This is the aviary-within-an-aviary for the Javan green magpie along with a venerable Zoochatter for scale, although it has to be said that I hit my head on the rock overhang (yes, that again, thankyouverymuch Chester Zoo).
They're a wonderful species to have on-show, it's a shame about their accommodation.
@Water Dragon There's illumination from above, the roof is wire but is currently covered by cargo-netting and that drops the light level considerably. When photographing the birds (or trying to), at f5.6 and a 1/80s shutter, my camera was at ISO 4000. It was 17:30 on a sunny August afternoon.
The lory aviary, although poor, is much better in my opinion. At least the birds in it can see the world around them.
As I explained in my caption to my photo of the interior of the aviary, the indoor shelter for the birds in the main aviary is on the left of this aviary which is to the west. This shelter is taller than the aviary, so it was shaded in the late afternoon when we were watching the birds, it is brighter earlier in the day - but still relatively shady. I can't think why this design was adopted, unless someone thought the birds would do better in fairly dim conditions.
At least my venerable head is at a fairly normal altitude, so I didn't share SMR's other problem with this aviary
I don't understand the thinking behind this design at all. It was specifically built as an aviary, yes? So why make it look like a cave? If they simply wanted to have a solid barrier around the viewing window, then a bamboo front would, I think, have looked much nicer and more appropriate.
@Chlidonias Yes, this aviary is shown in the detailed plans for this section of Islands. It is just over 6 m long and 21 sq m in area. Before I heard that the green magpies were going on show, I wondered if it would hold a species that might predate the passerines etc in the main aviary, such as a small hornbill. All the walls of the walk-through aviary are made of mock rock like this, so I presume this was designed to 'fit in', apart from the wire mesh of course. I forgot to mention before that the other reason it is so dark is that the roof has been draped with camouflage netting - although that may only be a temporary measure.
