Bronx Zoo World Of Birds

Years Of The World Of Birds

The generations of zoogoers visiting the World of Birds will either insure the survival of wildlife through interest and concern, or its destruction through negligence and exploitation.

World of Birds pamphlet, 1972

Crowds at the World of Birds in 1972, the year of its opening. WCS 35mm Slide Collection

The World of Birds opened on June 16, 1972. The gift of Lila Acheson Wallace, for whom the building is named, it was widely considered among the most innovative zoo exhibits upon its opening, and it continues to be a Bronx Zoo icon.

1906 Bronx Zoo Bird House postcard. WCS Archives Collection 2016

The first Bronx Zoo Bird House opened in 1905 under the direction of the zoos first Curator of Birds, William Beebe. Its design was an attempt to deliver on early WCS leaders intentions to create a zoo that would be a . Although many of the Bird Houses featuresincluding live plants and multi-species exhibitswere considered radical at the time of its opening, the evolution in zoo design over the course of the twentieth century led to WCSs view by the late 1950s that the Bird House was outdated and sparked plans for the modern exhibit that would become the World of Birds.

William Conway with tawny frogmouth in the World of Birds, 1972WCS Photo Collection No. 45094.World of Birds Preliminary Curatorial Specifications, by William Conway, 1968. WCS Archives Collection 1028Birds-eye view of the World of Birds, 1979. WCS 35mm Slide Collection.WCS 35mm Slide Collection

Check Out The Birdathon At The Bronx Zoo #nyiswild + Check Out This Diy Bird Feeder

Taking a trip to the Bronx Zoo is a different experience each time. With changes to exhibits and various events going on, there is always something new to see and do at the Bronx Zoo. This month is bird migration month and the second annual Birdathon is kicking off next weekend, May 9. During this event attendees can accompany professional birders on nature walks to identify Neotropical birds and find out how they are properly cared for in the zoo. As you go on your adventure, there are chances to win prizes by identifying as many birds as you can. You may even have the chance to feed one of these beauties on your expedition!

When: Saturday, May 9 @ 7:00AM

Where: the Bronx River gate at Bronx Zoo

Buy tickets:

Bronx Zoo Opens World Of Birds

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The World of Birds at the Bronx Zoo made its public debut yesterday, and judging from the reactions of the thousands of visitors, the new ornithological wonderland is a spectacular success for young and old and inbetween.

It’s absolutely the most exciting thing I’ve ever seenit returns you to your childhood no matter how old you are, remarked an elderly Manhattan woman standing hand in hand with her husband, as the, red wingtips of a touraco flatIed past them in the African jungle exhibit.

Holy mackerel, said a 7yearold girl in pigtails from Westchester County when she discovered the enormous, prehistoriclooking pair of hornbills. They look petrified.

A 2yearold girl from California spotted an overhead film of water birds and exclaimed delightedly to her father, Ducks swimming in the water.

Touchable Excitement

The excitement was almost touchable as the visitors flitted from exhibit to exhibit, observing the birds in an ecologically balanced habitat made to simulate their own.

More than 500 birds representing 200 species ranging from the commonplace English sparrow to the exotic cockoftherock from Bolivia reside in the new $4million exhibition center, widely acclaimed for its naturalistic architecture.

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Wcs’s Run For The Wild

In April 2008, the zoo hosted the first Run for the Wild event. The event is a 5k run long) organized by the Wildlife Conservation Society with the goal of raising money and awareness for their conservation programs of endangered species. Each year, there is a set entry fee for participants with varying prices depending on age child , adult, and senior . WCS Members get a discounted fee. Along with the entry fee, there is a $35 minimum donation per adult/senior participant. The event offers free prizes for donors, based on donation size, ranging from a Run for the Wild T-shirt to a special animal experience at the zoo. All donations are tax-deductible. All participants are also offered free all-day entry to the zoo and its paid exhibits/attractions. The yearly event takes place at the end of April and originally began at 8 am for those wishing to actually run, and 8:45 for those who wish to simply walk or jog the start times were changed to 7 am and 7:45 am in later years.

In 2011, another WCS institute, the New York Aquarium, held its own Run for the Wild event for sea turtles in early October. The 5k run began at the aquarium and led down the Riegelmann Boardwalk on Coney Island. The aquarium held a second run the following year for walruses. The event has not returned to the aquarium since.

The Not So Secret Privileges Of Being A Zoo Keeper

July 26, 2019

The zookeeping profession, like other professions, is filled with long, hard days and plenty of sacrifices and hardships. But what we have that other professions may lack are daily joys given to us by the wildlife we have the absolute privilege of working with.

Zookeepers have gone to great lengths to do what they do. Many of us were born with a passion for wild animals and the conservation of wildlife. Weve dedicated our lives and studies to those that are feathered, furred, scaled, and smooth-skinned. In return, we are given secret experiences only a select few have the opportunity to enjoy.

Im thankful that while I get to experience special moments with the birds in our collection, I am also contributing to the conservation of these wild species and our planet.

Currently, I work in the Bronx Zoos World of Birds and its nursery. I distinctly remember my early days at the zoo when I entered the exhibits for the first time. My favorite observation was to see the birds reactions to me entering their exhibits and how that changed over time. Would they be inquisitive of me or see me as just their feeder?

Leave the food in the corner, Keeper there, on that rock.

Are they afraid of me? Are they feeling territorial? Trust me. Plenty of them are, as they biologically should.

Allow me to share some of those experiences.

Moment 1:

Moment 2:

Moment 3:

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The Most Dangerous Animal In The World

The Most Dangerous Animal in the World exhibit debuted at the Bronx Zoo on April 26, 1963. The exhibit was installed at the Great Apes House and it featured a statement about the danger humans pose.

The words: “The Most Dangerous Animal in the World” were printed in red on top of a cage. Behind the bars of the cage there was a mirror. The exhibit was reportedly still at the zoo in 1981.

• Asia Gate Boston Road
• Bronx River Parkway Gate
• Fordham Road Gate
• Southern Boulevard Gate

Paid Exhibits And Attractions

One admission to a premium exhibit costs between $12 to 14 per person per exhibit if paid separately. The fee for unlimited admission grants the ticket holder free access to all attractions for that day. Family memberships include full access.

There are nine premium exhibit attractions:

The Treetop Adventure Climb and Zipline requires a different fee and is not part of the admission fee online. Thus, it is not included in the park ticket or in any membership.

Bug Carousel

The Bug Carousel has seats shaped like insects. Installed in 2005, it has an annual ridership of 540,000 as of 2014.

Butterfly Garden

This permanent structure is an indoor butterfly conservatory which lets visitors walk through gardens and meadows and watch the butterflies up close. Built and inaugurated in mid-1996, the attraction is a 170-foot-long maze, where “visitors can walk through the stages of a monarch‘s metamorphosis” with a greenhouse in the middle hosting 44 species and over 1,000 butterflies the greenhouse is really “a plastic tent on an aluminum frame”. The structure, costing $500,000, is the precursor for a future permanent House of Invertebrates in the Monkey House near the Fordham Road entrance. Many species come from the New York metropolitan area, and all species of butterflies and moths are from around the continent.If not successful, the Oklahoma City Zoo would have purchased it in September 1997.

Congo Gorilla Forest

Wild Asia Monorail

Nature Trek

Bronx Zoo Treetop Adventure

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World Of Birds: A Conversation With Christine Sheppard Retired Curator Of Ornithology At The Bronx

For decades, Christine Sheppard was part of the legendary team of zoo professionals at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. She spent most of this time as Curator of Ornithology, where she was responsible for managing one of the largest bird collections at any zoo in the world. Sheppard and her staff accomplished many advancements in bird husbandry, reproduction and research. Here is her story.

Prior to coming to the Bronx Zoo, Christine Sheppard completed her PhD with Dr. Tom Cade, who used captive breeding and falconry to reintroduce the peregrine falcon, which had become extinct on the East Coast. I became interested in captive breeding of endangered species and zoos were just starting to call themselves arks, she recalled. I contacted a bunch of zoos who either said I was overeducated to be a keeper and underqualified to be a curator. The Bronx Zoo got a grant for curatorial interns. I applied and got the one for birds. In 1979, Sheppard joined the staff of the Bronx Zoo, where she would spend the next three decades.

Flamingos are very interesting, Sheppard continued. It turned out we could do a lot more active management with flamingos than we thought. We could train them to come in at night and, if theres ice, theyll stay in the shelter.

Public Domain

Public Domain

Free Exhibits And Attractions

• World of Reptiles

As of 2010, the Bronx Zoo is home to more than 4,000 animals of 650 species, many of which are endangered or threatened. Some of its exhibits, such as World of Birds and World of Reptiles, are arranged by taxonomy, while others, such as African Plains and the Wild Asian Monorail, are arranged geographically.

Astor Court

Astor Court is an old section of the zoo that is home to many of the zoo’s original buildings, designed by Heins & LaFarge. While most of the buildings are closed to the public, the former Lion House was reopened as the “Madagascar!” exhibit in 2008, and the Zoo Center still exhibits various species. The highlight of the area is the historic sea lion pool featuring California sea lions. Small aviaries featuring small bird species can be found nearby and white-headed capuchins can be seen behind the old Monkey House.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Astor Court’s buildings as a city landmark in 2000, after a failed attempt to do so in 1966.

African Plains

Until 2009, the southwestern corner of African Plains was home to the endangered Arabian oryx and blesbok. Due to budget cuts and the unpopularity of the species with visitors, they were phased-out of the collection. This section of the exhibit remains empty. In 2017 they received two baby cheetahs from the San Diego Zoo. Cheetahs are now part of their animal encounter programs. They were replaced by the hyenas.

Baboon Reserve

Big Bears

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Exhibits Closed After The 1990s

World of Darkness

World of Darkness opened in 1969 and was the world’s first major exhibit designed specifically to introduce the public to nocturnal animals such as the Chinese leopard cat , bay duiker, Pallas’s long-tongued bat, spiny mouse, lesser mouse lemur, small spotted genet, lesser spear-nosed bats, spotted skunk, fat-tailed lemursJamaican fruit bat, Mohol bushbaby, cloud rat, Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, rock cavy, pygmy slow loris, short-tailed bats, striped skunk, grey-legged night monkey, sand cat, Rodriguez flying fox, brush-tailed porcupine, broad-snouted caiman, sand boa and . Built by Morris Ketchum Jr. & Associates, the house was built where the zoo’s Rocking Stone Restaurant stood until 1942. The exhibit used red-lights to dimly illuminate the enclosures within the windowless building. Like all nocturnal exhibits, the house ran on a reversed lighting schedule, which simulated night and day at opposite times to allow visitors to view nocturnal animals in a more naturalistic setting. Due to budget cuts and the high cost of running the exhibit, it was closed in 2009.

Rare Animal Range

Skyfari

Monkey House

Some of the primates that were in the now-closed exhibit have been moved to other parts of the zoo, such as the cotton-top tamarins now being found in World of Birds others were sent to other New York City zoos, such as the sakis being moved to the Central Park Zoo. White-headed capuchins can still be seen in an outdoor cage behind the building.

4-D Theater

For The Birds: A ‘world Of Birds’ In The Bronx

On a recent visit to the Bronx Zoo’s “World of Birds” with Curator of Ornithology Chuck Cerbini, NY1 spotted some pied imperial pigeons inside one of the exhibits, which look a lot different than the pigeons â or rock doves, as they are known â that are typically seen in the five boroughs.

Cerbini said there are over 300 species of pigeons and doves worldwide, and a lot of them are actually threatened in different parts of the world.

“The dodo bird, one of the most iconic extinct animals in the world, was a pigeon,” Cerbini said.

What You Need To Know

• The “World of Birds” at the Bronx Zoo opened in June of 1972
• It covers 30,000 square feet and is home to 350 birds
• There are 100 species of birds within the exhibits
• The zoo’s director at the time, Dr. William Conway, was the visionary behind the project

That’s just one of the cool things to learn at the exhibit, which opened 50 years ago this month. Cerbini said the massive complex was completely revolutionary at the time, in its architecture and its approach to exhibiting birds from around the globe.

Dr. William Conway, the zoo’s director at the time, was the visionary behind the project. During construction, the exhibits were designed first, with the building wrapped around them.

There is also a section devoted to seeing the newest residents â a serious cute alert for baby birds. It’s a glimpse behind the scenes to see the resources dedicated to breeding birds.

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Exploring The World Of Birds At The Bronx Zoo

Saturday May 14 & Sunday May 1510am

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Bronx Zoo World of Birds exhibit by learning more about its residents as well as the birds that migrate through the Bronx Zoo each spring. Pick up a tally sheet upon entry and see how many birds you can find!

• Scavenger hunt: Find birds in the Bronx Zoo and in the wild
• Learn all about the different species in World of Birds
• Check out the bird meet and greet
• Get hands on with fun birding crafts
• Dont forget your binoculars!

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