I actually actively appreciate accidental alliteration. Warsaw. Wuppertal. Warsaw brings primates with it from the first round, but Wuppertal won’t mind the random draw, I don’t think. Birds. Voting closes in 3 days.
Birds really is Warsaw's strongest point. Primates are decent as described in the last round but I think birds is where the zoo excells. Check the gallery for some pictures of the birds and bird enclosures and if I have time I might be able to write some more (though I'm not sure I will).
Wuppertals small tropical house must be one of the best places for S-American birds in Europe. This lovely greenhouse holds myltiple Tanager species, Cock-of-the-rock, Trogon, Ovenbirds and more. Overall the quality of its bird collection has gone down, but it is still full of rarities. The bitd house itself may be somewhat old, two modern nice-looking penguin enclosures make up for that.
It's worth pointing out that Warsaw's collection of bird rarities is unusual among zoos in that it's increasing. The zoo seems to acquire more bird rarities every year especially within the director's specialisms of pheasants and doves. (I'm aware that not all will view this as a positive) The housing also seems to be getting better with new larger aviaries regularly being built in addition to the really nice bird house. The zoo also does quite well breeding many of their rarities. What's Wuppertal like for primates?
Probably comparable in many regards to Warsaw. They have been actively phasing out several species over the past years to create more space for the remaining ones. This means that many species including the Drill and Spider monkeys now have adequate enclosures, though nothing brilliant. Some animals like the Lion-tailed macaque could still do with improvements though. The main drawback is the legacy of still having Bonobo + Chimpanzee, they are basically waiting for one of their 2 chimps to die, to be able to send the other to another zoo and use the free space for the thriving Bonobo group. Currently both species have to use the same outdoor enclosure.... The Ape house in general is quite ugly, though the outdoor enclosures are pretty (though the Orangutan one is lacking in climbing opportunities). Indoors is concrete German, but not small and with natural substrate and loads of enrichment for the animals. Wuppertal's main problem is a lack of money, but currently it still seems ahead of Warsaw, though I won't be surprised if it is overtaken by Warsaw in the medium long run....
On primates it appears fairly even, so birds is the deciding factor here I think. Warsaw have Cassowary, my favourite bird species , so I will probably go for Warsaw. Still undecided though.
