ZSL London Zoo Snowdon aviary question
- Thread starter Gilgamesh
- Start date
I've always wondered about this too. Was the aviary designed to hold specific bird species, or was it designed to "make an architectural statement" with the species being an afterthought?
IanRRobinson
Well-Known Member
Just found this.TOP BIRDS FOR LUXURY AVIARY - British Path
From the look of it Alpine Choughs, African (?)Spoonbills, Grey-necked Crowned Cranes were definitely there in 1965.
From the look of it Alpine Choughs, African (?)Spoonbills, Grey-necked Crowned Cranes were definitely there in 1965.
Is there an inventory list anywhere for the time?
Ian, I was just reading about the history of the Snowdon Aviary and see that the "arboreal elephant" house was built at the same time. Was there other similarly weird architecture going up in London at this time in the early 1960s, or was it mainly inflicted on the zoo?
Somewhere I have a single page colour guide to what was in threre in the early days; if I even find it, I'll give details on here. However, I'm almost sure I remember Black-headed Herons, Grey-headed and Silver Gulls, Golden Pheasants, Black-headed Sibias ansd some sort of Touraco.
volvox
Well-Known Member
"... similiarly weird architecture" – well, the first one that comes to mind was the Post Office Tower, pretty controversial at the time. And Centrepoint and "Space House" the circular block off Kingsway. All what I would call innovative and imaginative... It was the 60s, after all!!
Yes, and also housing people with young families in high rise tower blocks with no garden to play in, only a small balcony, which wasn't safe in case the kids climbed over and fell to the ground, this is where the two children lived who used to visit London Zoo in the sixties with me, no wonder they went wild when getting off the tube when walking through Regent's Park on our way to the zoo.
I remember visiting the Post Office Tower in the sixties, when you could go up to the top and admire the view of London, there were telescopes available I remember looking through one, looking for you know where, and I found it!
Okay...here goes,if i were a quicker typer you would be in luck as the 1966 guide to the zoo[which isnt rare] had a now-very- scarce insert about the Snowdon Aviary[as mentioned by FBBird] showing all the inhabitants.According to the insert there were 45 species in the aviary..most are not too surprising but oddities included Lanceolated and Sikkim taxa of jays,Wandering Tree Pie,Black-headed Heron and Kittiwake.
You still can if you attend the right meetings! I went up a twice a few years ago.
I believe they were kept to "control" the numbers of unwanted rodents and possibly deter sparrows!? But yes, it is an interesting mix!
The Grey-Headed Gull were more prominent , and the Speckled Pigeons equally so!
There was also a pair of Bateleur Eagles living in the Snowdon Aviary at one point!! They looked wonderful, and actually didn`t seem to bother the other species too much (on observation), they were in there for a year or two I think(?). (In the wild Bateleurs tend to eat mostly reptiles I believe).