The Largest Aviaries in the World
Updated August 2021.
See also these previous threads for some discussions on the topic.
where is the largest free flight aviary in the world?
Largest Avaries in Australia and New Zealand?
Walk through Aviary (for the UK)
Before starting the list, I'll first mention the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in Malaysia which covers 8.5 hectares [20.9 acres] and is always said to be the largest aviary in the world. However it isn't one aviary, it is divided into several distinct aviaries. I'm not sure where it would come in a ranking if taking that into account. Personally I can't count it as "the largest" because it isn't a single aviary. So I've just put it here with no size ranking.
Number one:
Birds of Eden in South Africa opened in December 2005 and is the largest aviary in the world. It covers 2.3 hectares [5.7 acres], is about 50 metres [164 feet] high (it is built over a valley), and houses over 3500 birds of 220 species (60 species of which are parrots according to the video below).
Number two:
In Singapore the Jurong Bird Park's Waterfall Aviary, opened January 1971, covers two hectares [4.9 acres], and is about 43 metres [141 feet] high (everything says "13 stories" so I just converted that at 3.3 metres to one storey). In 2014 the park stated there were over 600 birds of 50 species inside. The bird park is moving in the near future to a different site, so this entry will then become void.
Number three:
The raptor aviary "La Terre des Aigles" at Les Aigles du Leman in France covers 1.8 hectares [4.5 acres] and is the largest aviary in Europe.
Number four:
The Melaka Bird Park in Malaysia, opened in March 2013, is a 1.8 hectare [4.45 acres] aviary. They claim to have several hundred "species" of birds (I've seen numbers from 400 to 700 being advertised), but there were only 20 species when I was there in 2014 and I did also come across a much more truthful advertisement which said "200 birds of 15 species". I'm not sure if the aviary really is 1.8 hectares either, but I can't find any conflicting figures. In fact I can't find any measurements of the lengths or height at all. They bill themselves as the largest walk-through aviary in Malaysia.
Number five:
The Islamabad Bird Park at Lake View Park in Islamabad, Pakistan, was opened in March 2013 and is said by them to be the third largest aviary in the world. It covers 1.5 hectares [3.8 acres], is 24 metres [80 feet] high, and has "around 4000 birds of over 300 species" (dimensions and numbers from this 2016 article: Birds of paradise: Two aviaries, separated by more than distance - The Express Tribune). Or "around 280 species" in another 2016 article (Capital’s aviary houses birds of all feathers - Newspaper - DAWN.COM). That latter article includes a quote about the aviary being "the third largest in the world, smaller only than one in Malaysia and another in South Africa" [presumably referring to the KL Bird Park and Birds of Eden].
Number six:
The "Lost Valley" aviary at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia is the largest aviary in Australasia. It is said to cover one hectare [2.5 acres] and is 38 metres [124 feet] tall at its highest point (it is built over a valley). There are some photos on page two of this thread (see posts #28-30).
Number seven:
The South American walk-through aviary at Bioparc Zoo de Doue in France was the largest aviary in Europe when it opened in 2009. It covers one hectare [2.5 acres] and is 20 metres [65 feet] high. There are around 300 birds in the aviary. There is a photo of it here on Zoochat: South american giant aviary | ZooChat
Number eight:
The South American aviary at Parrot World in France, which opened in 2020, covers one hectare [2.5 acres] and is 15 metres [49 feet] high.
Number nine:
The walk-through aviary at Bioparque Temaiken in Argentina, which opened in 2012, covers "almost one hectare" [2.5 acres], is 12 metres [40 feet] high, and houses 250 birds (or 2500 birds in some sources, which must be a typo). I think it is a bit smaller in acreage than the one at Zoo de Doue, is lower, and further is a strange shape which reduces the free space inside compared to the French one.
Aviary, Bioparque Temaikén / Hampton+Rivoira+Arquitectos
Number ten:
These three aviaries are all about 0.5 hectares [1.3 acres]. I can't find proper dimensions for them, so have included all three in this placing. I think the Simmons Aviary is a little bit bigger than the other two - it is referenced as being 1.3 acres whereas the others are usually put at 1.2 acres - but there probably isn't much in it and there is some variance in acreage according to source.
The Simmons Aviary at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo in the USA opened in 1983. At the time of opening it was said to be "the world's second largest free-flight aviary" [after Jurong's Waterfall Aviary], at almost 244 metres [800 feet] long and 22.8 metres [75 feet] high. Note that there are many sources on the internet which put this aviary at 4 acres in size which is incorrect.
The Wings of Asia aviary at Zoo Miami in the USA opened in 1985.
The walk-through aviary at Flying High in Australia.
.............................................
Largest walk-through aviary of each region (by decreasing size):
Africa: Birds of Eden (South Africa) - see Number One above.
Asia: Jurong Bird Park's "Waterfall Aviary" (Singapore) - see Number Two above.
Europe: Les Aigles du Leman's raptor aviary "La Terre des Aigles" (France) - see Number Three above.
Australia: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary's "Lost Valley" aviary - see Number Six above.
Central/South America: Bioparque Temaiken's walk-through aviary (Argentina) - see Number Nine above.
North America: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's "Simmons Aviary" (USA) - see Number Ten above.
New Zealand: Hamilton Zoo's walk-through aviary (c.0.35 hectares [c.0.86 acres]) - see Largest Avaries in Australia and New Zealand?
.............................................
Most species of birds:
This one is interesting too. Shuka Vana in Mysuru (Mysore), India, holds the Guinness record for the most species of bird in one aviary. The aviary is only 0.4 hectares [one acre] in size and fifty metres [164 feet] high, but supposedly houses 2100 birds of 468 species (see here Video: Take a tour of India’s record-breaking aviary). I would really like to see a list of the species and know how this was "verified" because it seems exaggerated.
However the aviary's blogsite says that on its "soft inauguration" (in 2014) there were 1061 birds of 276 species, in "82 bird rooms".
Soft Inauguration of Shuka Vana Aviary | SGS Birds
Updated August 2021.
See also these previous threads for some discussions on the topic.
where is the largest free flight aviary in the world?
Largest Avaries in Australia and New Zealand?
Walk through Aviary (for the UK)
Before starting the list, I'll first mention the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in Malaysia which covers 8.5 hectares [20.9 acres] and is always said to be the largest aviary in the world. However it isn't one aviary, it is divided into several distinct aviaries. I'm not sure where it would come in a ranking if taking that into account. Personally I can't count it as "the largest" because it isn't a single aviary. So I've just put it here with no size ranking.
Number one:
Birds of Eden in South Africa opened in December 2005 and is the largest aviary in the world. It covers 2.3 hectares [5.7 acres], is about 50 metres [164 feet] high (it is built over a valley), and houses over 3500 birds of 220 species (60 species of which are parrots according to the video below).
Number two:
In Singapore the Jurong Bird Park's Waterfall Aviary, opened January 1971, covers two hectares [4.9 acres], and is about 43 metres [141 feet] high (everything says "13 stories" so I just converted that at 3.3 metres to one storey). In 2014 the park stated there were over 600 birds of 50 species inside. The bird park is moving in the near future to a different site, so this entry will then become void.
Number three:
The raptor aviary "La Terre des Aigles" at Les Aigles du Leman in France covers 1.8 hectares [4.5 acres] and is the largest aviary in Europe.
Number four:
The Melaka Bird Park in Malaysia, opened in March 2013, is a 1.8 hectare [4.45 acres] aviary. They claim to have several hundred "species" of birds (I've seen numbers from 400 to 700 being advertised), but there were only 20 species when I was there in 2014 and I did also come across a much more truthful advertisement which said "200 birds of 15 species". I'm not sure if the aviary really is 1.8 hectares either, but I can't find any conflicting figures. In fact I can't find any measurements of the lengths or height at all. They bill themselves as the largest walk-through aviary in Malaysia.
Number five:
The Islamabad Bird Park at Lake View Park in Islamabad, Pakistan, was opened in March 2013 and is said by them to be the third largest aviary in the world. It covers 1.5 hectares [3.8 acres], is 24 metres [80 feet] high, and has "around 4000 birds of over 300 species" (dimensions and numbers from this 2016 article: Birds of paradise: Two aviaries, separated by more than distance - The Express Tribune). Or "around 280 species" in another 2016 article (Capital’s aviary houses birds of all feathers - Newspaper - DAWN.COM). That latter article includes a quote about the aviary being "the third largest in the world, smaller only than one in Malaysia and another in South Africa" [presumably referring to the KL Bird Park and Birds of Eden].
Number six:
The "Lost Valley" aviary at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia is the largest aviary in Australasia. It is said to cover one hectare [2.5 acres] and is 38 metres [124 feet] tall at its highest point (it is built over a valley). There are some photos on page two of this thread (see posts #28-30).
Number seven:
The South American walk-through aviary at Bioparc Zoo de Doue in France was the largest aviary in Europe when it opened in 2009. It covers one hectare [2.5 acres] and is 20 metres [65 feet] high. There are around 300 birds in the aviary. There is a photo of it here on Zoochat: South american giant aviary | ZooChat
Number eight:
The South American aviary at Parrot World in France, which opened in 2020, covers one hectare [2.5 acres] and is 15 metres [49 feet] high.
Number nine:
The walk-through aviary at Bioparque Temaiken in Argentina, which opened in 2012, covers "almost one hectare" [2.5 acres], is 12 metres [40 feet] high, and houses 250 birds (or 2500 birds in some sources, which must be a typo). I think it is a bit smaller in acreage than the one at Zoo de Doue, is lower, and further is a strange shape which reduces the free space inside compared to the French one.
Aviary, Bioparque Temaikén / Hampton+Rivoira+Arquitectos
Number ten:
These three aviaries are all about 0.5 hectares [1.3 acres]. I can't find proper dimensions for them, so have included all three in this placing. I think the Simmons Aviary is a little bit bigger than the other two - it is referenced as being 1.3 acres whereas the others are usually put at 1.2 acres - but there probably isn't much in it and there is some variance in acreage according to source.
The Simmons Aviary at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo in the USA opened in 1983. At the time of opening it was said to be "the world's second largest free-flight aviary" [after Jurong's Waterfall Aviary], at almost 244 metres [800 feet] long and 22.8 metres [75 feet] high. Note that there are many sources on the internet which put this aviary at 4 acres in size which is incorrect.
The Wings of Asia aviary at Zoo Miami in the USA opened in 1985.
The walk-through aviary at Flying High in Australia.
.............................................
Largest walk-through aviary of each region (by decreasing size):
Africa: Birds of Eden (South Africa) - see Number One above.
Asia: Jurong Bird Park's "Waterfall Aviary" (Singapore) - see Number Two above.
Europe: Les Aigles du Leman's raptor aviary "La Terre des Aigles" (France) - see Number Three above.
Australia: Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary's "Lost Valley" aviary - see Number Six above.
Central/South America: Bioparque Temaiken's walk-through aviary (Argentina) - see Number Nine above.
North America: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's "Simmons Aviary" (USA) - see Number Ten above.
New Zealand: Hamilton Zoo's walk-through aviary (c.0.35 hectares [c.0.86 acres]) - see Largest Avaries in Australia and New Zealand?
.............................................
Most species of birds:
This one is interesting too. Shuka Vana in Mysuru (Mysore), India, holds the Guinness record for the most species of bird in one aviary. The aviary is only 0.4 hectares [one acre] in size and fifty metres [164 feet] high, but supposedly houses 2100 birds of 468 species (see here Video: Take a tour of India’s record-breaking aviary). I would really like to see a list of the species and know how this was "verified" because it seems exaggerated.
However the aviary's blogsite says that on its "soft inauguration" (in 2014) there were 1061 birds of 276 species, in "82 bird rooms".
Soft Inauguration of Shuka Vana Aviary | SGS Birds
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