AndyJ08
Well-Known Member
Hello, it’s AndyJ08, and today I’m going to be doing a species list and review of the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham Zoo has never had a proper species list on ZooChat, so I’ll attempt to make an accurate one for the zoo as of late.(Note that all of the species on this list and their placements were based on my September visit to the zoo.)
Entry Plaza is the first area of the zoo that can be seen after you enter from the main gate or the Botanical Garden’s shared entrance gate. This area features only two exhibits.
The first is a large outdoor aquarium surrounded by rock-work. It contains:
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Bluegill
Green Sunfish
Painted Turtle
Spotted Gar
The second exhibit is a small shaded pond located near the train depot. It houses:
Black-necked Swan
Caribbean Flamingo
The next area is the Children’s Zoo. It’s pretty much just a standard petting zoo area, with a carousel and a rope-climbing course for the zoo’s younger visitors.
The only exhibit in this area is a large barn with several small outdoor yards and a large petting yard for some domestic favorites. Some of the species it houses are:
African Pygmy Goat
Donkey
Gulf Coast Sheep
Kunekune Pig
Nubian Goat
Directly across from the Children’s Zoo is the Alabama Wilds. It features wildlife native to the state of Alabama, as well as a short nature trail section.
The first exhibit on this trail is a medium-sized aviary for two Golden Eagles, which are an odd choice considering that they aren’t native to Alabama. It’s a nice exhibit nevertheless, though. Adjacent from the eagles, are a pair of Sandhill Cranes, housed in a large yard with cypress trees and a patch of native marshland. Down the path is a large exhibit for a single River Otter that features an underwater viewing window and is relatively roomy for the single resident. The American Black Bear enclosure next to the otter is easily one of the best bear exhibits I’ve ever seen. It’s roomy, naturalistic, and with a log cabin viewing area. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any bears at the time of my visit. Across from the bears are a small chicken coop for two Chickens, and a medium-sized pen for a group of Wild Turkeys. The chickens felt misplaced in the Alabama Wilds area, and I wondered why they weren’t housed in the farm section, while the turkey exhibit was covered in tarp and looking rather ramshackle. Later, I found out that the turkey pen was temporary, as the Alabama Wilds section is set to receive a refurbishment, and is going to reopen under the name “Cougar Crossing”. On the way out of this area, there is a small log cabin that houses Gopher Tortoises and Eastern Indigo Snakes. The Gopher tortoises were off-show due to construction, but the snakes were still on-display.
Trails of Africa is the next area, and is by far the most impressive. The highlight of my trip was seeing the huge, multi-acre African Elephant enclosure for a herd of several young males. Almost as impressive was the Giraffe enclosure, being similar in size, and giving zoo guests the opportunity to feed the giraffes from a deck located near the exhibit. Plains Zebras and Ostriches were supposed to be mixed in with the giraffes, but I didn’t see either of them. Adjacent from the giraffes is a small yard for Aldabra Giant Tortoises and Radiated Tortoises, as well as a medium-sized aviary for several African birds. The aviary held:
Blue-bellied Roller
Buff-crested Bustard
Cape Thick-knee
Emerald Starling
Red-crested Turaco
White-headed Buffalo Weaver
Ending on a disappointing note, the Black Rhino exhibit next to the elephants was rather small and basic, with an ugly concrete barn visible directly behind it. It housed a single female during my visit. Thankfully, the rhinos are going to receive a new exhibit in the next Africa Trails refurbishment.
The Cat House is one of the zoo’s older exhibit complexes, being rather outdated and heavily comparable to the nearby Primate House. It consists of a few outdoor enclosures as well as the titular building containing several indoor enclosures for small carnivores. The largest outdoor exhibit in this section housed a single male African Lion. It wasn’t particularly bad, but it was rather small and uninspiring. Adjacent from the lion is an outdoor exhibit for Coyotes. The coyotes easily had the best exhibit in the Cat House, as the exhibit was originally built for tigers, so the dogs had quite a lot of room. Inside the Cat House was a different story, however, with the building clearly showing its age, and seems like a smaller version of Cleveland’s infamous Cat, Primate, and Aquatics Building. The garish murals painted on the walls, the mock-rock interiors of the all-indoor rooms, the low ceilings and shag carpeting definitely gave this Cat House “character”. This 1970’s building housed many different species in the past, but now is only down to a few repeated species filling the same few exhibits. It housed:
1. Pallas’ Cat
2. Pallas’ Cat
3. Fennec Fox
4. Black-footed Cat
5. Sand Cat
6. Black-footed Cat
7. Pallas’ Cat
8. Empty
9. Prevost’s Squirrel (oddly)
10. Red Panda
Overall, the building, while not terrible, could definitely use some TLC and a lick of paint. It would be amazing to see the Cat House’s collection during its heyday, but at the same time, it makes one thankful that snow leopards, bobcat, and cougars are no longer held in this mock-rock filled 1970’s fortress.
The Primate House suffers from many of the same problems that the Cat House does, but it is somewhat more successful, as the inhabitants at least have some natural sunlight streaming into their rooms, and with an even more bizarre species lineup. Half of the Primate House’s inhabitants aren’t even primates, making the name redundant. In the past, the collection inside use to be far larger, but again, would a group of gorillas really be happy in a tiny yard surrounded by tall cement walls? Several outdoor exhibits surround the building like an outdoor cage for a pair of White-handed Gibbons that is very bland, but offers plenty of height for climbing, a large, shaded yard for a single Giant Anteater, and a decent outdoor enclosure for a single Jaguar (the former gorilla exhibit)
The interior of the building houses:
1. Black-handed Spider Monkey (also able to be seen in an outdoor exhibit)
2. Crowned Lemur and Ring-tailed Lemur
3. Cotton-top Tamarin
4. DeBrazza Monkey and Cape Porcupine (also viewable outdoors)
5. Squirrel Monkey
6. Red Lionfish
7. Black Howler Monkey
Rounding off the Primate House are a few other exhibits. The first is a large atrium-style exhibit for a pair of Giant Otters. It was previously an aviary, which shows in the high ceilings and multiple trees planted in the otters’ exhibit. A tiny, glass-fronted jewel-box aviary for some Taveta Golden Weavers is seen after the otters, and is rather unremarkable. Unfortunately, the Primate House ends on a sour note, with the last exhibit being easily the zoo’s worst. The Sumatran Orangutan exhibit is absolutely awful, being comparable to a cement bunker with concrete trees and mock-rock floors, and very little natural light streaming in through the back of the exhibit. The single orangutan was rather active, however, playing on the Fischer-Price playground equipment that was littered throughout its enclosure. Overall, despite its flaws, the Primate House has stood the test of time rather well, excluding the orangutan exhibit, which would best be met with the “tender love and care” of a wrecking ball and a bulldozer.
The exhibits towards the northwest corner of the zoo have no formal name or theming, but have some historical value, as the large pond for a pair of Mute Swans was used as a fish hatchery during the Great Depression, and a memorial stands nearby. Also in this area is a large patch of swampland that houses a few American Alligators, a small aviary for several wetland-dwelling birds, (which was empty during my visit) and another aviary for rescued birds of prey. (A Barred Owl and a Red-shouldered Hawk were on display.)
Bird Gardens, as its name suggests, houses the lion’s share of Birmingham’s bird collection. The first two exhibits in this area are two medium-sized, grassy yards. One houses a pair of Red-crowned Cranes, while the other houses the mix of Kori Bustards and a Blue Duiker. These yards were formerly part of the zoo’s Australian area, which held kangaroos and emus in the past. An empty aviary sits nearby, while a larger dome-shaped aviary, loosely titled the “Australian Aviary” houses the species mix of:
Brush-tailed Bettong (a pleasant surprise!)
Masked Lapwing
Nicobar Pigeon
White-crested Laughingthrush
Bird Gardens seemed to be in a state of disrepair, as the zoo’s California Sea Lions, (formerly held in this area) are gone, the former Bird House was boarded up and roped off, and a few aviaries were seemingly left abandoned. However, Birmingham still does have an impressive bird collection, as showcased in a long row of aviaries similar to those at the now defunct “roundhouse” aviaries at the Fort Worth Zoo. They contained:
1. Green Aracari
2. Blue-faced Honeyeater and Pheasant Pigeon
3. Red-crested Turaco
4. African Pygmy Goose, Blue-bellied Roller, Red-crested Cardinal, Snowy-crowned Robin Chat, Speckled Mousebird
5. Spectacled Owl
6. Amethyst Starling, Buff-crested Bustard, Sunbittern
7. Greater Roadrunner, Lady Ross’s Turaco, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Victoria Crowned Pigeon
8. Cape Thick-knee, Red-billed Hornbill
9. Victoria Crowned Pigeon
10. Black-billed Magpie
11. Blue-crowned Motmot
12. Jambu Fruit Dove, Red-billed Leiothrix
13. Beautiful Fruit Dove
14. Red-billed Hornbill
15. Red-crested Cardinal
Towards the end of Bird Gardens, there were several large aviaries for some larger bird species. These aviaries were a nice surprise, especially considering that many of the species exhibited in them are usually wing-clipped in open-topped yards at other zoos. They included:
1. Crested Screamer
2. Southern Ground Hornbill
3. White-naped Crane
4. Black-crowned Crane
Lorikeet Landing is Birmingham’s spin on the oft-repeated “feeding aviary” at other zoos, with guests being able to feed lorikeets nectar from cups that is purchased from a nearby gift shop. I didn’t go in, but I did observe from the outside that Rainbow Lorikeets and Coconut Lorikeets were busy mobbing the amused guests for nectar!
Lastly, the Reptile House serves as the zoo’s Herpeterarium, housing virtually all of Birmingham’s reptile and amphibian collection. It too felt rather old, with the low ceilings and drab walls echoing the other two “taxonomic grouping houses” at the zoo, yet the terrariums were all very spacious and naturalistic with a few rare species tossed in. The species included in the Reptile House were:
1. Asian Giant Toad, Cave Racer
2. Philippine Sailfin Lizard
3. Egyptian Tortoise
4. Pancake Tortoise
5. Blood Python
6. Beaded Lizard
7. Red-tailed Ratsnake
8. Prehensile-tailed Skink
9. San Esteban Island Chuckwalla
10. Home’s Hingeback Tortoise
11. Emerald Tree Boa
12. Blue-tongued Skink
13. Golden Coin Turtle
14. Komodo Dragon
15. Desert Tortoise
16. Timber Rattlesnake
17. Cottonmouth
18. Gopher Tortoise
19. Bumblebee Poison Dart Frog
20. Gray Ratsnake
21. Copperhead
22. Shingleback Skink
23. Pancake Tortoise
24. Coahuilan Box Turtle
25. Eastern Indigo Snake
26. Garden Tree Boa
27. Caiman Lizard
The Reptile House, overall, had a nice collection in above-average exhibits in what was easily the strongest of the three taxonomic houses at the zoo. Some of the species such as the cave racer and the Coahuilan box turtle were first-timers for me.
To wrap it all up, the Birmingham Zoo was a nice experience, (an underrated zoo in an underrated city if you ask me!) Despite its flaws (the Cat and Primate houses), the Birmingham zoo more than made up for it with its gorgeous elephant and giraffe exhibits, as well as the diverse array of bird species (an increasingly rare sight in modern American zoos) For my zoo rating system, I’m going to give it an 7.5/10
Have a great day, Zoochatters!
Entry Plaza is the first area of the zoo that can be seen after you enter from the main gate or the Botanical Garden’s shared entrance gate. This area features only two exhibits.
The first is a large outdoor aquarium surrounded by rock-work. It contains:
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Bluegill
Green Sunfish
Painted Turtle
Spotted Gar
The second exhibit is a small shaded pond located near the train depot. It houses:
Black-necked Swan
Caribbean Flamingo
The next area is the Children’s Zoo. It’s pretty much just a standard petting zoo area, with a carousel and a rope-climbing course for the zoo’s younger visitors.
The only exhibit in this area is a large barn with several small outdoor yards and a large petting yard for some domestic favorites. Some of the species it houses are:
African Pygmy Goat
Donkey
Gulf Coast Sheep
Kunekune Pig
Nubian Goat
Directly across from the Children’s Zoo is the Alabama Wilds. It features wildlife native to the state of Alabama, as well as a short nature trail section.
The first exhibit on this trail is a medium-sized aviary for two Golden Eagles, which are an odd choice considering that they aren’t native to Alabama. It’s a nice exhibit nevertheless, though. Adjacent from the eagles, are a pair of Sandhill Cranes, housed in a large yard with cypress trees and a patch of native marshland. Down the path is a large exhibit for a single River Otter that features an underwater viewing window and is relatively roomy for the single resident. The American Black Bear enclosure next to the otter is easily one of the best bear exhibits I’ve ever seen. It’s roomy, naturalistic, and with a log cabin viewing area. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any bears at the time of my visit. Across from the bears are a small chicken coop for two Chickens, and a medium-sized pen for a group of Wild Turkeys. The chickens felt misplaced in the Alabama Wilds area, and I wondered why they weren’t housed in the farm section, while the turkey exhibit was covered in tarp and looking rather ramshackle. Later, I found out that the turkey pen was temporary, as the Alabama Wilds section is set to receive a refurbishment, and is going to reopen under the name “Cougar Crossing”. On the way out of this area, there is a small log cabin that houses Gopher Tortoises and Eastern Indigo Snakes. The Gopher tortoises were off-show due to construction, but the snakes were still on-display.
Trails of Africa is the next area, and is by far the most impressive. The highlight of my trip was seeing the huge, multi-acre African Elephant enclosure for a herd of several young males. Almost as impressive was the Giraffe enclosure, being similar in size, and giving zoo guests the opportunity to feed the giraffes from a deck located near the exhibit. Plains Zebras and Ostriches were supposed to be mixed in with the giraffes, but I didn’t see either of them. Adjacent from the giraffes is a small yard for Aldabra Giant Tortoises and Radiated Tortoises, as well as a medium-sized aviary for several African birds. The aviary held:
Blue-bellied Roller
Buff-crested Bustard
Cape Thick-knee
Emerald Starling
Red-crested Turaco
White-headed Buffalo Weaver
Ending on a disappointing note, the Black Rhino exhibit next to the elephants was rather small and basic, with an ugly concrete barn visible directly behind it. It housed a single female during my visit. Thankfully, the rhinos are going to receive a new exhibit in the next Africa Trails refurbishment.
The Cat House is one of the zoo’s older exhibit complexes, being rather outdated and heavily comparable to the nearby Primate House. It consists of a few outdoor enclosures as well as the titular building containing several indoor enclosures for small carnivores. The largest outdoor exhibit in this section housed a single male African Lion. It wasn’t particularly bad, but it was rather small and uninspiring. Adjacent from the lion is an outdoor exhibit for Coyotes. The coyotes easily had the best exhibit in the Cat House, as the exhibit was originally built for tigers, so the dogs had quite a lot of room. Inside the Cat House was a different story, however, with the building clearly showing its age, and seems like a smaller version of Cleveland’s infamous Cat, Primate, and Aquatics Building. The garish murals painted on the walls, the mock-rock interiors of the all-indoor rooms, the low ceilings and shag carpeting definitely gave this Cat House “character”. This 1970’s building housed many different species in the past, but now is only down to a few repeated species filling the same few exhibits. It housed:
1. Pallas’ Cat
2. Pallas’ Cat
3. Fennec Fox
4. Black-footed Cat
5. Sand Cat
6. Black-footed Cat
7. Pallas’ Cat
8. Empty
9. Prevost’s Squirrel (oddly)
10. Red Panda
Overall, the building, while not terrible, could definitely use some TLC and a lick of paint. It would be amazing to see the Cat House’s collection during its heyday, but at the same time, it makes one thankful that snow leopards, bobcat, and cougars are no longer held in this mock-rock filled 1970’s fortress.
The Primate House suffers from many of the same problems that the Cat House does, but it is somewhat more successful, as the inhabitants at least have some natural sunlight streaming into their rooms, and with an even more bizarre species lineup. Half of the Primate House’s inhabitants aren’t even primates, making the name redundant. In the past, the collection inside use to be far larger, but again, would a group of gorillas really be happy in a tiny yard surrounded by tall cement walls? Several outdoor exhibits surround the building like an outdoor cage for a pair of White-handed Gibbons that is very bland, but offers plenty of height for climbing, a large, shaded yard for a single Giant Anteater, and a decent outdoor enclosure for a single Jaguar (the former gorilla exhibit)
The interior of the building houses:
1. Black-handed Spider Monkey (also able to be seen in an outdoor exhibit)
2. Crowned Lemur and Ring-tailed Lemur
3. Cotton-top Tamarin
4. DeBrazza Monkey and Cape Porcupine (also viewable outdoors)
5. Squirrel Monkey
6. Red Lionfish
7. Black Howler Monkey
Rounding off the Primate House are a few other exhibits. The first is a large atrium-style exhibit for a pair of Giant Otters. It was previously an aviary, which shows in the high ceilings and multiple trees planted in the otters’ exhibit. A tiny, glass-fronted jewel-box aviary for some Taveta Golden Weavers is seen after the otters, and is rather unremarkable. Unfortunately, the Primate House ends on a sour note, with the last exhibit being easily the zoo’s worst. The Sumatran Orangutan exhibit is absolutely awful, being comparable to a cement bunker with concrete trees and mock-rock floors, and very little natural light streaming in through the back of the exhibit. The single orangutan was rather active, however, playing on the Fischer-Price playground equipment that was littered throughout its enclosure. Overall, despite its flaws, the Primate House has stood the test of time rather well, excluding the orangutan exhibit, which would best be met with the “tender love and care” of a wrecking ball and a bulldozer.
The exhibits towards the northwest corner of the zoo have no formal name or theming, but have some historical value, as the large pond for a pair of Mute Swans was used as a fish hatchery during the Great Depression, and a memorial stands nearby. Also in this area is a large patch of swampland that houses a few American Alligators, a small aviary for several wetland-dwelling birds, (which was empty during my visit) and another aviary for rescued birds of prey. (A Barred Owl and a Red-shouldered Hawk were on display.)
Bird Gardens, as its name suggests, houses the lion’s share of Birmingham’s bird collection. The first two exhibits in this area are two medium-sized, grassy yards. One houses a pair of Red-crowned Cranes, while the other houses the mix of Kori Bustards and a Blue Duiker. These yards were formerly part of the zoo’s Australian area, which held kangaroos and emus in the past. An empty aviary sits nearby, while a larger dome-shaped aviary, loosely titled the “Australian Aviary” houses the species mix of:
Brush-tailed Bettong (a pleasant surprise!)
Masked Lapwing
Nicobar Pigeon
White-crested Laughingthrush
Bird Gardens seemed to be in a state of disrepair, as the zoo’s California Sea Lions, (formerly held in this area) are gone, the former Bird House was boarded up and roped off, and a few aviaries were seemingly left abandoned. However, Birmingham still does have an impressive bird collection, as showcased in a long row of aviaries similar to those at the now defunct “roundhouse” aviaries at the Fort Worth Zoo. They contained:
1. Green Aracari
2. Blue-faced Honeyeater and Pheasant Pigeon
3. Red-crested Turaco
4. African Pygmy Goose, Blue-bellied Roller, Red-crested Cardinal, Snowy-crowned Robin Chat, Speckled Mousebird
5. Spectacled Owl
6. Amethyst Starling, Buff-crested Bustard, Sunbittern
7. Greater Roadrunner, Lady Ross’s Turaco, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Victoria Crowned Pigeon
8. Cape Thick-knee, Red-billed Hornbill
9. Victoria Crowned Pigeon
10. Black-billed Magpie
11. Blue-crowned Motmot
12. Jambu Fruit Dove, Red-billed Leiothrix
13. Beautiful Fruit Dove
14. Red-billed Hornbill
15. Red-crested Cardinal
Towards the end of Bird Gardens, there were several large aviaries for some larger bird species. These aviaries were a nice surprise, especially considering that many of the species exhibited in them are usually wing-clipped in open-topped yards at other zoos. They included:
1. Crested Screamer
2. Southern Ground Hornbill
3. White-naped Crane
4. Black-crowned Crane
Lorikeet Landing is Birmingham’s spin on the oft-repeated “feeding aviary” at other zoos, with guests being able to feed lorikeets nectar from cups that is purchased from a nearby gift shop. I didn’t go in, but I did observe from the outside that Rainbow Lorikeets and Coconut Lorikeets were busy mobbing the amused guests for nectar!
Lastly, the Reptile House serves as the zoo’s Herpeterarium, housing virtually all of Birmingham’s reptile and amphibian collection. It too felt rather old, with the low ceilings and drab walls echoing the other two “taxonomic grouping houses” at the zoo, yet the terrariums were all very spacious and naturalistic with a few rare species tossed in. The species included in the Reptile House were:
1. Asian Giant Toad, Cave Racer
2. Philippine Sailfin Lizard
3. Egyptian Tortoise
4. Pancake Tortoise
5. Blood Python
6. Beaded Lizard
7. Red-tailed Ratsnake
8. Prehensile-tailed Skink
9. San Esteban Island Chuckwalla
10. Home’s Hingeback Tortoise
11. Emerald Tree Boa
12. Blue-tongued Skink
13. Golden Coin Turtle
14. Komodo Dragon
15. Desert Tortoise
16. Timber Rattlesnake
17. Cottonmouth
18. Gopher Tortoise
19. Bumblebee Poison Dart Frog
20. Gray Ratsnake
21. Copperhead
22. Shingleback Skink
23. Pancake Tortoise
24. Coahuilan Box Turtle
25. Eastern Indigo Snake
26. Garden Tree Boa
27. Caiman Lizard
The Reptile House, overall, had a nice collection in above-average exhibits in what was easily the strongest of the three taxonomic houses at the zoo. Some of the species such as the cave racer and the Coahuilan box turtle were first-timers for me.
To wrap it all up, the Birmingham Zoo was a nice experience, (an underrated zoo in an underrated city if you ask me!) Despite its flaws (the Cat and Primate houses), the Birmingham zoo more than made up for it with its gorgeous elephant and giraffe exhibits, as well as the diverse array of bird species (an increasingly rare sight in modern American zoos) For my zoo rating system, I’m going to give it an 7.5/10
Have a great day, Zoochatters!
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