ZooChat Challenge (Global) 2017

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Does anyone have a photo of these green magpies? Not that I'm doubting anyone, I'd just like to see how they're kept.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
We could call it the SealPup challenge, where taxonomy and cladistics do not matter - personally I intend to suggest a carnivore challenge and then count every individual meerkat and short-clawed otter I see in a captive collection as a distinct species ;) a few dozen sure-fire ticks within each of the vast majority of collections I would visit!
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I think that would be the Groves Challenge :p
 
Thanks in great part to about two hours spent in the Tropical House at Chester Zoo with a pair of binoculars, a decent start to my year; all of the following taxa were seen on 03/04/2017 at Chester Zoo :)

1) Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis)
2) Amethyst Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster)
3) Javan Green Magpie (Cissa thalassina)
4) White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus)
5) Snowy-crowned Robin-chat (Cossypha niveicapilla)
5) Inca Jay (Cyanocorax yncas)
6) Azure-winged Magpie (Cyanopica cyanus)
7) Madagascar Fody (Foudia madagascariensis)
8) Sumatran Laughingthrush (Garrulax bicolor)
9) Montserrat Oriole (Icterus oberi)
10) Fairy-Bluebird (Irena puella)
11) Emerald Starling (Lamprotornis iris)
12) Golden-breasted Starling (Lamprotornis regius)
13) Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)
14) Peking Robin (Leiothrix lutea)
15) Bali Mynah (Leucopsar rothschildi)
16) Bengalese Finch (Lonchura striata)
17) Yellow-faced Mynah (Mino dumontii)
18) Collared Grosbeak (Mycerobas affinis)
19) Red-winged Starling (Onychognathus morio)
20) Timor Sparrow (Padda fuscata)
21) Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora)
22) Black-necked Weaver (Ploceus nigricollis nigricollis)
23) Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)
24) Red-billed Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
25) Brazilian Tanager (Ramphocelus bresilia)
26) Scissor-billed Starling (Scissirostrum dubium)
27) Timor Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata guttata)
28) Red-tailed Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron milnei)
29) Red-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythroryncha occipitalis)
30) Chestnut-backed Ground-thrush (Zoothera dohertyi)
31) African Montane White-Eye (Zosterops poliogastrus)
 
CGSwans said:
Made a brief visit to Melbourne Zoo today before flying out of the country.

7) Helmeted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops)
8) Blue-faced honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)
9) Apostlebird (Struthidea cinerea)
10) Bell miner (Manorina melanophrys)
11) Zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
12) Java sparrow (Lonchura oryzivora)
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From the first three weeks away:

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo
13. Diamond firetail (Stagonopleura guttata)

Al-Ain Zoo
14. Purple glossy starling (Lamprotornis purpureus)
15. Long-tailed glossy starling (Lamprotornis caudatus)
16. Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier)

Lisbon Zoo
17. Superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus)
18. Yellow-crowned bishop (Euplectes afer)
19. Village weaver (Placeus cucullatus)

Zoo Barcelona
20. Common hill myna - Gracula religiosa
21. Green jay - Cyanocorax yncas
22. Lesser grey shrike - Lanius minor
23. Spangled cotinga - Cotinga Cayman
24. Bali mynah - Leucopsar rothschildi
25. Grosbeak starling - Scissirostrom dubiam
26. Snowy-crowned robin chat - Cossypha niveicapilla
27. Brazilian tanager - Ramphocelus bresilus
28. White-rumped shama - Copsychus malabaricus
29. Red-tailed laughingthrush - Trochalopteron milnei
30. Chestnut-backed thrush - Zoothera dohertyi
31. Pied crow - Corvus albus
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I agree that the green magpie sounds like a bit of a sketchy inclusion, but having visited the zoo there are a few off-show enclosures for birds and otherwise that can be seen from public areas. Perhaps we shall just have to wait and see if anyone else spots the birds.
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having now seen the photo of the sighting, I am sticking to my "sketchy inclusion" :p

However it is all in good fun, and I suspect that if I was at Chester and saw the same I would include it on my challenge list.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Vision is certainly the favourite now but CGSwans, one assumes, will also be visiting Plzen, Walsrode and Berlin, to name but three. So it's not over yet!

My own chances will now hinge on whether I can sneak to Jurong this year or not.

We should probably take a minute to appreciate Plzen, and the collection they maintain in the face of prevailing convention.
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Chlidonias said:
CGSwans was actually my favourite to win once he set off on his trip given that he will probably be visiting more zoos over the year than other contestants, but Vision's recent posts swayed me for the current moment.

I was thinking about sneaking off to Jurong, but then you announced you were going to Walsrode so now I won't bother.

And I was surprised by the list from Plzen. Everyone just talks about rodents for that zoo, so I didn't realise how rich their bird collection was!
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Vision said:
Their collection in birds is absolutely amazing indeed, with random small aviaries scattered throughout the entire park. I've never seen a better collection of European and Eurasian birds in my life, and would probably be able to add Tropical Asian to that category had I not visited Jurong.

Funny, however, is that they honestly have potential to almost double their passerine collection, if they moved everything they have off-show to on-show aviaries! There's a lot of hidden gems that I saw there as well, but of course they don't count for this challenge. :p

Regarding the challenge I did not realize CGSwans would also be visiting Plzen and Walsrode! I think his odds are probably better than mine because he'll be visiting when it's less cold out, so more birds will probably be outdoors. I can't wait to see his list!
As Thylo hinted at however, I will also be going to the regions of New York and Toronto, so I should hopefully be able to pick some species up there!
I know I'll also make an effort to visit some of the Ruhr area's zoos (mainly want to go to Duisburg for a chance at a picture of a certain very unique cetacean, but Cologne is also sparking my interest as I heard a certain tamarin species has popped up on-show), so I might get a good few species there as well.

Also, is sneaking off to Jurong not always a good idea, regardless of challenges? :p
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I only saw all of these now. I don't think I'm completely out of contention, but Vision is a strong favourite at this stage. Not least because, apart from possible trips to Healesville and maybe Adelaide again (compensating for my failure to take notes there in January), I will have completely run my race come the end of September.

Even if I do manage to get to the collections mentioned above - which the Minister is not available for commenting on at this point in time - they would do no more than cancel out Vision's current advantage. Would that I had scheduled a stop over in Singapore on the way home!

I like my chances in the European challenge better. I expect to take the lead at some point in the relatively near future, but again there's a three month window for anybody who is adequately motivated to knock me down to second.
 
CGSwans said:
I only saw all of these now. I don't think I'm completely out of contention, but Vision is a strong favourite at this stage. Not least because, apart from possible trips to Healesville and maybe Adelaide again (compensating for my failure to take notes there in January), I will have completely run my race come the end of September.

Even if I do manage to get to the collections mentioned above - which the Minister is not available for commenting on at this point in time - they would do no more than cancel out Vision's current advantage. Would that I had scheduled a stop over in Singapore on the way home!
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I think you are either wrong, or you know something we don't about your travel plans :p

Vision's current score is based on Plzen, Prague, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Burgers. He is going to get another huge bump from Walsrode, and we can assume he will continue to visit collections near to him at a steady rate.

You on the other hand, hypothetically speaking of course, may well visit all of the above zoos, plus loads more of the big hitters, which I will again reiterate hypothetically includes Berlin Zoo and its two extremely well populated bird houses. I would be astonished if at the end of this challenge Vision had seen more species in Europe than you.

The question really becomes can you build up enough of a lead to protect against whatever Vision sees in the Bronx et al? I think you can and will.

But this is all idle speculation of course. You should never count your chickens before they're hatched.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
I think you are either wrong, or you know something we don't about your travel plans :p

Vision's current score is based on Plzen, Prague, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Burgers. He is going to get another huge bump from Walsrode, and we can assume he will continue to visit collections near to him at a steady rate.

You on the other hand, hypothetically speaking of course, may well visit all of the above zoos, plus loads more of the big hitters, which I will again reiterate hypothetically includes Berlin Zoo and its two extremely well populated bird houses. I would be astonished if at the end of this challenge Vision had seen more species in Europe than you.

The question really becomes can you build up enough of a lead to protect against whatever Vision sees in the Bronx et al? I think you can and will.

But this is all idle speculation of course. You should never count your chickens before they're hatched.
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I know quite a lot about my travel plans that you don't. :p

We shall see. A big chunk of my skepticism comes from the fact that even if I manage to build up a lead, there will be three full months in which anybody of a suitable mind will be able to chase it down. I'll be like a diver in the Olympics who dives first, and then has to sit there in the gold medal position hoping everybody else belly flops, because there's nothing more I can do. It's a little less the case for passerines - I could probably rustle up 20 or 30 more when I return to Australia - but it's very much the case for the primates one.
 
Pairi Daiza:
125) Bali myna, Leucopsar rothschildi
126) Speke's weaver, Ploceus spekei

Incredible how such a big collection, with background as a bird park, can manage to offer me only two new species; one truly unique, but the other only being new because I missed it at most other collections I've visited.

Besides that, an absolutely wonderful collection with beautiful scenery! Honestly I feel that if they buff their passerine collection a little bit (with perhaps free-ranging passerines in the "Oasis" hall), they'd only have to put in minimal effort to reach out to even more visitors!
 
Depends on the passerine :P I daresay that if more collections held Birds of Paradise, for instance, they would potentially be quite big attractions given the fact this is a group of passerines which is both attractive and has "name recognition" with the public.
 
I'm not sure any passerine is going to be an inherent draw. Giant Pandas, for example, practically market themselves. Non-Zoo nerds know they are in Edinburgh and will actually visit the Zoo because of them. I agree with TLD though that there are plenty of birds you could build a campaign around, and I'm sure people would respond to that, I just don't think it would generate word-of-mouth like a large charismatic mammal would.

How many passerines does Pairi Daiza have in total Vision?
 
I've seen Superb Bird-of-Paradise costumes online. Perhaps more zoos should acquire this species and sell the costume as merchandise :p

~Thylo
 
FunkyGibbon said:
I'm not sure any passerine is going to be an inherent draw. Giant Pandas, for example, practically market themselves. Non-Zoo nerds know they are in Edinburgh and will actually visit the Zoo because of them. I agree with TLD though that there are plenty of birds you could build a campaign around, and I'm sure people would respond to that, I just don't think it would generate word-of-mouth like a large charismatic mammal would.

How many passerines does Pairi Daiza have in total Vision?
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I think this is right. BoPs could, with sufficient name recognition, become supporting cast at the same level as, say, pelicans and parrots and so on. But being the most popular passerine and being an animal that draws people to a specific zoo are different things.
 
jayjds2 said:
Philadelphia Zoo 4/1/17
29. Golden-breasted starling Lamprotornis regius
30. Magpie-shrike Urolestes melanoleucus
31. Bali mynah Leucopsar rothschildi
32. Saffron finch Sicalis flaveola
33. Blue dacnis Dacnis cayana
34. White-vented bulbul Pyconotus barbatus
35. Collared finchbilled bulbul Spizixos semitorques
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Cincinnati Zoo 4/8/17
36. Spangled cotinga Cotinga cayana
37. Capuchinbird Perissocephalus tricolor
38. Asian fairy bluebird Irena puella
39. White-rumped shama Copsychus malabaricus
40. Blue-crowned laughingthrush Garrulax courtoisi
41. White-breasted woodswallow Artamus leucorhynchus
42. Raggiana bird of paradise Paradisaea raggiana
43. Southern red bishop Euplectes orix
44. Yellow-fronted canary Serinus mozambicus
 
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