America's 100 Must See Exhibits

TZDugong said:
You could also absolutely argue that CGF is meant to represent Gorillas, I mean look at the name of the exhibit:D.
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I don't think anyone would argue say that CGF is just supposed to represent gorillas. It represents the Congo Rainforest and how we need to conserve it. This hummingbird exhibit is supposedly special because it represents hummingbirds yet they only make up 3/20 bird species. I haven't been to San Diego since this exhibit opened but how visible are the humming birds? They're very small and with so many other birds in the exhibit, they might be difficult to see.
 
I have to say, this was not an exhibit I was expecting to be so contentious. Many people were quite excited to see a new hummingbird house on the new Children's Zoo plans, and I've not heard anyone be disappointed by the exhibit so far. The exhibit is designed for improving husbandry and given we've already heard of the jacanas breeding it seems it's meeting the intended purpose.

I don't see any weight to the argument of it being just another aviary, there are six African savannas and multiple ape exhibits on this list. Both this new aviary and the old one were well known on the site, and not just for being at San Diego. Hummingbirds are a rarity in zoos, and yet are one of the most popular native birds we have. I know quite a few people who aren't birders or particularly nature oriented but they still have a hummingbird feeder. The aviary is rounded out with a lot of other species yes, but you can't crowd hummingbirds and so they give some more life to the aviary. Many of the other species are rarely exhibited and a couple of them can only be seen in this aviary.

Given the uniqueness of the exhibit concept, its being specially designed to better husbandry, and its unique species list land it pretty solidly on a must-see list I think.
 
CGSwans said:
I can’t help but think some people are just determined to tear down anything they didn’t anticipate being on the list.
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...while simultanously exemplifiying the Dunning-kruger effect.

Just to give the rarity of hummingbirds an European perspective (apart from the private sector): according to ZTL, we only have six zoos in Europe currently keeping hummingbirds, of which only half keep more than one species. And asfaik, none of them has an outdoor walkthrough aviary with at least one hummingbird species. I remember at least one South American walkthrough exhibit for butterflies and hummingbirds being mentioned years ago in another thread (and there might be more), but all in all, outdoor walkthrough aviaries with hummingbirds are indeed a rare commodity in zoos.
 
Batto said:
...while simultanously exemplifiying the Dunning-kruger effect.

Just to give the rarity of hummingbirds an European perspective (apart from the private sector): according to ZTL, we only have six zoos in Europe currently keeping hummingbirds, of which only half keep more than one species. And asfaik, none of them has an outdoor walkthrough aviary with at least one hummingbird species. I remember at least one South American walkthrough exhibit for butterflies and hummingbirds being mentioned years ago in another thread (and there might be more), but all in all, outdoor walkthrough aviaries with hummingbirds are indeed a rare commodity in zoos.
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You really can't say there's that many more in the US. The two mentioned in Pachy's post are the only two outdoor walkthrough hummingbird aviaries in the US (The Living Desert also had one until recently). After that there's only three more indoor ones, one of which contains only one hummingbird in a huge area. After that, I think there's only one or two more holders of hummingbirds that don't keep them in walkthrough aviaries.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Hot take: I hope there is a butterfly house/aviary on the list. There are a couple pretty cool ones around and I think they are fantastic additions to any zoo.
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The best walk-through butterfly exhibit I've ever seen wasn't at a zoo - it was at EPCOT. Unfortunately I don't think it's there anymore. At the very least it won't be very soon.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Hot take: I hope there is a butterfly house/aviary on the list. There are a couple pretty cool ones around and I think they are fantastic additions to any zoo.
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If there is another round of exhibits that no-longer exist that should be on the list, I'd certainly have nominated the Invertebrate House at National Zoo. It was one of the most comprehensive and interesting invert collections I'd ever seen, from the coral lab to the butterfly house to the open-fronted orb weaver exhibit to the octopus feeding demos. It was a major loss when that exhibit shut down, and I'm glad I got to see it as many times as I did.
 
DWA also has a large area where it is hard to find hummingbirds. I know that they say they have Giant Hummingbird there on the website, but despite watching the few feeders I never saw any of the hummingbirds there, despite two walks through the area.
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
DWA also has a large area where it is hard to find hummingbirds. I know that they say they have Giant Hummingbird there on the website, but despite watching the few feeders I never saw any of the hummingbirds there, despite two walks through the area.
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I was counting that one but had no idea the hummers were so difficult to see.
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
DWA also has a large area where it is hard to find hummingbirds. I know that they say they have Giant Hummingbird there on the website, but despite watching the few feeders I never saw any of the hummingbirds there, despite two walks through the area.
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I was informed by staff that the hummingbirds become much easier to see just before closing. They spend most of the day pretty high up I guess.
 
birdsandbats said:
I wasn't aware of Fort Worth's. Is it outdoors? I was referring to Toledo's Tropics Room in the PMNH.
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Fort Worth has two species in the Texas Wilds exhibit. During winter at least they are inside (but still visible), last summer though I believe the same group was moved to an outdoor walkthrough aviary with other native birds for the warm months.

Sylvan Heights also had/has? them in their walkthrough tropics aviary.
 
@birdsandbats So are Toledo, Sylvan Heights and DWA the three you were referring to? I wouldn't call them "hummingbird aviaries" really, but I guess they are technically walk-through areas that have hummingbirds. I've been to two of them and didn't see any, and Toledo only has the one bird it seems.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
@birdsandbats So are Toledo, Sylvan Heights and DWA the three you were referring to? I wouldn't call them "hummingbird aviaries" really, but I guess they are technically walk-through areas that have hummingbirds. I've been to two of them and didn't see any, and Toledo only has the one bird it seems.
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I was actually referring to DWA, Toledo and Butterfly World. Sylvan Heights slipped my mind.
 
birdsandbats said:
The best walk-through butterfly exhibit I've ever seen wasn't at a zoo - it was at EPCOT. Unfortunately I don't think it's there anymore. At the very least it won't be very soon.
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The best I have seen was at Xcaret, which of course is not in the USA. After that the Osher Rainforest at CAoS is pretty much a butterfly exhibit as they only have a few other animals (macaw and fish) that are not confined to tanks. The modest one at NC Zoo is nice for what it is, but it is rather small. Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale AZ looks pretty cool, I might make it there later this winter.
 
Aardwolf said:
If there is another round of exhibits that no-longer exist that should be on the list, I'd certainly have nominated the Invertebrate House at National Zoo. It was one of the most comprehensive and interesting invert collections I'd ever seen, from the coral lab to the butterfly house to the open-fronted orb weaver exhibit to the octopus feeding demos. It was a major loss when that exhibit shut down, and I'm glad I got to see it as many times as I did.
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I wish there were more photos and videos around of that place! I have several memories of visiting when I was a child, it was the first time I saw a GPO and nautilus.
 
Communal hummingbird aviary is arguably a difficult way to display hummingbirds, which are mostly aggressive and strongly territorial. They do better in individual aviaries, or singly in aviaries with larger non-aggressive birds, like San Diego did in some other aviaries.
 
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