And so the third round gets underway. Prague was barely more troubled in the second round than it was in the first, knocking off Colchester 25-1 on ungulates. Bristol was similarly clinical in its upset win over Zlin, catching the Czech zoo off-suit on reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates and running away 25-0. It'll find it much tougher going up against the number one seed and tournament favourite, though, especially since the category is birds. Tomorrow: Doue-la-Fontaine vs Vienna.
What is a little sad about this matchup is that there's no reason Bristol couldn't have put up more of a fight with an actual bird house. As it is the Penguin Coast is fantastic and..... Whereas Prague has the tranquil but thorough Wetland area (with Shoebills), the Bird of Prey area (nothing spectacular but nice-looking), the freeflight hall in the Indonesian House (massively underperforms relative to potential, but still a major avian offering), the delightful cliff path Lorikeet Aviaries, the masterful iron girder Eagle Cage set into the aforementioned cliff (something very much spectacular), the fit-for-purpose laughing thrush aviaries (with a very good line-up) and various other bits and pieces. All of this pales in comparison with the Sichuan Aviary, which might be one of the best exhibits in Europe. Leaving the bustle of the zoo behind on a hot summer's day to enjoy its cool, quiet interior is exactly the kind of experience every zoo visit needs. The large variety of species is wonderful, and they can be found at all levels of the lush live planting. I can't speak highly enough of this building.
Both: Greater flamingo; red-breasted goose; white-winged duck; marbled teal; common eider; northern mallard; ruddy shelduck; crested wood partridge; common moorhen; masked lapwing; pied avocet; chestnut-naped and pied imperial, wonga and Nicobar pigeons; crested dove; blue-and-yellow macaw; kea; rainbow lorikeet; Asian glossy starling; Bali mynah; blue-faced honeyeater; Emei Shan liocichla; red-billed leiothrix; orange-headed ground thrush; white-rumped shama Bristol: Pink-backed pelican; little egret; Chiloe wigeon; Meller’s and tufted ducks; satyr tragopan; sunbittern; common redshank; inca tern; beautiful, eastern superb and black-naped fruit and European turtle doves; white-naped pheasant and Victoria crowned pigeons; black-cheeked lovebird; lilacine amazon, blue-throated conure; scarlet macaw; Philippine cockatoo; red-crested and violet touracos; collared kingfisher; black hornbill; Asian azure-winged magpie; Brazilian tanager; Gouldian finch; Java sparrow; superb starling, yellow cardinal Prague: Common ostrich; lesser rhea; common emu; southern cassowary; elegant crested and Tataupa tinamous Humboldt and jackass penguins Dalmatian, spot-billed and great white pelicans; little pied cormorant Black-crowned and Philippine rufous night heron; little bittern; Abdim’s, black, African open-billed, milky, yellow-billed and marabou storks; southern boat-billed and squacco herons; hamerkop; shoebill; African, roseate and Eurasian spoonbills; waldrapp; American white, black-headed, glossy, hadada, Madagascar crested, scarlet, straw-necked and black-faced ibises; Caribbean and Chilean flamingos; Bewick’s swan; Cape Barren, swan, giant Canada, Indian pygmy, lesser white-fronted, magpie and emperor geese; Atlantic harlequin, mandarin, Muscovy, Patagonian crested, ruddy, South African black, white-headed duck and ferruginous ducks; Bahama and northern pintails; garganey; Eurasian green-winged, hottentot, red-shouldered, speckled and Brazilian teals; northern shoveler; smew; paradise shelduck; bufflehead; red-crested pochard; red-breasted and scaly-sided mergansers; crested screamer; Steller’s sea, bald and bataleur eagles; western honey and common buzzards; Harris’ hawk; red kite; bearded, hooded, king, lesser yellow-headed, western Egyptian, western European griffon and Eurasian black vultures; secretary bird; European and lesser kestrels Bronze-tailed, Malayan, Palawan and grey peacock, Edward’s, golden, Salvadori’s, Vietnamese and cheer pheasants; Indian and Javanese green peafowl; Sri lankan jungle fowl; Temminck’s tragopan; brown-breast hill and grey partridges; Australian brush turkey; vulturine guinea fowl; grey piping guan; northern helmeted curassow Blue, Eurasian, red-crowned, wattled, white-naped and demoiselle cranes; spotted crake; west Mediterranean purple swamphen; red-legged seriema African wattled, northern, southern and blacksmith lapwings; ruff; Eurasian oystercatcher; black-winged stilt; bush, Peruvian and European thick knees; common tern Arabian chestnut-bellied and four-banded sandgrouses; bar-tailed cuckoo, Chinese spotted, cinnamon and ruddy ground, Indian emerald, superb fruit and African collared doves; ashy and common wood, Philippine metallic, green-naped pheasant, pink-headed and spotted imperial, pink-necked green, stock, western crowned and pink pigeons; Luzon bleeding heart buffy fish, Eurasian great grey, European boreal, common barn, oriental bay, Philippine scops, short-eared, South European and western Ural, spectacled and little owls; tawny frogmouth Black-billed, southern festive, yellow-billed and red-tailed amazons; hyacinth and Lear’s macaws; blue-naped, burrowing, large and Edward’s fig, golden-shouldered, grey, Moszkowski green-winged king, Pesquet’s, red-rumped, superb, swift, vernal hanging and Bourke’s parrots; monk parakeet; greater Patagonian conure; budgerigar; cockatiel; lesser palm and white cockatoos; eastern and northern rosellas; brown, western black and purple-necked lories; Mindanao, scaly-breasted, Stella’s, Sumba and Mitchell’s lorikeets Guira cuckoo; white-bellied go-away bird; Mombasa speckled mousebird Blue-winged kookaburra; common hoopoe; green wood hoopoe; European roller; eastern yellow-billed, Javan rhinoceros, Luzon, northern rufous, southern ground, Visayan tarictic, Von der Decken’s, western long-tailed, wrinkled and great hornbills Greater yellow-naped woodpecker Crested and green oropendolas; Sunda hooded pitta; brush, New Guinea and common bronzewings; common raven; common chaffinch; Asian fairy bluebird; barred, red-fronted, blue-crowned, red-tailed, red-winged, rufous-cheeked, scaly, Siamese white-crested, silver-eared, spotted, Sumatran, Sunda, white-throated and black-throated laughing thrushes; black-headed and red-whiskered bulbuls; black-headed greenfinch; blue-winged leafbird; Boehm’s and red-billed buffalo and village weavers; coleto, red-winged, rosy, scissor-billed, white-shouldered and European starlings; crested, hill, yellow-faced and golden-crested mynahs; Cuban grassquit; Eurasian bullfinch; Eurasian golden oriole; Eurasian siskin; Eurasian song, black-chested, Sunda whistling and spotted palm thrushes; European goldfinch; green, white-backed and Javan green magpies; greenfinch; helmeted friarbird; horned lark; house finch; Oriental greenfinch; red-cowled cardinal; redpoll; saffron finch; scarlet-faced liocichla; scarlet-headed blackbird; Siberian rubythroat; white wagtail Prague wins this very easily, but I wonder how many people visit a zoo to see 14 types of laughing thrush, unless some of the birds are kept behind the scenes. I also wonder about both zoos keeping examples of birds that occur locally and may live free within the zoo.
Not been to Bristol but the bird-collection at Prague made such an impression on me Both species as enclosure-wise ) that I have to vote for Prague .
I think Bristol got as far as it was possible to go. It had its 2 strongest categories in the previous rounds, otherwise it wouldn't have got as far as it did! It was never beating Prague whatever the category. Bristol probably wouldn't have beaten any zoo in the competition on ungulates
Yes, I think Prague has poor old Bristol bang to rights on this one - the wetland and Sichuan complexes on their own would see off the birds at Bristol, I fear. Prague is comfortably ahead in both diversity and exhibit design here.
Prague does keep many native bird species though. They have an aviary in the children's zoo with some very common birds for example, serving the purpose that @HOMIN96 states.
I love these aviaries - and I love the fact that Prague has them. Of course Prague will - and should - win this one; I think they'd beat any zoo in Europe on birds, even Pilsen or Berlin. Only Walsrode would have them bettered, I think.
