Favourite European bird house

[lintworm]

Based on a hot take in the Zoo/Aquarium Hot Takes thread, I was wondering what are your favourite bird houses in Europe and why.

I have created a poll which allows you to select your top 3, as the poll is limited to 10 options, if you want to vote for one unlisted like Krefeld, Barcelona, Hagenbeck or Beauval, use the "other" option. Please limit yourself to bird houses, a greenhouse which is (almost) exclusively focused on birds, like the one in Beauval qualifies, but the Masoala hall doesn't.

My 2 clear favourites are Basel & Vienna. The small bird house in Vienna with it's wonderfully designed landscaped walkthroughs in a very old baroque building is just a joy to be in, even when the collection has declines somewhat in recent years. For me it is the prime example of how to renovate a historic bird house.

@Arizona Docent

@lintworm

@lintworm

Basel's newly renovated old house is now a fantastic rainforest walkthrough full of light, making full use of it's height. But it really shines in the extension, with its bare concrete sobre visitor area contrasting with the lush cloud forest for neotropical small birds.

@twilighter

@twilighter


Allthough I am very fond of Antwerp's bird house too, my third vote goes to the one in Artis, which following Vienna's example transformed an old-fashioned bird house into a series of 3 walkthroughs, each with impressive landscaping, while keeping the historical details.

@snowleopard

@Bosjesman

 

[cerperal]

I was expecting this to get its own spin-off thread! Thanks for making it

Without wishing to repeat directly what I said on the other thread, I'll keep my thoughts shorts. World of Birds in Berlin is, on paper, probably the premier bird house on the continent in terms of species. However, I find a lot of the cages to be too sparse, with too much dead space in the form of paths which really could be used for either plants or extended exhibits. Moreover, though in theory splitting the house continent-by-continent is a good idea, in practice no hall actually sticks to this - this is inevitable when certain species are present in higher numbers than others, but doesn't help with the theming. That said, the kiwi room is fantastic. Personally I find the adjacent Pheasantry to be superior, with far more rare species in display in much more vibrant and interesting enclosures.

There is little I can add to what's already been said in regards to Vienna's bird house - it's small, which is no bad thing, well planted, often rather quiet and contains a good selection of species. However, I have found that the birds are unwilling to get close to visitors, and though I like the inclusion of the free-roaming sloths these too are rather timid.

Before I attempt my signature diplomacy in an attempt to convince everyone London is, in fact, the greatest zoo in the world, I think it's worth mentioning both the Alfred-Brehm house in Tierpark Berlin and, in a slightly left-field choice for this zoo, Rakos' House in Prague. The former is not strictly a bird house, with the walkthrough section containing flying foxes and tomistoma as well. However, the volume of birds contained - as well as the number of rare species - produces a veritable cacophony every time you enter, and is far superior to the fairly sparse walkthroughs of its sister zoo. Sichuan is of course the famous one in Prague, and is indeed very good. However, Rakos' House is to me the finest bird offering the zoo house, beyond even the waterbirds (including the shoebills). Again it's often rather quiet, with multiple endangered or critically endangered species, excellent theming - including housing some of Europe's few birds of paradise - and finishes with a brilliantly planted walk-through. If it was a house and not just a huge dome, I'd also note the vulture aviary opposite.

But London is the winner for me. The Blackburn Pavilion has everything a bird house needs to me - incredible architecture, a side effect of dating from the Victorian era, a species list of which most, if not all, are endangered and rare continent-wide, birds that are more than happy to dart around visitors and even nest within touching distance (though luckily I have never seen this be an issue), and the typical, homeliness that London offers in so many of its exhibits. There's something about the chalk boards telling you where birds a nesting, what's hatched and how to spot them that adds to the feel of walking through what is in every other respect a well-planted and well stocked bird house.

Before I finish - I think Leipzig deserves a mention, too. Not for Gondwanaland but for the quiet bird house situated at the very heart of the zoo, certainly not one of the best in Europe due to its fairly small size and limited species numbers, but one that has a lot of character and is well worth a visit.

Well, I suppose based on my other posts this is technically short...

 

[lintworm]

Without wishing to repeat directly what I said on the other thread, I'll keep my thoughts shorts. World of Birds in Berlin is, on paper, probably the premier bird house on the continent in terms of species. However, I find a lot of the cages to be too sparse, with too much dead space in the form of paths which really could be used for either plants or extended exhibits. Moreover, though in theory splitting the house continent-by-continent is a good idea, in practice no hall actually sticks to this - this is inevitable when certain species are present in higher numbers than others, but doesn't help with the theming. That said, the kiwi room is fantastic. Personally I find the adjacent Pheasantry to be superior, with far more rare species in display in much more vibrant and interesting enclosures.

I also don't understand why so many people rate the Berlin bird house so highly. Yes it is the largest on the continent with the biggest collection, but the aviaries are quite small and uninspiring with a lot of unused visitor space. I do really like the African walkthrough though.

species list of which most, if not all, are endangered and rare continent-wide,

Unless the species list has changed in recent years that is a real overstatement, sure there are some huge rarities, but also a lot of standard bird house fair.

 

[Stefan Verhoeven]

Although some very nice bird houses are mentioned that I visited and some I didn't have the chance to visit yet, I have difficulties for myself to compare some single aviaries with a complete area of different aviaries in some of the mentioned options in the poll.

I voted others because:
- some in the list I didn't want to vote on as it were several aviaries
- I like to be the odd ball
- the single one aviary I was most impressed by was at Parc des Oiseaux and it was the aviary with the hetons, storks, openbill's and many other.

 

[amur leopard]

Voted for Vienna, London, Berlin, in that order, but mostly because the other two I've been to as of yet are Wuppertal and Walsrode. Wuppertal was very much a tale of two halves - possibly some of the poorest indoor invidivual aviaries and pretty bog-standard outdoor aviaries, but I really liked the large walkthrough and the focus on South American species. Hard to say what I'd think if I'd seen it in its heyday. I didn't really consider Walsrode - extraordinarily impressive species list of course, but I don't remember thinking much of the exhibitry. Having said this, the purely at face value, London's offerings aren't massively different, but Blackburn's ambiance is what sets it apart a little I guess.

I haven't visited Basel as of yet so didn't feel comfortable voting for it but I'm sure it would be there rather than Berlin's house. I liked Sichuan better than Berlin's WdV for sure but it for whatever reason I don't particularly think of it as a bird house. Really enjoyed Koln's big bird complex opposite penguins and the whole owl church/castle thing but not sure many will be with me on that one .

Would be interested to see a similar thread for European terrarium/aquarium buildings if it doesn't already exist...

 

[Kalaw]

I haven't visited enough of these in person to vote, but am following this with interest. The three best that I have personally seen are Blackburn at London, Rakos' at Prague and the greenhouse at Beauval. Blackburn for the Victorian architecture, well-stocked aviaries, regular breeding success and of course my own sentimental connection to the place. Rakos' for the countless lifeticks it offered (I will never forget my first birds-of-paradise), the geographically accurate mixes, including strange ones like the BoPs with Pesquet's Parrot, and the presence of two walkthroughs. My memory of Beauval's house is growing faint, I will admit, but I loved how dense it was, the many streams and thought that all the indoor, non-walkthrough aviaries were very well-done. My only reservation was the row of small and unattractive parrot aviaries nearby, which if memory serves were attached to the house, but I may be misremembering and they were in fact separate exhibits. Am I also imagining that there were freshwater stingrays in some of the pools here? I know they are in the gorillas greenhouse but can't say for sure whether or not they were in the birds one, too.

The only other great bird house I have seen is the one at Hagenbeck, which is architecturally beautiful and packed with lifeticks, but is a little too small to compete. I have also seen the now-closed ones at Bristol and Burgers' and the outdoor aviaries of Antwerp's, as the indoors was sadly closed on my visit.

a species list of which most, if not all, are endangered and rare continent-wide

Unless the species list has changed in recent years that is a real overstatement, sure there are some huge rarities, but also a lot of standard bird house fair.

A quick look at a species list for Blackburn (I can provide one here if anybody is interested ) reveals that 13 are vulnerable or worse according to ICUN, 4 are kept at less than ten European zoos and just 2 (the sunbirds) can be found at no other European collection. This isn't the best way to measure the value of the species list (there are three lorikeet species, as well as Orange Ground-thrush and White-crowned Robin-chats, that are just over the 10 mark). Although new rarities, such as the Grosbeak Starling, are regularly brought in, there are also regular departures, such as the Sulawesi Hornbill or the Red-cowled Cardinal (which can still be seen at the zoo, but in Rainforest Life, not Blackburn). All in all, although a lovely collection and probably the best that the UK has to offer in terms of avian rarities, it isn't exactly all that special on a European scale.

 

[GiratinaIsGod]

I also don't understand why so many people rate the Berlin bird house so highly. Yes it is the largest on the continent with the biggest collection, but the aviaries are quite small and uninspiring with a lot of unused visitor space. I do really like the African walkthrough though.

Well to be fair. the nly 2 options here I have seen are Wuppertal (which I only visted recently, so the nice tropical hall was the only thing I ever saw), and Walsrode. So of these 3, Berlin is the clear winner

 

[Dormitator]

Nice thread idea, and a tricky one to answer.

I've never been inside Vienna's bird house but from what I could see from the outside it was glorious. I visited Basel's bird house pre-revamp and it was nice enough then, but it looks far more impressive now. Wroclaw's was closed for renovations when I visited and I've never been to Walsrode. I didn't fall in love with Antwerp's house but I liked the seamless transition between the visitor areas and the aviaries, that was a nice immersive touch. Wuppertal left me a little cold until the excellent walkthrough section plus the outdoor aviaries are nice, must have been amazing back in the day. My first run around Berlin's new bird house was awesome just from the number of species and the size of the damn place, but step back and the aviaries are a bit small and exposed sometimes, and the walkthroughs strangely uninspiring. So my votes have gone to:

Rákos' pavilion, Prague zoo. Though focussed on parrots the overall collection is amazing and the fully planted aviaries are superb. I was lucky enough to go just after it first opened, then again last year and though there had clearly been quite a bit of browsing/destruction from the parrots it was amazing to see just how good the aviaries still looked. The walkthrough with palm cockatoo and other gems is awesome (if a little narrow) and a focus on geographical theming really helps.

Bird house, Warsaw zoo. This is probably my favourite 'encyclopaedic' bird house, with a nice mix of indoor and outdoor aviaries most of which are geographically themed, plus a nice tall walkthrough. It's not as beautiful as Amsterdam or Basel, but the collection is incredible and nicely displayed.

Probably buoyed up by nostalgia, but the Blackburn pavilion at London zoo takes my final vote. It's just well presented; good walkthroughs, great mix of species and it ends up being, dare I say it, good fun to spend time in.

Other comments on various bird houses - Hamburg's is lovely but very small, Frankfurt is in dire need of renovation, and the old one in Bristol was a little gem even if the outdoor section was never used to it's full potential. Shout out to some tiny but beautifully formed bird houses - Borealia in Helsinki, bird house in Leipzig, wader aviary at Birdworld.

 

[cerperal]

wader aviary at Birdworld.

Oh, good call. Though I can barely remember Birdworld's real heyday, that aviary has remained a constant gem in the often troublingly shrinking collection. Unfortunately not much of a house though. Perhaps a tad of nostalgia for a local collection but an underrated gem

 

[twilighter]

Been to all, but Walsrode and my 3 votes go to:

Basel - contemporary work of art. Most likely the best Bird house in Europe, if we not count the Tropical buildings.

Berlin - this building fits very well into the zoo grounds - high quality, rich collection, very good signage and easy to navigate.

Vienna - zoo classic. Not big, but very genuine. You have the funny feeling that you have African and Asian forest corners in your leaving room

 

[lintworm]

Would be interested to see a similar thread for European terrarium/aquarium buildings if it doesn't already exist...

I don't think there is one yet, but I can make one next week. But then it is probably better to create separate ones for terrariums and aquariums (with some buildings appearing in both).

- the single one aviary I was most impressed by was at Parc des Oiseaux and it was the aviary with the hetons, storks, openbill's and many other.

That is indeed a bit odd ball, as the thread is specifically about houses, not aviaries

Rákos' pavilion, Prague zoo. Though focussed on parrots the overall collection is amazing and the fully planted aviaries are superb. I was lucky enough to go just after it first opened, then again last year and though there had clearly been quite a bit of browsing/destruction from the parrots it was amazing to see just how good the aviaries still looked. The walkthrough with palm cockatoo and other gems is awesome (if a little narrow) and a focus on geographical theming really helps.

I am really looking forward to seeing it in a few weeks time. My last Prague visit was weeks before this pavilion opened. The species line-up and concept looks fantastic, though from memory it looked a bit cramped on pictures.

 

[jwer]

I’ve been to halve of the selection and none of the ones Lintworm has selected.

I have to say, no birdhouse has inspired me sofar. But as a species hunter, the best place to be I’ve seen sofar is the Paradieshalle. Every little aviary contains glittering gems, all rarely seen. But the aviaries are almost all too small. The added bonus is that once you leave the greenhouse, you are in Walsrode.

The nicest looking building was Wroclaw, although I believe I’ve seen that before it was renovated.

The most goosebumps I had was stepping into the greenhouse in Pairi Daiza containing 5 male greater birds of paradise with a few of them whooping and displaying. After seeing “Attenborough in paradise”, it was mesmerizing to hear the sound in person.

 

[Stefan Verhoeven]

That is indeed a bit odd ball, as the thread is specifically about houses, not aviaries

Oops, thanks for the wake up call @lintworm

 

[ZooNews2024]

Which - mine was the Louise Hall at Wassenaar.
Why - memories.

 

[Jurek7]

All these houses are tiny comparing to modern aviaries in Singapore or even Dombes. All together would fit in just one aviary in Bird Paradise with a room to spare. I am also not amazed by 19. century ornamental zoo houses. This architecture jarringly does not fit modern naturalistic enclosures, which many zoos put inside. And, from the architecture point of view, they are barely the quality of many city villas.

Paradieshalle in Walsrode would be my first choice, because it always has a variety of unusual and rare species, plus a free-flight hall. I think that a bird house should actually be about birds...

Second place goes to the bird house in Frankfurt, because of the history, especially Shoebills.

The third place goes to the renovated bird house at Basel, which is probably the best bird house from the point of view of the birds themselves. Breeding of most of the species within one year prove it, especially that many birds bred in the free-flying hall (which is not a common setup for birds to breed because usually different species disturb each other). The collection focuses on rare birds, but rather lacks bigger and spectacular species - no species of macaw or other bigger parrots, no large hornbill or a toucan.

I haven't been to Prague for years, but the Rakos house looks great, Sichuan is interesting, and the house with Shoebills is also worth mentioning.

 

[Dormitator]

Oh, good call. Though I can barely remember Birdworld's real heyday, that aviary has remained a constant gem in the often troublingly shrinking collection. Unfortunately not much of a house though. Perhaps a tad of nostalgia for a local collection but an underrated gem

Ah yes, good point that it isn't a bird house proper, wasn't thinking straight!

I am really looking forward to seeing it in a few weeks time. My last Prague visit was weeks before this pavilion opened. The species line-up and concept looks fantastic, though from memory it looked a bit cramped on pictures.

In my opinion the main row of aviaries are plenty big enough for the inhabitants, though they certainly aren't vast. However the natural, often dense planting means enrichment is much better for the birds than in most aviaries. My only size issue with the pavilion is in the first walkthrough with the palm cockatoo (and now BoP) which though tall and long is thin so the birds don't have too much room to escape from people. But again, the environment is very varied and there are plenty of things to hide behind. On my first visit in 2019 the birds in there seemed rather twitchy, but last year they'd settled nicely and the palms didn't seem to mind people getting close to them.

Be very interested in your comments following the visit.

The most goosebumps I had was stepping into the greenhouse in Pairi Daiza containing 5 male greater birds of paradise with a few of them whooping and displaying. After seeing “Attenborough in paradise”, it was mesmerizing to hear the sound in person.

That's actually a really good point, I had the same reaction when I went in for the first time. Take out the BoP and it's a nice if slightly scruffy enclosure, but it's incredible to see the males so close and unconcerned about visitors.

 

[Kalaw]

My only size issue with the pavilion is in the first walkthrough with the palm cockatoo (and now BoP)

Small correction, but the BoPs are not in this walkthrough, and instead the wire-fronted aviary immediately before which they share with Pesquet’s Parrots. That said, I believe the initial plans were to first put them onshow in this walkthrough, but they changed it. Perhaps there are still plans to introduce them there further down the Iine.

 

[cerperal]

Small correction, but the BoPs are not in this walkthrough, and instead the wire-fronted aviary immediately before which they share with Pesquet’s Parrots. That said, I believe the initial plans were to first put them onshow in this walkthrough, but they changed it. Perhaps there are still plans to introduce them there further down the Iine.

The BoP have proven rather shy so I'd be surprised if they do move, they like to stay towards the rear of the aviary. One thing I do like about the Prague aviaries in the parrot house is how they're far deeper than one would initially think, even with how densely planted they are

 

[Batto]

Another vote for Prague's Rako House.

 

[remar]

After thinking about it for a couple of days i have to admit, that i'm not a big fan of bird houses in general.

I'm somehow surprised that Berlin is at the lead. The collection is stunning (and i don't wanna miss my only sight of a Kiwi) but the house itself is imo kind of boring.

I like the style of the house at Vienna, but sadly the collection was downgraded within the last years and there are still many species which prefer to stay hidden.

I also want to mention the bird house at Warszawa. I really enjoyed my visit there, but it's not the best.

After all, from the bird houses i've seen in person i would pic the Sichuan house at Prague, as it is probably the most unique one.

And although i have not visited the zoo yet i would also like to bring up something completely different. What's about the penguin house at Loro Parque?