Birds
We have 16 species of bird currently on show at the zoo, many of which are part of conservation breeding programmes.
Our common ostriches, Mbuni and Mary, live by the entrance to the site.
Our flock of Endangered African grey parrots live in the brand-new African Forest habitat.
In the Walled Garden, you can find East African grey-crowned crane, Bali starling, Sumatran laughingthrush, European turtle dove, Socorro dove, African village weaver, Victoria crowned pigeon and Visayan tarictic hornbill.
In the Tropical House, you can find Fischer's turaco, superb fruit dove, grosbeak starling, orange-headed thrush, Palawan peacock pheasant and Mindanao bleeding-heart dove.
Fun Fact
African village weavers make amazing ball-shaped nests – look out for them in the trees in their aviary during their breeding season. Males weave the nests to attract a female and will destroy the nests that didn’t attract a mate!
Conservation
A number of our bird species are classified as Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered and Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN and are part of conservation breeding programmes.
We currently have common ostriches to give our keepers experience working with these birds and their young. In the future, we are planning to change these for the Critically Endangered red-necked ostrich, which we will breed for conservation purposes.
Habitat
The birds in the Walled Garden are housed in aviaries. Their homes have varied vegetation for shelter, plus plenty of perches.
The ostriches have an area by the entrance of the site, with sandy ground to dig in and fresh grass at the back of the area to graze.
The African grey parrots have indoor and outdoor spaces with plenty of places to perch. You can hear their calls from all over African Forest!
Visit the birds at Bristol Zoo Project
Learn about our conservation work and see incredible rare species.