an introduced species from England, with not many colonies in this country (they are considered a pest and kept at low numbers). This one does not have a very nice aviary!
an introduced species from England, with not many colonies in this country (they are considered a pest and kept at low numbers). This one does not have a very nice aviary!
I'm really wishing I had gone to Willowbank when I went to Christchurch last year, they have a reasonable exhibits and species diversity by the looks, with a few species I haven't seen yet (Rook being a case in point). There website is pretty bad in that regard, tells you nothing about the animals they have, it seems to be really commercial and geared towards international tourists, much like Rainbow Springs in Roto, where the photos here suggest quite a different story.
you're absolutely right. I don't normally look thoroughly at zoo websites but just browsed Willowbank's and it is really difficult to find out anything about their collection beyond that they have kiwi. It really is aimed squarely at the "we have kiwi and a Maori show" tourist market. It's not a big zoo but it has a good diversity of species. The day I took this photo I basically just went in to get some shots of the capuchin island and even though I sailed past the farmyard and quite a bit of the rest of the place, stopping only at the more interesting sections, I was still in there for an hour and a half. It is a very different style of zoo to Orana Park and if you only had the choice of one I wouldn't know which to suggest. In general I think of Willowbank as the place to go if you have kids because its more of a farm-type zoo where there's lots of interaction possibilities and you can feed a lot of the animals, and Orana if you're after big exotic animals like giraffes and lions. Also if native species are your thing then I'd choose Willowbank over Orana. Ideally of course one would have time while in Christchurch to visit both!
I'm really wishing I had gone to Willowbank when I went to Christchurch last year, they have a reasonable exhibits and species diversity by the looks, with a few species I haven't seen yet (Rook being a case in point).
On my way to the Napier Aquarium I saw a number of wild rooks, if that interests you. Particularly in the fields directly north of Woodville there was a small flock both times I passed (both times being about 10.30am), and that's only about 20 or 30 minutes from where you are if you've got a car.
They're very common (wild) around here - often huge colonies. On any cross-country (i.e. non-motorway) drive of 20-30min or more you usually see four species of corvid without even trying - Rook, Northern Jackdaw, Black-billed Magpie and Carrion Crow. They're one of our most ever-present wildlife families.
Zoo-wise, Rooks are rare, and I suspect near-exclusively rescue birds.
They're very common (wild) around here - often huge colonies. On any cross-country (i.e. non-motorway) drive of 20-30min or more you usually see four species of corvid without even trying - Rook, Northern Jackdaw, Black-billed Magpie and Carrion Crow. They're one of our most ever-present wildlife families.
Zoo-wise, Rooks are rare, and I suspect near-exclusively rescue birds.
Oh good! Similarly, we have plenty of Australian magpies here in NZ (which you would struggle to not see on a 10 minute drive in some areas), but they aren't really corvids!
I would imagine the rooks in NZ zoos are also rescue birds, or at least wild-caught.
