Delacour's crested fireback

Antwerp zoo 2008

The bird is of course spectacular, but I am really taken in by the background.I refer to the marvellous combination of redbrick, with creamy detailing and the panels in "zoo green".Motorsports enthusiasts instantly understand what is meant by "British Racing Green" & hard-core zoo enthusiasts know that there are two shades of "Zoo Green".There is the darker one used on metalwork & there is the much rarer tone, used only in the finest institutions for the type of panelling seen in the background of this photo.When you see the combination of shades found in this photo, you already know it was taken in an elite institution, before asking any more questions.

It really is a zoo colour. Doors, wire, fences, beams and pretty much anything that could be painted. A nice complement to brickwork.