Both zoos got here by smashing zoos that were really mere spectators at the business end of the tournament: Plzen 28-1 over Twycross on carnivores, Berlin 30-0 over Antwerp on ungulates. This time? Birds and carnivores. Oh, this is going to be great. Tomorrow: the Dutch derby. Burgers vs Rotterdam.
This is possibly the best possible combination for Plzen (except for small mammals + carnivores), it has avoided a bashing on ectotherms and won't need to compete on ungulates.... My previous criticisms on the small carnivore and bird housing in Plzen still stand and I am leaning towards Berlin. Their carnivore enclosures are also not all that great, but none are appalling. And there are some wonderful bird aviaries like the ones for Condor and the Shorebirds. @Dassie rat , I would just provide links to the annual reports of both zoos from 2016 if I were you, instead of typing it all out....
Well, as @lintworm said; some of Plzen's exhibit are not the best you could find while I very much liked the Bird House at Berlin and the Fasanerie has standard but nice exhibits. Now Plzen, taking a look at the gallery also has some very nice aviaries (although sometimes overstocked) but Berlin's answer to that is the Shorebird aviary (including waves to stimulate their habitat) and gigantic aviaries for condors and wetland birds (ibises, black stork, magpie goose). When it comes to carnivores, Plzen has some nice exhibits for black-backed jackal, yellow mongoose etc... but also has all-indoor exhibit for Palawan leopard cat (as far as I know) and an appalling exhibit for slender mongoose. They have some nice ideas too such as combining lemurs and malagasy carnivores, only if it wasn't for all-indoor exhibits once again (I think they are? in any case I remember quite a few members thinking they weren't large enough). Berlin has got a few nice exhibits for cats: the wolf exhibit and the Barbary lions exhibit come to my mind and then there's the carnivore house, which although has an awesome diversity of species; is "decent" when it comes to exhibitry, although it has a certain charm and a nice nocturnal basement but in any case, it is being renovated so that isn't much of a problem anymore. Welfare is important to my eyes, and Berlin has better exhibits than Plzen I feel. Not that Plzen hasn't got some great exhibits such as one of the best bear exhibits in Europe, perhaps the world but the bad exhibits at Plzen are particularly bad while at Berlin they are decent but certainly not appalling. Adding to that the fact Berlin's collection is of course no Plzen but still comprehensive and full of rarities, my vote must go for Berlin.
I've gone for Plzen as Berlin is currently renovating the carnivore house so it can't (currently) stack up against Plzen. Birds is a lot closer to call, if that was the only category then I'd have probably gone for Berlin instead.
Both: Dwarf mongoose; eastern ring-tailed vontsira; northern narrow-striped boky; Barbary lion; ring-tailed coati Berlin Meerkat Arabian sand and Sri Lankan rusty-spotted cats; jaguarundi; ocelot; lion; north Persian leopard; jaguar Fennec; African wild dog Giant panda; Asiatic black, polar and Indian sloth bears Asian small-clawed otter; tayra California sea lion; Cape and northern fur seals Eastern Atlantic harbour seal Kinkajou Plzen Hausa genet; Philippine palm civet; Palawan binturong Banded, yellow and common slender mongooses; dark cusimanse Canadian lynx; bobcat; Missouri cougar; Sudan cheetah; Palawan leopard cat; snow leopard; Siberian tiger East African bat-eared and Cape foxes; maned wolf; wolf; southern black-backed jackal European brown bear Eurasian otter Nepalese red panda Berlin has eared and true seals and has more species of mustelids, procyonids and bears; Plzen has civets and a red panda and has more species of dogs and mongooses Berlin wins on families with more species. Birds Both: Greater rhea; common emu; Humboldt penguin; American white, pink-backed and Australian pelicans; western cattle egret; little bittern; Asian woolly-necked, marabou and European white storks; hamerkop; Madagascar crested ibis; Chilean and greater flamingos; crested screamer; fulvous, white-faced and West Indian whistling, mandarin, white-winged, Philippine, yellow-billed, North American wood and ferruginous ducks; northern and Chilean pintails; Argentine and northern shovelers; tufted pochard; Bernier’s, falcated, Hottentot and Eurasian green-winged teals; common eider; Chiloe and Eurasian wigeons; garganey; common goldeneye; rosy-billed, common and red-crested pochards; European greater scaup; ruddy shelduck; smew; bar-headed, Egyptian, emperor, Hawaiian, red-breasted and blue-winged geese; black and black-necked swans; Eurasian and hooded mergansers; king vulture; Northern Harris' hawk; bald and golden eagles; Western Eurasian griffon and hooded vultures; Palawan peacock and Edwards's pheasants; Malaysian great argus; Asian blue and harlequin quails; grey junglefowl; eastern grey-crowned, red-crowned and Indian sarus cranes; red-legged seriema; corncrake; common redshank; ruff; pied avocet; common ringed plover; masked lapwing; black-naped and orange-fronted fruit, Madagascar turtle, Namaqua, red-necked Sulawesi, ruddy and cinnamon ground doves; Luzon and Mindanao bleeding-hearts; Nicobar and wonga pigeons; European eagle owl; tawny frogmouth; hooded and turquoise parrots; kea; blue-naped mousebird; Guira cuckoo; blue-winged and laughing kookaburras; northern Carmine bee-eater; Visayan tarictic hornbill; greater yellow-naped woodpecker; red bishop; white-spectacled bulbul; pied crow; black-throated, Gouldian, masked, star and chestnut-eared finches; Cuban grassquit; chestnut-backed ground thrush; blue-faced honeyeater; white-backed magpie; Bali mynah; bearded parrotbill; tricolor parrotfinch; Java sparrow; Asian glossy, emerald, golden-breasted and Brahminy starlings; common waxbill; grey-headed social weaver; Kilimanjaro white-eye Berlin in bold; Plzen in italics South African ostrich; southern cassowary; Common ostrich Northern brown kiwi Elegant crested tinamou Western rockhopper, jackass and king penguins Dalmatian pelican; Eurasian great cormorant; great white and spot-billed pelicans Abdim’s, Maguari and black storks; Southern boat-billed and Indian pond herons; black-faced, scarlet and Puna ibises; waldrapp; Eurasian Spoonbill; African open-billed and yellow-billed storks; black-crowned and Philippine rufous night, Javan pond, eastern purple, green-backed, grey, white-faced and goliath herons; little egret; African spoonbill; Australian white, glossy, Hadada, sacred, straw-necked and black-headed ibises Lesser, Andean and James flamingos Bahama pintail; bronze-winged, North American ruddy and Magellanic steamer ducks; South African pochard; red-shouldered and Sharp-winged teals; common shelduck; Greenland white-fronted, magpie, snow, swan and barnacle geese; bufflehead; Coscoroba and whooper swans; American, South African and Australian black, lesser, spotted, wandering and plumed whistling, flying steamer, freckled, Hawaiian, Maccoa, maned wood, Meller's, Muscovy, Old World comb, ruddy, Patagonian crested and Laysan ducks; Chinese and Indian spot-billed ducks; yellow-billed pintail; New Zealand shoveler; American green-winged, blue-winged, Cape, chestnut, cinnamon, marbled, red-billed, speckled, Sunda, versicolor and Baikal teals; American wigeon; Australian hardhead; lesser and New Zealand scaups; Australian, paradise and black-backed rajah shelducks; Baer’s pochard; Cape barren, lesser white-fronted, magpie, pink-footed, ruddy-headed and greylag geese; Bewick’s swan African fish and bataleur eagles; Western Egyptian, bearded, white-headed and palm-nut vultures; Andean condor; crested caracara; American black and western turkey vultures; eastern red-tailed hawk;, white-tailed and Steller's sea and greater spotted eagles; American and European kestrels; European peregrine, saker and lanner falcons; gyrfalcon; striated caracara Bare-faced and great curassows; blue-throated piping guan; crested wood partridge; Germain’s and grey peacock, Lady Amherst's and Elliot's pheasants; Malayan crested and Siamese fireback pheasants; red junglefowl; black and yellow-necked francolins; Natal Helmeted guineafowl; Australian brush turkey; Barbary Madagascar, white-necklaced and Cypriot Chukar partridges; white-crested kalij; Bianchi’s, Mikado, Sichuan, northern green, Persian, Salvadori's, Southern Caucasian, Vietnamese, Zarudny's, Zerafshan and Khivan pheasants; Korean, Manchurian, Mongolian, Taiwan and Chinese ring-necked pheasants; Indian peafowl; Cochin-chinese and Vietnamese red jungle fowl; black grouse; European, Jungle bush and Gambel's quails; Eastern crested guineafowl; Chaco chacalaca East African white-bellied bustard; kagu; sunbittern; Black and spotted crakes; buff-banded and water rails; common moorhen; demoiselle, white-naped and sandhill cranes African wattled and long-toed lapwings; ruddy turnstone; black-necked stilt; Eurasian curlew; inca tern; spotted dikkop; African grey-headed, black-tailed, grey, laughing, slender-billed and black-headed gulls; arctic tern; African three-banded, European golden and Egyptian plovers; blacksmith and southern lapwings; black-winged stilt; bush and European thick-knees; collared pratincole; common sandpiper; Eurasian oystercatcher Coroneted and red-bellied fruit, crested quail, emerald, laughing and crested doves; green-naped pheasant-pigeon; rock pigeon; western orange-bellied fruit-dove; Ashy and common wood, pink, western crowned, western rock, Philippine metallic, pink-necked green, Madagascar blue and green, pied, stock and pink-headed pigeons; silver-tipped, spotted, Sunda green and chestnut-naped imperial pigeons; bar-shouldered, beautiful and superb fruit, white-eared brown, blue-headed wood, Cape, European, red, ruddy and eastern oriental turtle, Island collared, Chinese spotted, diamond, Indian emerald, Malay spotted-necked, peaceful, pink-breasted, Senegal laughing, Socorro, Stephan's, white-winged, zebra and barred doves Blue-fronted, red-lored, white-fronted and Cuban amazons; mountain parakeet; blue-winged, hyacinth, Mexican green military, red-fronted and great green macaws; citron-crested, palm, red-tailed black, white and Major Mitchell's cockatoos; galah; coconut and Goldie's lorikeets; eclectus parrot; rose-headed parakeet; Tanimbar corella; Vernal hanging, black, Bourke’s, golden-shouldered, greater vasa, scarlet-chested, swift and blue-winged parrots; black-cheeked and Madagascar lovebirds; budgerigar; crimson, green, northern and eastern rosellas; Dammermann’s masked, yellow-fronted parakeet and red-fronted parakeets; green military macaw; iris, Mindanao, Mitchell's, scaly-breasted, Stella's, Sumba and marigold lorikeets; purple-naped lory; Port Lincoln ringneck; Philippine cockatoo Common and northern white-faced scops, ferruginous pygmy, Eurasian great grey and spectacled owls; Ashy-faced, burrowing, Central European barn, Central European tawny, little, Philippine scops and boobook owls Channel-billed cuckoo; greater roadrunner; Common cuckoo; Philippine koel Black-faced and white-bellied go-away birds; violet and white-cheeked turacos; Senegal turaco Kikuyu speckled and speckled mousebirds White-fronted bee-eater; Abyssinian and southern ground, silvery-cheeked, Polillo, Von der Decken's and northern pied hornbills; blue-bellied and purple rollers; brown-hooded kingfisher; common hoopoe; Collared kingfisher; red-throated bee-eater; Javan rhinoceros, Southern Sulawesi tarictic, Palawan and Luzon hornbills Bearded, red-and-yellow and D’Arnaud’s barbets; black-necked and pale-billed aracaris Red avadavat; southern red bishop; scarlet-headed blackbird; western bluebill; Asian fairy bluebird; common, white-eared and red-whiskered bulbuls; red-rumped cacique; yellow-fronted canary; northern cardinal; white-eared catbird; blue-capped and red-cheeked cordon-bleus; spangled cotinga; cut-throat, long-tailed and double-banded finches; Uganda red-billed and vinaceous firefinches; long-tailed fiscal; blue grosbeak; white-crested laughing thrush; red-billed leiothrix; red-billed blue magpie; golden-headed manakin; trumpet manucode; chestnut-breasted munia; common and greater hill mynas; grey-headed oliveback; red-throated parrotfinch; red-winged pytilia; African quailfinch; white-necked raven; black-and-white seedeater; African silverbill; amethyst, greater blue-eared and Rueppell's glossy, Asian pied, wattled and superb starlings; copper sunbird; blue-grey, paradise and Brazilian tanagers; orange-headed and spotted palm thrushes; Dybowski's and Peters's twinspots; zebra waxbill; white-headed buffalo, speckle-fronted, Taveta golden and village weavers; Black-throated accentor; Indian red avadavat; Madagascar bilbfinch; fire-crowned and Napoleon bishops; blackcap; brush and common bronzewings; Asian black, chestnut, Chinese red-whiskered, cream-striped, eastern and western white-eared, Himalayan, Layard's, light-vented, red-vented, ruby-throated, Upper Guinea and black-headed bulbuls; northern bullfinch; central Asian rock, red-headed and house buntings; Island canary; African and common chaffinches; common crossbill; black-faced dacnis; fieldfare; plum-headed, red-billed and yellow-billed long-tailed, Timor zebra and trumpeter finches; diamond, red-browed and painted firetails; Madagascar fody; European goldfinch; blue-backed grassquit; European and oriental greenfinches; Chinese grosbeak; hawfinch; hypocolius; great kiskadee; Atlas horned, wood and black larks; black-throated, buffy, eastern moustached, red-fronted, red-tailed, red-winged, scaly, Siamese White-crested, spectacled, Sumatran and blue-crowned laughing thrushes; common linnet; Emei Shan liocichla; Asian and Iberian azure-winged and Maghreb magpies; chestnut-breasted and grand mannikins; black-faced, Indian scaly-breasted, Javan, white-headed, Malaysian chestnut, pale-headed and dusky munias; bank, golden-crested, pale-bellied, Sulawesi, yellow-faced and crested mynas; slender-billed spotted and spotted nutcrackers; Eurasian golden and Montserrat orioles; blue-faced and Fiji parrotfinches; redpoll; western black, common, Moussier's and Güldenstädt's redstarts; oriental magpie and rufous scrub robins; white-crowned robin-chat; long-tailed rosefinch; Siberian rubythroat; European serin; red-backed shrike; Eurasian siskin; eastern fox, Sudan golden and Timor sparrows; black-collared, European, Miombo blue-eared, purple glossy, purple-backed, rosy, scissor-billed, short-tailed, spotless, white-shouldered and coleto starlings; barn swallow; black-breasted, grey-backed, Japanese, mistle, Eurasian song and Siberian thrushes; azure, dark grey and coal tits; Sumatran treepie; grey and white wagtails; oriole warbler; Bohemain waxwing; western village weaver; black wheatear; chestnut-flanked white-eye; yellowhammer Berlin has a kiwi and mousebirds; Plzen has a tinamou. While Plzen has far more species of birds in practically all categories, Berlin wins on diversity. It is a shame that this wasn't the final as both zoos have large and diverse collections.
