The Penang Bird Park is situated on the mainland of Penang (not on the island of Penang) but it is easy to reach. I took the free ferry from Georgetown on the island across to Butterworth on the mainland, and then took the number 209 bus [2017 edit: now bus number 709]. The bus doesn't pass directly past the bird park but the driver will let you off at the right place and then it's only about a five minute walk, up the road and round the corner.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the park but it was a very nice surprise to see such a large and diverse collection. I had been anticipating common aviary birds, parrots and a few storks and pelicans. Instead there was a brilliant range of southeast Asian birds and a scattering of exotics, many of which I had never seen in any of the other zoos or bird parks I have visited in Asia. One of the birds I didn't even know what it was! A fairly large black and blue bird, almost like a Fairy Bluebird but not, and I had no clue at all. The sign on the other side of the aviary cleared it up: a completely unexpected San Blas Jay!! The signage was overall very good indeed, which was also quite unexpected. It was simple but sufficient, with a distribution map, basic information and a good picture. There were a few species unlabelled but not many.
The aviaries were all pretty basic, generally not large but usually not too small either. They looked sort of like “backyard aviaries” in construction but were none the worse for that. Because the area is quite small they are mostly arranged in long rows. The ability to get good photos of the birds depended very much on which direction the aviary faced – some were fine, others had the sun glaring right off the wire which just washed them out. In comparison to some other Asian bird parks, the aviaries (and grounds) were not as attractive but were more spacious than at the Bali Bird Park, and it had far more species than the KL Bird Park and I liked it much better; it was of course not as good as Jurong but that rather goes without saying.
There were two walk-through aviaries. One seemed a bit wasted, mainly holding domestic Turkeys and Ring-necked Pheasants. The other one was fantastic. From the outside it looked not too interesting – I could see Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeons, Great Curassows and some smaller birds – but once inside there was a splendid array of Asian passerines. Many were labelled – including Ashy Minivets – but others weren't, including Asian Pied Fantail, Streaked Spiderhunter and Blue-winged Pittas. Jewel in the unlabelled crown though (at least for me) was a black bird sitting in one of the trees. A drongo of some sort? No, a Drongo Cuckoo! Never seen one before and I spent some time trying to get a good photo of it in its awkward position – only to then realise that there were actually between five and ten Drongo Cuckoos in the aviary. There were a couple of dispensing machines in the aviary which gave out small plastic containers full of mealworms, and soon the Ashy Minivets and Drongo Cuckoos in particular were swarming over the visitors who had the food. Jackwow would love this place!
Mostly when I visit zoos I take lots of enclosure photos and not many animal photos (because I am usually seeing animals I consider commonplace). At the Penang Bird Park it was the total opposite! Not sure when I will be able to upload them all though.
Species lists follow (as always, just what I saw or what was labelled). Common names only -- it took me long enough to type them all out without looking up scientific names as well!
EDIT: there is an updated species list from May 2017 here: Penang Bird Park - Penang Bird Park, 29 May 2017
I wasn't sure what to expect from the park but it was a very nice surprise to see such a large and diverse collection. I had been anticipating common aviary birds, parrots and a few storks and pelicans. Instead there was a brilliant range of southeast Asian birds and a scattering of exotics, many of which I had never seen in any of the other zoos or bird parks I have visited in Asia. One of the birds I didn't even know what it was! A fairly large black and blue bird, almost like a Fairy Bluebird but not, and I had no clue at all. The sign on the other side of the aviary cleared it up: a completely unexpected San Blas Jay!! The signage was overall very good indeed, which was also quite unexpected. It was simple but sufficient, with a distribution map, basic information and a good picture. There were a few species unlabelled but not many.
The aviaries were all pretty basic, generally not large but usually not too small either. They looked sort of like “backyard aviaries” in construction but were none the worse for that. Because the area is quite small they are mostly arranged in long rows. The ability to get good photos of the birds depended very much on which direction the aviary faced – some were fine, others had the sun glaring right off the wire which just washed them out. In comparison to some other Asian bird parks, the aviaries (and grounds) were not as attractive but were more spacious than at the Bali Bird Park, and it had far more species than the KL Bird Park and I liked it much better; it was of course not as good as Jurong but that rather goes without saying.
There were two walk-through aviaries. One seemed a bit wasted, mainly holding domestic Turkeys and Ring-necked Pheasants. The other one was fantastic. From the outside it looked not too interesting – I could see Scheepmaker's Crowned Pigeons, Great Curassows and some smaller birds – but once inside there was a splendid array of Asian passerines. Many were labelled – including Ashy Minivets – but others weren't, including Asian Pied Fantail, Streaked Spiderhunter and Blue-winged Pittas. Jewel in the unlabelled crown though (at least for me) was a black bird sitting in one of the trees. A drongo of some sort? No, a Drongo Cuckoo! Never seen one before and I spent some time trying to get a good photo of it in its awkward position – only to then realise that there were actually between five and ten Drongo Cuckoos in the aviary. There were a couple of dispensing machines in the aviary which gave out small plastic containers full of mealworms, and soon the Ashy Minivets and Drongo Cuckoos in particular were swarming over the visitors who had the food. Jackwow would love this place!
Mostly when I visit zoos I take lots of enclosure photos and not many animal photos (because I am usually seeing animals I consider commonplace). At the Penang Bird Park it was the total opposite! Not sure when I will be able to upload them all though.
Species lists follow (as always, just what I saw or what was labelled). Common names only -- it took me long enough to type them all out without looking up scientific names as well!
EDIT: there is an updated species list from May 2017 here: Penang Bird Park - Penang Bird Park, 29 May 2017
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