Hello everyone, I have just found this site,quite by chance,and would like to introduce myself before posting anything,as a matter of courtesy.I worked at Winged World and the Childrens Zoo at Heysham Head,near Morecambe,Lancashire for several years before it's untimely closure,and have,from being a very small child,had a consuming passion for animals and wildlife conservation,something I no doubt share with the majority of the members.Now retired,I am involved with the British Chelonia Group,the tortoise,terrapin and turtle charity and conservation group,as the Northern region chairman,and organise a one day Symposium annually in October at Chester Zoo.Apart from my tortoises,I keep two rescued rabbitss,and have spent a great deal of time realising how little i really lnew about their personalities and intelligence,in spite of thinking that I knew quite a lot about their care! We should nevber be afraid to admit our ignorance,it's the only way to learn I find! I started work as a keeper at Winged World in 1971,and am in touch with several of the other staff now.I would love to know if anyone out there has any memories of the place and any memorabilia,photos or interesting artefacts associated with the place.Largely forgotten now,it was,in its day,the best collection of exotic softbills in the country,with many first breedings under its belt.Of course,like many ex-keepers,I have some bittersweet memories too,and don't by any means think that everything was perfect,but they were fascinating days,never to be repeated.Any comments and recollections would be welcomed,and i thank you very much for reading this.
Welcome to zoochat. I don't think I've ever heard of Winged World, did it close down a great many years ago?
Hi there, thanks for the reply.Winged World,if my memory serves correctly,opened in 1966 and closed around 1979.I could go into huge detail ,and may well do so in future,about the decline of the place and way in which it was betrayed and neglected by the local Council who administered it,but basically it was in the wrong place and was hugely underappreciated and misunderstood by those who should have promoted and developed it.It's very hard to find any information about the place now if you type it into a search engine,due to the time elapsed,which is why my,and others memories are so precious,and if others who may have visited or know people who visited,read my posts,we may yet uncover some more infor or photos.I'm happy to share what I have and what I can remember,and of course have contact with some of my former colleagues to back this up.Thanks for the interest,and let's hope that we can acquaint people with this little gem in future-it deserves to be remembered and appreciated,even if a little late in the day.
I - and I am sure many others - would be fascinated to see a full species list of what was maintained at Winged World. The few remaining documents - guidebooks and postcards - offer a fascinating glimpse.
I can remember quite a lot but obviously not all.I can certainly have a word with a friend,who has quite a good record of the species kept.something for the future andd of course may not be exhaustive.I'll put my thinking cap on in the meantime.Nice to know that the old place still interests people.Clive Roots,the first Curator,is still with us by the way,Brian Ward,the second Curator is not I'm afraid,as is Bill Ranson,the Head Keeper,who was such a mine of informtion as well as being a character of the old school.I once cleaned his tea mug out during a kitche n 'blitz' and removed the rich crust accumulated from several months of tea drinking.He hit the roof and claimed it would never taste the same again1 Neddless to say I just swilled it out under the tap in future!
Somehow I missed this thread last year. I made three visits to Winged World, August 1975, August 1976 and September 1976. I was very impressed. ZTL lists the following holdings Former Holderings: Abyssinian Ground-thrush** (Geokichla piaggiae (Syn.: Zoothera piaggiae)**) African jacana (Greater African jacana) (Actophilornis africanus) African pygmy kingfisher** (Ispidina picta (Syn.: Ceyx pictus)**) Amethyst brown-dove (Greater brown fruit-dove)** (Phapitreron amethystinus**) Andaman white-headed myna** (Sturnia erythropygia andamanensis (Syn.: Sturnus erythropygius andamanensis)**) Andean cock-of-the-rock** (Rupicola peruvianus**) Asian Fairy-bluebird (Blue-backed fairy-bluebird) (No Subspecific status) (Irena puella) Asiatic paradise-flycatcher (No Subspecific status)** (Terpsiphone paradisi**) Bali myna (Rothschild's mynah) (Leucopsar rothschildi) Bearded parrotbill (Bearded reedling) (Bearded tit) (No Subspecific status) (Panurus biarmicus) Black-chinned yuhina** (Yuhina nigrimenta**) Black-fronted bush-shrike** (Chlorophoneus nigrifrons (Syn.: Telophorus nigrifrons)**) Black-headed lapwing (Vanellus tectus (Syn.: Lobivanellus tectus) (Syn.: Sarciophorus tectus)) Black-headed wagtail** (Motacilla flava feldegg (Syn.: Motacilla feldegg)**) Black-mantled tamarin (No subspecific status)** (Leontocebus nigricollis (Syn.: Saguinus nigricollis)**) Black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus (Syn.: Himantopus himantopus mexicanus)) Black-spotted barbet (no species or subspecies status)** (Capito niger (sensu lato)**) Black-throated apalis** (Apalis jacksoni**) Black-throated barbet (African black-throated barbet) (Brown-throated barbet)** (Tricholaema melanocephala**) Black-throated wattle eye** (Platysteira peltata**) Blacksmith lapwing (Blacksmith plover) (Vanellus armatus (Syn.: Hoplopterus armatus) (Syn.: Antibyx armatus)) Blue dacnis (Dacnis cayana) Blue-backed manakin (Superb manakin)* (Chiroxiphia pareola*) Blue-capped rock-thrush (Blue-headed rock-thrush)** (Monticola cinclorhynchus**) Blue-crowned motmot (no species or subspecies status) (Momotus momota (sensu lato)) Blue-headed wagtail** (Motacilla flava flava**) Blue-winged mountain-tanager** (Anisognathus somptuosus (Syn.: Anisognathus flavinuchus)**) Blue-winged pitta (Pitta moluccensis (Syn.: Pitta brachyura moluccensis)) Bocourt`s squirrel** (Callosciurus finlaysonii bocourti**) Bristle-crowned starling** (Onychognathus salvadorii**) Brown parrot (Meyer's parrot) (No Subspecific status) (Poicephalus meyeri) Brown-throated barbet** (Psilopogon corvinus (Syn.: Megalaima corvina)**) Chestnut-bellied rock-thrush** (Monticola rufiventris**) Chestnut-crowned laughingthrush** (Trochalopteron erythrocephalum (Syn.: Garrulax erythrocephalus)**) Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) Cinnamon-chested bee-eater** (Merops oreobates (Syn.: Melittophagus oreobates)**) Coleto (Bald starling)* (Sarcops calvus*) Collared Kingfisher (White-collared Kingfisher) (Black-masked Kingfisher) (No Subspecific status) (Todiramphus chloris (Syn.: Halcyon chloris)) Crested partridge (Crested wood partridge) (Roul-roul) (Rollulus rouloul (Syn.: Rollulus roulroul)) Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo (Syn.: Grus virgo)) Double-striped thick-knee (Mexican thick-knee) (No Subspecific status)** (Burhinus bistriatus**) Double-toothed barbet** (Pogonornis bidentatus (Syn.: Lybius bidentatus)**) Dwarf bittern (African dwarf bittern) (Rail heron)** (Ixobrychus sturmii**) Egyptian plover (Pluvianus aegyptius (Syn.: Charadrius aegypticus)) Emin's barbet (Black-capped barbed)** (Trachyphonus darnaudii emini (Syn.: Trachyphonus emini)**) Ferrugineous partridge (Ferrugineous wood-partridge)** (Caloperdix oculeus**) Golden tanager (no subspecific status)** (Tangara aurulenta**) Golden-hooded tanager** (Tangara larvata (Syn.: Tangara nigrocincta larvata)**) Gorgeous sunbird (Black-bellied beautiful sunbird)** (Cinnyris melanogastrus (Syn.: Cinnyris pulchellus melanogastrus)**) Great kiskadee (Great kiskadee flycatcher) (No Subspecific status) (Pitangus sulphuratus) Green broadbill (Lesser green broadbill)* (Calyptomena viridis*) Green woodhoopoe (Red-billed woodhoopoe) (No Subspecific status) (Phoeniculus purpureus) Grey-headed kingfisher (Grey-hooded kingfisher)* (Halcyon leucocephala*) Guianan cock-of-the-rock (Orange cock-of-the-rock) (Rupicola rupicola) Harlequin quail (Coturnix delegorguei) Himalayan monal (Impeyan monal) (Himalayan monal-pheasant) (Lophophorus impejanus) Indian blue robin (Indian blue chat)** (Larvivora brunnea (Syn.: Luscinia brunnea)**) Jungle Myna* (Acridotheres fuscus*) Keel-billed toucan (Rainbow-billed toucan) (No Subspecific status)* (Ramphastos sulfuratus*) Klaas`s cuckoo** (Chrysococcyx klaas**) Lemon-rumped tanager (Yellow-rumped tanager)** (Ramphocelus icteronotus (Syn.: Ramphocelus flammigerus icteronotus)**) Little bee-eater** (Merops pusillus (Syn.: Melittophagus pusillus)**) Llama (Lama guanicoe f. glama) Long-tailed manakin** (Chiroxiphia linearis**) Malabar parakeet (Blue-winged parakeet)* (Psittacula columboides (Syn.: Nicopsitta columboides)*) Malachite sunbird (No Subspecific status)* (Nectarinia famosa*) Malayan banded pitta (Van Den Bosch`s pitta)** (Hydrornis irena (Syn.: Pitta irena) (Syn.: Pitta guajana irena)**) Moss-backed tanager** (Bangsia edwardsi (Syn.: Buthraupis edwardsi)**) Mountain Bulbul** (Ixos mcclellandii (Syn.: Hypsipetes mcclellandii)**) Narcissus flycatcher** (Ficedula narcissina**) Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) Northern Carmine bee-eater (Blue-throated carmine bee-eater) (Nubian Bee-eater) (Merops nubicus (Syn.: Merops nubicus nubicus)) Orange-breasted fruiteater** (Pipreola jucunda (Syn.: Pipreola aureopectus jucunda)**) Oriental dollarbird (Dollarbird)** (Eurystomus orientalis**) Oriental pied hornbill (Malaysian pied hornbill) (no subspecific status)** (Anthracoceros albirostris (Syn.: Anthracoceros malabaricus)**) Painted bush quail** (Perdicula erythrorhyncha (Syn.: Cryptoplectron erythrorhynchum)**) Palawan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron napoleonis (Syn.: Polyplectron emphanum)) Pheasant-tailed jacana (Water-pheasant)** (Hydrophasianus chirurgus**) Purple sunbird** (Cinnyris asiaticus (Syn.: Nectarinia asiatica)**) Purple-rumped sunbird** (Leptocoma zeylonica (Syn.: Nectarinia zeylonica)**) Purple-throated cuckoo-shrike** (Campephaga quiscalina**) Purple-throated sunbird (Van Hasselt`s sunbird)** (Leptocoma sperata (Syn.: Nectarinia sperata)**) Pygmy flowerpecker (Palawan flowerpecker)** (Dicaeum pygmaeum**) Red Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea rubra) Red-billed hornbill (no subspecific status) (Tockus erythrorhynchus) Red-crowned Woodpecker** (Melanerpes rubricapillus (Syn.: Centurus tricolor)**) Red-fronted barbet (Tricholaema diademata) Red-headed manakin** (Ceratopipra rubrocapilla (Syn.: Pipra rubrocapilla) (Syn.: Dixiphia rubrocapilla)**) Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja (Syn.: Ajaia ajaja)) Ross`s turaco (Lady Ross' plantain-eater) (Musophaga rossae (Syn.: Musophaga violacea rossae)) Rufous chatterer (Rusty babbler)** (Argya rubiginosa (Syn.: Turdoides rubiginosa)**) Rufous motmot (Greater rufous motmot)** (Baryphthengus martii**) Rufous-bellied niltava* (Niltava sundara*) Rufous-capped robin-chat (Red-capped robin-chat) (Natal robin)** (Cossypha natalensis**) Rufous-chinned laughingthrush** (Ianthocincla rufogularis (Syn.: Garrulax rufogularis)**) Rufous-gorgeted flycatcher (Orange-breasted flycatcher)** (Ficedula strophiata**) Scale-feathered malkoha** (Lepidogrammus cumingi (Syn.: Phaenicophaeus cumingi)**) Scarlet-backed flowerpecker** (Dicaeum cruentatum**) Scarlet-browed tanager (Orangebrowed tanager) (Lemonrumped Tanager)** (Heterospingus xanthopygius**) Senegal kingfisher (Woodland kingfisher)* (Halcyon senegalensis*) Senegal turaco (Buffon`s turaco) (Tauraco persa buffoni) Small niltava (Lesser niltava)** (Niltava macgrigoriae**) Snowy-crowned robin-chat (Cossypha niveicapilla) Southern Talapoin* (Miopithecus talapoin*) Spix`s Saddle-back tamarin (Brown-mantled tamarin) (Leontocebus fuscicollis (Syn.: Saguinus fuscicollis)) Spotted imperial-pigeon (Ducula carola) Spotted palm-thrush (Spotted morning thrush) (Cichladusa guttata) Spur-winged lapwing (Spur-winged plover) (Vanellus spinosus (Syn.: Hoplopterus spinosus)) Steller's jay (no subspecific status)** (Cyanocitta stelleri**) Stork-billed kingfisher** (Pelargopsis capensis (Syn.: Halcyon capensis)**) Streaked spiderhunter** (Arachnothera magna**) Sunbittern (No Subspecific status) (Eurypyga helias) Superb sunbird** (Cinnyris superbus (Syn.: Nectarinia superba)**) Tacazze sunbird (Nectarinia tacazze) Tarictic hornbill (no species or subspecies status)** (Penelopides panini (sensu lato)**) Temminck's courser** (Cursorius temminckii**) Thailand hoopoe** (Upupa epops longirostris**) Tickell's Blue Flycatcher** (Cyornis tickelliae**) Toucan barbet** (Semnornis ramphastinus**) Ultramarine flycatcher (White-browed blue-flycatcher)** (Ficedula superciliaris**) Violaceous euphonia (Euphonia violacea) Violet-tailed sylph* (Aglaiocercus coelestis*) White tufted-ear marmoset (Common marmoset) (Callithrix jacchus) White-bearded manakin** (Manacus manacus**) White-bellied treepie (Southern treepie)** (Dendrocitta leucogastra**) White-breasted kingfisher (No Subspecific status) (Halcyon smyrnensis) White-browed robin-chat (Heuglin`s robin-chat) (Cossypha heuglini) White-capped redstart** (Phoenicurus leucocephalus (Syn.: Chaimarrornis leucocephalus)**) White-crested turaco (Tauraco leucolophus (Syn.: Proturacus leucolophus)) White-faced whistling-duck (White- faced tree duck) (Dendrocygna viduata) White-fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides (Syn.: Melittophagus bullockoides)) White-headed woodhoopoe** (Phoeniculus bollei**) Yellow-breasted fruit-dove (Ramphiculus occipitalis (Syn.: Ptilinopus occipitalis)) Yellow-rumped tinkerbird (Golden-rumped tinkerbird)* (Pogoniulus bilineatus*) Yellow-throated longclaw** (Macronyx croceus**) I have a few photos from August/September 1976 featuring llama Meyer's parrot black-headed lapwing spur-winged lapwing chiulean flamingo African jacana Demoiselle crane talapoin monkey Rothschild's mynah blue-crowned motmot Siamese black squirrel Alexandrine parakeet Malabar parakeet plum-headed parakeet Indian ring-necked parakeet red-rumped parakeet red-billed hornbill Palawan peacock pheasant I also have a list of Winged World breedings. I will post it when I find it. One thing which still puzzles me is that I have a memory of seeing greater bird of paradise there. I cannot find any record of this species ever having been kept. They did keep red bird of paradise, maybe that is what I saw.
I missed this thread too. Funnily enough, I replied to a Facebook post yesterday on exactly the same topic, so I won't repeat myself in detail. I only visited once, in August 1973 and I took a few photos. I have scanned and posted 3 in our 'United Kingdom - Other' gallery (and also on Facebook). I may have one or two others in my files - I vaguely remember one of a lesser spot-nosed monkey (but I may be confused as I visited many zoos for the first time between 1972 and 1974). I definitely remember seeing a Brazilian porcupine, without getting a decent photo, so although the list above is long, I don't think it's complete.
Thanks for posting this,and as i said in my response to the other correspondent,it's great that people are sharing their memories of a place which I worked at and am proud of.With regards to the porcupines,which were down at the Childrens Zoo,where I spent a lot of time,we had Canadian Porcupines and a pair of rare Indonesian Porcupines(the short tailed rather than the long tailed sp.)We bred the Canadian or Hairy Porcupines,and the babies were wonderful little creatures.We had several species of monkeys,including the Lesser Spot Nosed and Sykes Guenons.If you have any pictures or other recollections we could use in the project on Winged World I would appreciate it if you could share them,and you would of course be fully acknowledged for it.My email is [email protected] and my tel.number is 0161 764 7078.Many thanks for sharing your recollections and for keeping the memory of Winged World alive. If we can stimulate others to take an interest and learn about the work we did,we will have fulfilled our aims.
Hi, for over 60 years I have been writing a chronicle of zoological institutions worldwide. In this context I am always looking for interesting data, which I can add to my work. Maybe I can contribute some information about Winged World here. As far as I know the facility was opened as part of an amusement park on May 27, 1966. ("... is the largest and most modern Tropical Bird House in the British Isles. All birds are housed in simulated Tropical conditions in indoor planted enclosures and our aim is to exhibit the finest collection of Soft-billed birds in the country") "The bird population is maintained in a large building divided into three areas: two sections contain the normal glass aviaries, while the third section contains the system of aviaries open to visitors, which was first tested in Antwerp." " The animal population currently includes, among others, yellow-breasted fruit pigeons, Tariktic hornbills and Scaled Ground Cuckoo. In the free flight hall live over 30 hornbills, toucans and turacos in 12 species." In 1974 the Zoo received amongst others: 1,2 Coatis and 2 Raccoon Dogs. 1975 the Zoo anounced the first birth of 2 Whitefronted-Bee-eater. 1977 the zoo was closed. I hope very much that these few infos are of interest - since I have been collecting the information for over 60 years, I can't give any more source information.
I have had a search and I have found 2 photos of the lesser spot-nosed and 1 of the Syke's guenons in my files. I hope that I can scan them within the next few days: but don't get too excited, they are not wonderful quality and scans often exacerbate faults, and above all, don't hold your breath If the results are not too bad, I will send you the images by email and post them here too.
