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African Aviary

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Out of Africa

Enter the winged world of the African Aviary at the Wild Animal Park, where you can be close to and often interact with feathered beauties. You might see a bearded barbet dart in front of you and vanish into the protective shelter of a broad-leafed plant. Overhead, wings disturb the air and your ears fill with chirps, cackles, and hoots, the sounds of flourishing avian life from Africa.

The African Aviary, just beyond the Wild Animal Park's entrance turnstiles, is designed to show a wide variety of African birdlife. Some of the species are rare in the wild and others are seldom seen in collections. There are no moats, no barriers. You could literally reach out and touch the birds if they would let you. But they won't! Step too close and they nimbly hop away or flutter to an inaccessible branch. Nonetheless, you are closer to them than would be possible in the shadows of an African forest. You are a guest in their enclosure!

Everything in the aviary is designed to approximate the birds' natural turf—from the concrete footpath, poured in the color and texture of dried mud, to the rock outcroppings and waterfalls that spill into marshes, where black herons and African open-bill storks strut. The meandering path begins in wetland, wanders through forest, and ends in savanna. Terrestrial, midlevel, and upper canopies of vegetation provide a variety of habitats for birds to nest and forage in.

Each time you visit it's likely that you'll see something different. Be sure to pause now and then for a bird's-eye view of African avian life in action!

Fun facts

• The Wild Animal Park has the only group of black herons in the country.
• There are over 140 birds living in the African Aviary, representing over 40 species.
• The keeper staff provides man-made tree cavities for the birds—contraptions much like garden-variety birdhouses. Platforms and baskets for nests and any other materials needed to make nest building possible are also provided.
• Two residents of the aviary, the waldrapp and the pink pigeon, are endangered.