Hornbills,pheasants, Birds of Paradise and those odd looking parrots » Jurong Bird Park

06-05-2008

Does Jurong keep the Green Junglefowl (Gallus Varius)?

06-05-2008

They used to house the Red, Grey and Green. But after the whole bird flu scare, gallus species have disappeared from all displays.

24-05-2008

Haven't had time to visit Jurong myself, but here's what i've heard:

The Tarictic Hornbills at Jurong are back on display again after having been off display for many many years.

The new Dinosaur Descendants exhibit features only the main 4 ratite species - ostrich, emu, rhea and cassowary. No new species introduced. Basically a thematic upgrade of the old flightless birds exhibit.

24-05-2008

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe that the tarictic hornbills at Jurong are the Luzon species, there are very few in captivity, only Jurong and Berlin hold the species!

Does the zoos still keep Single wattled cassowary?
Has the zoo ever had Bennett's cassowary?

When you go next time, could you try and Take a picture of the Hornbills for me?

Thanks Zooish!

25-05-2008

aren't you going there in like two months?

25-05-2008

Yep, I'm so excited, and you'll get a flurry on pictures and posts on the gallery on my return!

27-05-2008

Jurong should still have the Single wattled. The Zoo has only ever kept Southerns; there's one there now.
I remember seeing a lone Bennett's in Jurong in the late 90s.

I'm sure you'll outdo me in the photo-taking part when you come visit

27-05-2008

I'm there for two days; is that enough? (I know that I'd want to spend longer..)

Does the park still have it's Spot billed pelicans?
Does it still keep Malayan Peacock pheasants?
Any other new or rare species to add or take from the list?

2 days for Jurong Bird Park ?
27-05-2008

For people who like animals but arent that great on birds , they will find themselves happily occupied for a whole day .....

For birders that are as keen as Mr Hornybill , I doubt if 2 weeks could be considered "enough" -- but where do you draw the line ?

My advice would be to put bird sub categories into the order that you "most like to see" and "never seen before " (first) , down to "it will be good to see , but not essential " .
There is no way that Jurong Bird Park can be seen properly by ornithological buffs in 2 days , but if you select what you really want to see as your priority , and any spare time (?) can be taken up with other displays . That is probably the best way that you will enjoy Jurong Bird Park with the limited time .

27-05-2008

Take plenty of water. and i reckon you could spend the two days in the waterfall avairy alone.

27-05-2008

Boof so do I, but then I'd miss the hornbills and the BoPs, and the Cassowaries and the Pelicans...

27-05-2008

For most people 2 days will do. For you, probably a month

Yes, the spot billed are there. But there's only 2 of them amongst the 50+ pelicans, so gotta look hard. Doesn't help that they look so similar to pink-backed.

Malayan as well as Rothchild's and Mountain peacock pheasants are all housed in the Southeast Asian aviary.

look out for the painted conures in Jungle Jewels aviary, i think they are a recent addition. I've also seen pictures of fawn-breasted bowerbirds online, but have absolutely no clue where in the birdpark they were photographed!

Like what boof and nigel said, there is no way you can see every single species (600 of them) in 2 days, probably not even in a week. The waterfall aviary alone could take you a whole week to see most of its inhabitants.

There are 4 main shows a day; the Birds n Buddies (silly name) show repeats twice, so just have to catch one of them, if anything just to experience Vicky the great pied hornbill flying above you. the other 2 shows are bird of prey shows, each with slightly different content. Worth a look, especially if they fly the himalayan griffon vulture over the audience.

And do bring plenty of water, the heat and humidity can be brutal! and most of the park is built on the side of a hill.

28-05-2008

I was intending to spend one day wandering the park, and then the second looking in certain areas of the park (hornbills, BoP, waterfowl aviary and any other areas that I haven't seen the species I want to see..)

2 more cents worth ......
28-05-2008

I was intending to spend one day wandering the park ......


It wouldnt take you very long to wander in the park -- its not that big in terms of acreage , and for such a dedicated ornithological enthusiast you would be better off by selecting exactly what you want to see -- whether it be hornbills , penguins , raptors , parrots , BoPs , or whatever .
See these first and take your photos/videos whatever .
Then move onto the next selected birds on your list .
Wandering in the park is nice , but not recommended for a bird fan like yourself .

I am not a birding fan , but I have been to this place twice and happily spent the whole day there and probably havent seen at least 25 % of what was on display

There is no way that you are going to see all of what Jurong has to offer in 2 days -- read what Zooish has written .

I reckon that Jurong is the most comprehensive bird park anywhere in the world -- a LONG way ahead of whoever wants to take second place .

20-06-2008

A very good recommendation. If you're really into birds a small pair of binoculars are also useful in their big free-flight aviaries.