg Heath in North Germany within the municipality of Bomlitz near Walsrode in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany.
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) is a facility located in Flatts Village, Bermuda, about 700 mi (1,100 km) east of the United States and at the geographic center of Bermuda. It was established in 1926 by the Bermuda government to enhance a growing tourism industry and "to inspire appreciation and care of island environments." The facility focuses on showing oceanic island species and in conservation, education, and research related to these species, and contains an aquarium, a natural history museum, and a zoo.
George Saul Mottershead was the founder of Chester Zoo.
Chai Nat Bird Park or Chai Nat Zoo is a large bird sanctuary and provincial park in Chai Nat Province, Thailand. It contains over 100 bird species living in simulated surroundings which match the natural habitat of the birds. Also, it has more than 60 cages of birds. The birds can be observed both in their simulated environment and in the cages. The two highlights of the park are the vast bird cage which is the largest aviary in Asia, and a freshwater fish aquarium.
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