What an intriguing photo; the bird looks best in portrait orientation, but the branches in landscape!
The latest - disappointing - news is that Chester's curator of birds is still determined to take the Chinese aviaries (and pathway to the hornbills) off-show, even though everyone else on the bird team seems to disagree with that decision. The aviaries themselves are likely to be divided into eight individual flights.
I wouldn't mind those aviaries going off show, provided that they built some more on-show aviaries for birds that aren't suitable for the walk-throughs.
A nice pheasantry perhaps, a display for sunbirds and hummingbirds, a mixed aviary for waxbills and whydahs, there are so many possibilities.
All of them excellent ideas - I'd love to see a hummingbird collection - but unfortunately recent history of the bird collection at Chester tells us that aviaries that are lost are seldom replaced.
And speaking personally, I'd like to keep that part of the zoo open for no other reason than it being a quiet haven on a busy afternoon.
