And so we close off the three-way portion of the Cup with a battle between three zoos that really couldn’t be more different from each other. The topic? Birds.
Tallinn has a nice collection of cranes and storks, waterfowl and pheasants, all in decent exhibits. There is also a large of birds of prey section that I didn't see (because it was closed for breeding). ZTL lists other bits and pieces which are presumably in the rather ho-hum tropical house. There is an awful lot to criticise about Tallinn, but it does have a shot here.
Amneville has - or, at least, had - the most extraordinary bird show: hundreds of raptors flapping around while horseback riders dressed in vaguely medieval garb do their thing. I loved it!
Cabarceno also has quite an impressive bird show, but it's much more old-school: vultures swooping over spectators' heads, watching the sky for five minutes as an eagle gets closer and closer, getting gradually sunburnt as an owl or two flaps from post to post. Not bad, not revolutionary. As far as I recall, there are no other birds in the zoo (maybe an ostrich or two?), but there is a wonderful avian experience - the hundreds of wild kites which swoop in to share the bears' food. Worth seeing, certainly.
