The topic? Birds. Remember, Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari all count but, alas, Jurong doesn’t. I suspect that’ll matter quite a bit.
Singapore is very unlucky to have gotten this category, as it's easily their weakest point! As far as I know, the only birds present during my 2016 visit were: Singapore Zoo: - Oriental pied hornbills in the proboscis monkey enclosure; - Golden pheasants in the Treetops Trail exhibit; - American (?) flamingos between the gibbon and spider monkey islands; - Southern cassowaries and Emus in the Australian area; - Ostriches in the African area; - African penguins and Hybrid pelicans in the Splash Safari; - Great cormorants, Scarlet (?) macaws and Greater sulphur-crested cockatoos in the Rainforest Fights Back show; - Argus pheasants, Spotted whistling-ducks, Western crowned pigeons, Nicobar pigeons, Zebra doves, Blue-crowned hanging parrots, Eclectus parrots in the Fragile Forest. Since my visit it would appear that Malayan peacock-pheasants, Pied imperial pigeons, Pinon imperial pigeons, Toco toucans and Red lorikeets have been added to the Fragile Forest aviary. Singapore River Safari: - Lesser adjutants and Milky storks in the stork aviary; - Golden pheasants in the panda house; - Painted storks and Milky storks living semi-wild on the zoo grounds; - Great white pelican in the Animal Encounters show; - American flamingo and Scarlet ibis in the Amazon River Quest. Since my visit Jandaya parakeets, Sclater's crowned pigeons, Pink-necked green pigeons, Great vasa parrot, Purple-crested turaco and Violet turaco have been added to the River Gems exhibit, and Golden pheasant has disappeared from the collection. Singapore Night Safari: - Spotted whistling-ducks, Black-headed ibis, Great white pelican, Greater (?) flamingo in the Fishing Cat Trail; - Eurasian eagle-owl, Masked lapwings and Spotted whistling-ducks in the Leopard Trail; - Tawny frogmouth in the Australian area. Since my visit it seems the Tawny frogmouth has been replaced by a Barn owl, and that Spotted wood owl and Sunda scops owl are new to the collection. Some Singapore regulars will have to correct all this information for me, though! This list currently has some 40 species, which is honestly more than I expected but still nothing to write home about, with not really that many rarities and not really any standout bird exhibit. I don't know a whole lot about Columbus so I'll wait a bit before deciding what to vote for! Something entirely different to keep in mind are the WRS conservation programs: within Singapore they monitor and research the exotic Yellow-crested cockatoo population, and actively work and install nest boxes for Oriental pied hornbills. Further abroad they have done intensive work with the reintroduction of Black-winged mynas.
Columbus does great in this category! It may not have a dedicated bird house, but large aviaries are scattered throughout the zoo's grounds. Here is a species list: Migratory Bird Free-flight aviary: Wood Thrush, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Red-winged Blackbird, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, American Robin, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Eastern Towhee, Swainson's Thrush, White-faced Ibis, American Golden-Plover, Sora, Scarlet Tanger, Mourning Dove, Killdeer, Indigo Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Blue-winged Teal, Eastern Bluebird, Ruddy Duck, White-throated Sparrow, Orchard Oriole, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Brown-headed Cowbird Asia Quest Walk-through Aviary: Javan Pond-Heron, Reeves' Pheasant, Cabot's Tragopan, Azure-winged Magpie, Northern Shoveler, Nicobar Pigeon, Magpie Goose, Western Cattle Egret, Black-throated Laughingthrush Congo Expedition walk-through: Hottentot Teal, Black Swan, Black Crake, White-crowned Robin-Chat, Hadada Ibis, Superb Starling, Speckled Pigeon, Violet-backed Starling, Black-crowned Crane, Common Bulbul, Sacred Ibis, Hamerkop, Blue-bellied Roller, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Tambourine Dove, Buff-crested Bustard, Green Wood-Hoopoe Lorikeet Garden free-flight: "Rainbow Lorikeet" Roadhouse Free-flight Room: Magpie Goose, Crested Wood-Partridge, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Victoria Crowned-Pigeon, Eastern Rosella, Bali Myna, Goldie's Lorikeet, Black-naped Fruit Dove, White-throated Ground-Dove, Chestnut Teal, Spotted Whistling-Duck, Frackled Duck, Masked Lapwing, Western Hooded Pitta, Red-billed Leiothrix, Mariana Fruit-Dove, Straw-necked Ibis, Metallic Starling, Golden Pheasant, Grosbeak Starling, Luzon Bleeding-Heart, Village Weaver Manatee Coast free-flight: Hooded Merganser, Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, Wood Duck, Brown Pelican, Ruddy Duck Birds that aren't in free-flight aviaries: Southern Ground Hornbill Red-and-yellow Macaw Green-winged Macaw Domestic Pigeon unidentified corella Gray-crowned Crane Emu American Crow Trumpeter Swan Sandhill Crane Bald Eagle Domestic Chicken Common Ostrich Helmeted Guineafowl Red-crowned Crane Blue-faced Honeyeater American Flamingo Hawaiian Goose Humboldt Penguin African Gray Parrot Ross' Turaco Black Swan Dalmatian Pelican Painted Stork Tawny Frogmouth North Island Brown Kiwi Sulphur-crested Cockatoo White-crested Laughingthrush I rest my case.
I have not been to Singapore, and I was at Columbus Zoo way back in 2008, but thanks to the great work of both @Vision and @birdsandbats it appears that Columbus is the much stronger establishment in this category. The walk-through aviaries in that Ohio zoo are excellent, especially the superb Migratory Bird aviary with North American species. My vote is 3-0 Columbus Zoo
Singapore really doesn't have much to show for, a small collection in fine but unspectacular aviaries. There are a few rarities from a European perspective, but this is easily Singapore's weakest spot. Columbus seems to have large walkthrough aviaries, even one with a large number of native species, which for me is a winning combination. 3-0 for Columbus for me.
I feel really bad for Singapore getting the worst possible category for itself. I have visited Columbus twice and I'd say birds are indeed a real strength. 3-0 Columbus for now, may change to 2-1 with a few convincing arguments.
I'm sitting here as well. Haven't visited either zoo, but from what is said here so far it sounds like Columbus wins for both enclosures and species list, which gives them my first 2 points. I then normally debate whether the other zoo, in this case Signapore, deserves a vote for having a strong collection or exhibits or what they do behind the scenes compared to the other zoo. Normally needs to do comparatively well in 2 of the 3 for me. Here it doesn't sound like Singapore measures up to much, so I'm going 3-0 Columbus for now.
I was at Columbus earlier this year. Can confirm that at least some of the birds breed in the North American aviary. I saw nests or chicks for the ducks, Bobwhite quail, and Baltimore orioles. I'd imagine that a lot of the other passerines are continually replenished as rehab birds and there's a bit of a changing cast of species. I know that when I visited Columbus a decade ago they had several warbler species, none of which are currently present.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Columbus on the whole, but that North American (“Migratory Bird”) aviary is one of my all-time favourite zoo exhibits: very simple, but very nicely done, with an array of wonderful species to see.
I've struggled to write a response in this thread. I know that I have never seen the Migratory Bird Aviary (or anything else in Columbus Zoo) in person, but it just doesn't feel right for some reason. Naturally, I have some welfare concerns with this combination. This aviary has 28 different species, all of which have different needs and preferences. How do they optimise the enclosure for them all? From pictures it doesn't look that large (although I have a difficult time estimating the size of this exhibit). @Gondwana said that the small passerines may be rehab birds that are "continously replenished." If this is true, then the turnover rate may be very high, which is exactly my fear for things like the titmice, towhees and juncos. In that case this enclosure may be not so great after all. However, I could very well be wrong on all of it and then I would punish this zoo unjustly. For example: Burgers' Bush (an exhibit I adore) in it's very essence is also a huge mixed-species bird (and reptile) exhibit. Because of thoughtfull stocking, lots of observation and, of course, having a hectare of space with all kinds of micro-habitats makes it possibe for them to do so very succesfully. Columbus could very well have the same thing going one, but I simply do not know currently. Nevertheless, I do want to encourage some thought on how good this aviary is for its inhabitants. Husbandry concerns aside, I also want to add this quote from the Europe vs USA thread, just to add some food for thought:
I appreciate migratory birds due to their regular absence from even the best zoos. However I think they should certainly have enough space to fulfill their needs (not necessarily their wild habits). I don't know whether this space is provided in Columbus, but I do know that I'd much rather see more common birds in a suitable exhibit than rarer birds in a poor one. I do not doubt that Columbus's exhibit is suitable (though probably could, as always, be larger...) given the standard maintained throughout the rest of the zoo but you never do know; from my (admittedly limited) experience of zoos and even less so North American zoos, especially compared to others on this site, the standard across the zoo can vary dramatically... (thinking of Leipzig, Toronto, etc...) On a lighter note, I bet Singapore is wishing Jurong was supporting it now... Then the tables would be completely turned, and theoretically I would be stuck between 2-1 and 3-0 Singapore....
Something that I have been thinking about, but have been uncertain to comment about is actually a question about the limits of what Singapore Zoo includes. It currently includes all three zoos because of their very close proximity and the ease of visiting all three within a (long and exhausting) day. Will this situation be the same in a few year's time, when there are three other large zoos next to the current three? I don't think it will be possible to visit all of those within a day anymore, so perhaps for that reason they shouldn't count as belonging to the same zoo? But then again, other 'normal' zoos within this competition stretch the possibility of being visited within one day already. I guess this all is a bit of a weird introduction for the following point: Singapore Zoo might not have many birds in its current definition, but after the new bird park is being built (and future plans are, I believe, within what is allowed to be considered in this competition) the Singapore Zoo collective will most likely have one of the largest bird parks worldwide, with probably one of the largest avian collections... I suppose I just wanted to bring up the future plans for the bird park that is currently being constructed, and wanted to make sure that at least somebody mentioned it - Not to spark controversy, but perhaps to expand upon this conversation and to raise an interesting point that not everyone might have thought of?
