The Ultimate, Essential Bird Meta-Wishlist (Habitat AND Aviary)

[Nausicaaa 22]

No updates this week, but weekly community poll - with the Americas pack now out, in-game birds have officially hit the teens!

View attachment 427761

Which of the Feathered Fourteen, are your Top 4? The criteria can be whatever you like: personal favorite birds, best models, favorite to build for, it's up to you.

For me, I'll go with my favorite birds irl as well the ones I'm best excited to build for:

1. Sussex Chicken
2. King Penguin
3. North Island Brown Kiwi
4. Indian Peafowl (can't bet the classics)

What about you?

Ohh, I love this question!
Also, amazing list! They are indeed really fun to build for!

-Personal Favorite Birds-
1. Greater Rhea
2. Mute Swan
3. Little Blue Penguin
4. Southern Cassowary

-Best Models-
1. Mute Swan
2. Sussex Chicken
3. American Flamingo
4. Emu

-Favorite to Build for-
-Emu / Cassowary
-Greater Rhea
-Mute Swan
-North Island Brown Kiwi


Well, indeed, I FREACKING LOVE the Rhea. It's been my favorite animal since I saw it as a kid in Terra Natura Benidorm, and when I saw it in the trailer, I literally gasped of how beautiful it looked. It's a dream came true for me. Now I can finally die in peace having Ocelot, Peccary and Rhea in the game

 

[SuzieSky]

1. Southern Cassowary
2. American Flamingo
3. African Penguin
4. Indian Peafowl

 

[SanRazo]

Mute Swan
Peafowl
King Penguin
Cassowary

 

[dosman2233]

No updates this week, but weekly community poll - with the Americas pack now out, in-game birds have officially hit the teens!

View attachment 427761

Which of the Feathered Fourteen, are your Top 4? The criteria can be whatever you like: personal favorite birds, best models, favorite to build for, it's up to you.

For me, I'll go with my favorite birds irl as well the ones I'm best excited to build for:

1. Sussex Chicken
2. King Penguin
3. North Island Brown Kiwi
4. Indian Peafowl (can't bet the classics)

What about you?

1. Little Penguin
2. Mute Swan
3. Red-Crowned Crane
4. Southern Cassowary

 

[dosman2233]

 

[Marvinb]

Id probably settle on the trio of:
-African penguin
-Cuban flamingo
-Emu
Due to looks and usability, plus the swan just due to providing us with a waterfowl rig and the amazing amount of mods it spawned

 

[The Carcharodontogenius]

No updates this week, but weekly community poll - with the Americas pack now out, in-game birds have officially hit the teens!

View attachment 427761

Which of the Feathered Fourteen, are your Top 4? The criteria can be whatever you like: personal favorite birds, best models, favorite to build for, it's up to you.

For me, I'll go with my favorite birds irl as well the ones I'm best excited to build for:

1. Sussex Chicken
2. King Penguin
3. North Island Brown Kiwi
4. Indian Peafowl (can't bet the classics)

What about you?

1. Greater Rhea.
2. Emu.
3. African Penguin.
4. Mute Swan.

 

[ChicoGenialoso1]

1. Bald Eagle
2. Gentoo Penguin
3. Great Horned Owl
4. Peregrine Falcon
5. Harpy Eagle
6. Chinstrap Penguin
7. Snowy Owl
8. Emperor Penguin
9. Great Hornbill
10. Eurasian Eagle-Owl
11. Kea
12. Barn Owl
13. Steller's Sea Eagle
14. Lammergeier
15. Northern Goshawk
16. Southern Ground Hornbill
17. Scarlet Macaw
18. Golden Eagle
19. California Condor
20. American Crow
21. King Vulture
22. Griffon Vulture
23. Secretary Bird
24. Shoebill
25. Red Kite

 

[TheDuckKnight]

List has FINALLY been updated!

Tomorrow we get the Asia Animal Pack! So it begs the question - weekly community poll - what are YOUR thoughts about the upcoming DLC??

Look...I don't want to yuck anyone's yum or coming off as a single-issue voter, but I think it's a pretty middling pack. It's obvious PZ is wrapping up sooner than later and now's really the time to get the last minute additions in and well...

THE MANDARIN DUCK WAS RIGHT.
DUCKING.
THERE.

HOW? WHY? NOOOOOOOOOO.

I'm holding out hope because it's all I have. Please, please just give us some more love before it ends.

Besides the lack of my beloved birds, I'm just a little idk...confused? I thought Americas was pretty solid, even with the rhea issues and hyper specific scenery. But it seems like this is the more favored of the packs this year, and I'm kinda confused to why? (And I would genuinely like to hear from those who prefer over Americas)

We babble on for months we tried of hoofstock, but now everyone is going bananas for TWO antelope and a deer?
Americas got so much flack for more canids, but we're lapping up the tanuki like Honey Nut Cheerios.
The flamingo got a wag of the finger for being a clone, but the elephant...actually I'm not even gonna touch that.
I don't get it!!

But I will say I'm a shameless Zoo Tycoon completionist so the honey badger is very welcomed. I do work at the Bronx Zoo so while I'm not exactly clicking my heels, the Pere David Deer, blackbuck, and nigali are OG to me.

And a true tip of the hat for the macaque, Frontier has really turned the tide for the best with primates, especially monkeys lately and I hope that sticks till the end of support.

And the animals do like very nice as well.

And I like those big flowers and the free butterfly (more exhibit animals as free updates maybe??? )

What about YOU?

 

[Marvinb]

Mandarin, pheasant and pelican were for sure my most wanted animals from asia, so getting none of those, and not bird what so ever is really disappointing.

Aside from that its a decent pack. A common asian monkey was for sure desperately needed, so was a common asian antelope and an asian deer. So filling these big holes in the roster is great. Now did i immediately need two asian antelopes in this pack? Not really. It doesnt bother me as much here as in arid, because A) asia wasnt particularly flowing over with options for filler hoofstock and B) blackbuck and nilgai feel a little more distinct from one another than addax and dama. Still, i think the second spot could have gone to a more needed "imo" animal, namely a bird or if they were dead set on 3 ungulates the muntjac for some more variety. Honey badger is neat, nothing i was dying for but its cool, raccoon dog similarly but to a lesser degree. The elephant is well... the elephant and ill leave it at that

 

[Stygi]

The lack of a bird in this pack is honestly just a bit annoying at this point, there was a plethora of good choices available, mandarin, pelican, pheasant, any stork or goose heck even a second Asian crane would've been more than welcome and not getting any is a glaring omission.

Overall I am quite happy with the pack, getting another monkey is wonderful I am overjoyed we have received 3 in a row and I hope that this keeps up with another African or New World Monkey in the next pack. I am also very happy with the Blackbuck getting us a good Indian filler ungulate which we have been sorely missing. Asia in general is quite lacking in ungulates so I am fine with the Nilgai and Pere David's Deer although I would have preferred a Muntjac. I don't really have strong feelings either way for the Honey Badger but it was quite popular. In my eyes it is the Raccoon Dog and Elephant that definitely should have been switched out I really didn't want either of them, there are just too many canids at this point especially if we end up getting some jackal or fox in a safari pack. The Elephant may be the single worst choice they could have made, I just don't understand it.

I guess in a way I prefer this pack to Americas because it is much more successful at executing on its potential with some of my most wanted animals as opposed to Americas that although filling some niches I wanted such as another NWM and more birds they were largely B tier picks e.g. Flamingo instead of Spoonbill or Ibis and Saki instead of Squirrel, Howler, Spider or a Tamarin, the only animal I was specifically really wanting was the Rhea which they absolutely butchered. Getting 2 dogs, a cat and a brown Dall sheep all in 1 pack as opposed to the Coati, Mara and a variety of other choices just sucked.

 

[RightWhale]

List has FINALLY been updated!

Tomorrow we get the Asia Animal Pack! So it begs the question - weekly community poll - what are YOUR thoughts about the upcoming DLC??

Look...I don't want to yuck anyone's yum or coming off as a single-issue voter, but I think it's a pretty middling pack. It's obvious PZ is wrapping up sooner than later and now's really the time to get the last minute additions in and well...

THE MANDARIN DUCK WAS RIGHT.
DUCKING.
THERE.

HOW? WHY? NOOOOOOOOOO.

I'm holding out hope because it's all I have. Please, please just give us some more love before it ends.

Besides the lack of my beloved birds, I'm just a little idk...confused? I thought Americas was pretty solid, even with the rhea issues and hyper specific scenery. But it seems like this is the more favored of the packs this year, and I'm kinda confused to why? (And I would genuinely like to hear from those who prefer over Americas)

We babble on for months we tried of hoofstock, but now everyone is going bananas for TWO antelope and a deer?
Americas got so much flack for more canids, but we're lapping up the tanuki like Honey Nut Cheerios.
The flamingo got a wag of the finger for being a clone, but the elephant...actually I'm not even gonna touch that.
I don't get it!!

But I will say I'm a shameless Zoo Tycoon completionist so the honey badger is very welcomed. I do work at the Bronx Zoo so while I'm not exactly clicking my heels, the Pere David Deer, blackbuck, and nigali are OG to me.

And a true tip of the hat for the macaque, Frontier has really turned the tide for the best with primates, especially monkeys lately and I hope that sticks till the end of support.

And the animals do like very nice as well.

And I like those big flowers and the free butterfly (more exhibit animals as free updates maybe??? )

What about YOU?

IMO (outside of the elephant) Asia did feel like the last area where getting more hoofstock wasn’t the biggest issue in the world. In fact I love the Peere David’s Deer and I’m always happy to see them in captivity.

That being said, I know us bird people are a squeaky wheel and not a majority of the community. That being said as a bird person, each new DLC without a bird is a point off in my book.

 

[Nausicaaa 22]

List has FINALLY been updated!

Tomorrow we get the Asia Animal Pack! So it begs the question - weekly community poll - what are YOUR thoughts about the upcoming DLC??

Look...I don't want to yuck anyone's yum or coming off as a single-issue voter, but I think it's a pretty middling pack. It's obvious PZ is wrapping up sooner than later and now's really the time to get the last minute additions in and well...

THE MANDARIN DUCK WAS RIGHT.
DUCKING.
THERE.

HOW? WHY? NOOOOOOOOOO.

I'm holding out hope because it's all I have. Please, please just give us some more love before it ends.

Besides the lack of my beloved birds, I'm just a little idk...confused? I thought Americas was pretty solid, even with the rhea issues and hyper specific scenery. But it seems like this is the more favored of the packs this year, and I'm kinda confused to why? (And I would genuinely like to hear from those who prefer over Americas)

We babble on for months we tried of hoofstock, but now everyone is going bananas for TWO antelope and a deer?
Americas got so much flack for more canids, but we're lapping up the tanuki like Honey Nut Cheerios.
The flamingo got a wag of the finger for being a clone, but the elephant...actually I'm not even gonna touch that.
I don't get it!!

But I will say I'm a shameless Zoo Tycoon completionist so the honey badger is very welcomed. I do work at the Bronx Zoo so while I'm not exactly clicking my heels, the Pere David Deer, blackbuck, and nigali are OG to me.

And a true tip of the hat for the macaque, Frontier has really turned the tide for the best with primates, especially monkeys lately and I hope that sticks till the end of support.

And the animals do like very nice as well.

And I like those big flowers and the free butterfly (more exhibit animals as free updates maybe??? )

What about YOU?

Well, this pack, personally, was amazing!
Some of the additions were on my most requested species. I specially loved the Blackbuck and the Nilgai, they are incredibly well made, and I like the idea of being able to build for them on a Terra Natura Bendiorm zoo, so more inclusions from that zoo are always a hype up for me!

As for the rest, I really liked the Père David's Deer. I always tought on what would be to have them in game, and I have to say, they look awesome. And the same goes to the Honey Badger, such a really fun animal to build for!

Now ending, the Lion Tailed Macaque was ok, not my favourite, but I like it. For the Tanuki, I've never been a fan of them, but at least It's model looks gorgeous, I'm growing a lot more of love for them.

For the elephant, well... everyone already knows what to think for it, but eh, I like it. It's a kinda nice subspecies to have in the game, I think they look nice, so It's quite nice to have a new elephant subspecies. They really improved It's skin from the base game elephants, so It's an approved one to me!

So, the pack for me It's really nice, some beautiful additions of course, with some being on my personal wishlist, but of course, the lack of birds is still there, and mayba an Asian Lion or a Muntjac would have been even better. At least everyone in the pack looks impecable!
!

 

[jacobgrman]

Hi everyone,
I’d like to share my thoughts on the Asia Pack. I’m really happy that we got five animals I personally wished for in the game: honey badger, blackbuck, nilgai, Père David’s deer, and the lion-tailed macaque.

I'm especially glad we finally have the honey badger. Even though it does live in parts of Asia, I personally associate it more with Africa, so I see it fitting better in African sections. Still, I’m very happy it's in the game – the model looks great!

Blackbuck and nilgai are also fantastic additions. It's great to finally have more ungulates that can be kept together with the Indian rhinoceros. The blackbuck has been highly requested for a long time, so it’s amazing to finally see it in the game.

I’m also really grateful for Père David’s deer – not only is the model beautiful, but it also carries an important conservation message. Again, this has been a highly requested species.

As for the lion-tailed macaque, I absolutely love it. The model is beautiful and realistic, and I think it fits Asian, tropical or primate house much better than the proboscis monkey, which according to Zootierliste is only kept in 14 Asian zoos and nowhere else in the world. In contrast, the lion-tailed macaque is kept in many zoos worldwide, making it a more versatile choice for realistic zoo builds.

Now for the less happy part of the pack:

While the Japanese raccoon dog (or tanuki) has a very well-made and detailed model, according to Zootierliste it's only kept in one zoo in Europe (Germany) and otherwise only in Japan and two other zoos in Asia. The same issue applies to the Bornean elephant. Again, the model is beautiful – in fact, I’d say it’s the best-looking elephant in the game and clearly more detailed than the Indian elephant. But it's a very rarely kept subspecies of the Asian elephant. Based on Zootierliste, it’s found in only two European zoos, one American zoo (Oregon Zoo), one Japanese, and one Malaysian zoo. So while I admire the quality of the model, I feel disappointed that we got another elephant subspecies instead of something more widely kept.

In my opinion, I would have replaced the Japanese raccoon dog with either the Visayan warty pig or Reeves’s muntjac. The Visayan warty pig is the last pig species missing from the game (since peccaries are in a separate group, and both species are still missing – especially the Chacoan peccary, which also has a strong conservation story). Staying in Asia, the Visayan warty pig is critically endangered and has important conservation value, plus it’s often kept in zoos and can even be housed with the Indian rhino.

Reeves’s muntjac is also a highly requested species. It works well in habitats with red pandas, Indian rhinos, and others. It’s a much-needed small deer species, along with the southern pudu from South America.

As for the Bornean elephant, I would have preferred an Asian bird instead – such as the Mandarin duck, sarus crane, or golden pheasant. It’s a real shame that none of these three made it into the game.

The butterfly we received as a free update animal is indeed a beautiful model, but personally, I would have preferred one of the three birds I mentioned, or the Visayan warty pig, or Reeves’s muntjac. And it just occurred to me that we still don’t have the fishing cat in the game. The fishing cat is a fascinating feline species, and along with the serval, Geoffroy’s cat, and rusty-spotted cat, it’s one of the few remaining small cats that I think are essential to have in the game.

So to sum it up:
On one hand, the Asia Pack brought an amazing five animals I was hoping for. But on the other hand, the remaining three picks were quite disappointing to me.

 

[NachoB]

Hi everyone,
I’d like to share my thoughts on the Asia Pack. I’m really happy that we got five animals I personally wished for in the game: honey badger, blackbuck, nilgai, Père David’s deer, and the lion-tailed macaque.

I'm especially glad we finally have the honey badger. Even though it does live in parts of Asia, I personally associate it more with Africa, so I see it fitting better in African sections. Still, I’m very happy it's in the game – the model looks great!

Blackbuck and nilgai are also fantastic additions. It's great to finally have more ungulates that can be kept together with the Indian rhinoceros. The blackbuck has been highly requested for a long time, so it’s amazing to finally see it in the game.

I’m also really grateful for Père David’s deer – not only is the model beautiful, but it also carries an important conservation message. Again, this has been a highly requested species.

As for the lion-tailed macaque, I absolutely love it. The model is beautiful and realistic, and I think it fits Asian, tropical or primate house much better than the proboscis monkey, which according to Zootierliste is only kept in 14 Asian zoos and nowhere else in the world. In contrast, the lion-tailed macaque is kept in many zoos worldwide, making it a more versatile choice for realistic zoo builds.

Now for the less happy part of the pack:

While the Japanese raccoon dog (or tanuki) has a very well-made and detailed model, according to Zootierliste it's only kept in one zoo in Europe (Germany) and otherwise only in Japan and two other zoos in Asia. The same issue applies to the Bornean elephant. Again, the model is beautiful – in fact, I’d say it’s the best-looking elephant in the game and clearly more detailed than the Indian elephant. But it's a very rarely kept subspecies of the Asian elephant. Based on Zootierliste, it’s found in only two European zoos, one American zoo (Oregon Zoo), one Japanese, and one Malaysian zoo. So while I admire the quality of the model, I feel disappointed that we got another elephant subspecies instead of something more widely kept.

In my opinion, I would have replaced the Japanese raccoon dog with either the Visayan warty pig or Reeves’s muntjac. The Visayan warty pig is the last pig species missing from the game (since peccaries are in a separate group, and both species are still missing – especially the Chacoan peccary, which also has a strong conservation story). Staying in Asia, the Visayan warty pig is critically endangered and has important conservation value, plus it’s often kept in zoos and can even be housed with the Indian rhino.

Reeves’s muntjac is also a highly requested species. It works well in habitats with red pandas, Indian rhinos, and others. It’s a much-needed small deer species, along with the southern pudu from South America.

As for the Bornean elephant, I would have preferred an Asian bird instead – such as the Mandarin duck, sarus crane, or golden pheasant. It’s a real shame that none of these three made it into the game.

The butterfly we received as a free update animal is indeed a beautiful model, but personally, I would have preferred one of the three birds I mentioned, or the Visayan warty pig, or Reeves’s muntjac. And it just occurred to me that we still don’t have the fishing cat in the game. The fishing cat is a fascinating feline species, and along with the serval, Geoffroy’s cat, and rusty-spotted cat, it’s one of the few remaining small cats that I think are essential to have in the game.

So to sum it up:
On one hand, the Asia Pack brought an amazing five animals I was hoping for. But on the other hand, the remaining three picks were quite disappointing to me.

I mostly agree. I'm also with you on the two animals i would trade... But there are a lot of tanuki fans so it does have its following and therefor its place in the game... And maybe the inland raccoon dog is more common in captivity idk. I would have also prefered a fishing a cat though. Or a bird.

The elephant is one of the worst animal picks in the game. No need for it. Yes, it is an upgrade in model and textures from the indian elephant, but not in such a way that justify it's addition... And the indian elephant is still more visually appealling since is more colorful and has much more interesting face markinga.

And since this is the bird thread i'm with you that the last one or two spots in this pack should've been for golden pheasant (or any pheasant really) and the mandarin duck. A second crane would've been decent (damoiselle at least, sarus is not as interesting to me tbh) or even better a stork! Painted storks are so beautifil and would be great for mixed exhibtis and adjutants are so cool looking and are endangered so also a good pick. Even a junglefowl was an option. So yeah tons of bird options and they go with a third (unnecessary) elephant subpopulation (not even subspecies). It is kind of infurating tbh.

 

[SuzieSky]

Tomorrow we get the Asia Animal Pack! So it begs the question - weekly community poll - what are YOUR thoughts about the upcoming DLC??

Besides the lack of my beloved birds, I'm just a little idk...confused? I thought Americas was pretty solid, even with the rhea issues and hyper specific scenery. But it seems like this is the more favored of the packs this year, and I'm kinda confused to why? (And I would genuinely like to hear from those who prefer over Americas)

We babble on for months we tried of hoofstock, but now everyone is going bananas for TWO antelope and a deer?
Americas got so much flack for more canids, but we're lapping up the tanuki like Honey Nut Cheerios.
The flamingo got a wag of the finger for being a clone, but the elephant...actually I'm not even gonna touch that.
I don't get it!!

I'm a little disappointed that they went with an Asian theme instead of a South Asian theme because East Asia could still use its own pack right now. I think a fishing cat, bird, and perhaps another ungulate or monkey could have worked instead of the elephant, raccoon dog, and deer, and the latter two could have come in an East Asia DLC with the monkey, alligator, ornamental birds, and muntjac. As it is, the absence of the golden pheasant and especially the Mandarin duck is nearly as baffling as the inclusion of the elephant subspecies. Otherwise, I think this pack is very solid. Raccoon dogs are adorable, and I appreciate the meme status and impressive range of the honey badger. Both look pretty good to me. The deer isn't one I was excited about, but they look fantastic and are great for Chinese zoos. Most people, including me, wanted a monkey and a blackbuck for a proper India section, and we weren't disappointed. For the companion ungulate to the blackbuck, I'm happy they went with one of the most popular and unique options in the nilgai. Most of the animal choices are great and useful, and the scenery is neat. With the available options, they selected some good animals.

For the Americas pack, I was thrilled they finally decided to majorly revisit a region I've been begging to get more animals from. The animals from that pack are way more common in my local zoos, and I do like it better than the Asia pack. I was thrilled about the ocelot, thought two birds in one pack was pretty good, and was happy to finally get another North American endemic animal. However, they basically ignored the wishlist for that pack, and the scenery was relatively bad. My happiness about the neotropical animals was mixed with crushing disappointment that they skipped my beloved, top-ten tamarins and local star American black bear for what I see as inferior choices. Also, many people were begging for a coati. When they skip all of the most requested animals, nearly everyone, especially in this community, is likely to be disappointed. The theme of this pack is strong enough for me to like it better than the Asia pack, but I'm still a bit sad.

 

[TheDuckKnight]

Hey all! No new votes in a while and the game is still in this unfortunate limbo state, so let's brighten things up!

Weekly community poll - Since PZ's idk "senior phase" we'll call it (second weekly community poll - think of a better name for these last two years), starting in 2024, which of the three has been your favorite bird?

It might surprise some but the Sussex chicken is not just my favorite bird of this era, but is indeed my favorite animal in-game. Why yes, I am a weirdo!

What about YOU?

 

[SanRazo]

Hey all! No new votes in a while and the game is still in this unfortunate limbo state, so let's brighten things up!

Weekly community poll - Since PZ's idk "senior phase" we'll call it (second weekly community poll - think of a better name for these last two years), starting in 2024, which of the three has been your favorite bird?

View attachment 434870

It might surprise some but the Sussex chicken is not just my favorite bird of this era, but is indeed my favorite animal in-game. Why yes, I am a weirdo!

What about YOU?

I think out of these three imma go chicken as well. Favorite overall though is swan

 

[NachoB]

Hey all! No new votes in a while and the game is still in this unfortunate limbo state, so let's brighten things up!

Weekly community poll - Since PZ's idk "senior phase" we'll call it (second weekly community poll - think of a better name for these last two years), starting in 2024, which of the three has been your favorite bird?

View attachment 434870

It might surprise some but the Sussex chicken is not just my favorite bird of this era, but is indeed my favorite animal in-game. Why yes, I am a weirdo!

What about YOU?

I mean... I have to say the rhea... I'm just dissapointed with the excecution of it but it was probably my most wanted bird for a long time

Chickens are funny though

 

[Marvinb]

Hey all! No new votes in a while and the game is still in this unfortunate limbo state, so let's brighten things up!

Weekly community poll - Since PZ's idk "senior phase" we'll call it (second weekly community poll - think of a better name for these last two years), starting in 2024, which of the three has been your favorite bird?

View attachment 434870

It might surprise some but the Sussex chicken is not just my favorite bird of this era, but is indeed my favorite animal in-game. Why yes, I am a weirdo!

What about YOU?

Honestly also the chicken.
The other two are fine in their own right, but they are both similar to near identical to existing animals so these never really super exciting additons, and the rhea having a subpar model doesnt help either