There are entire threads on deer and waterfowl, so I thought I'd make one for these guys so they can hopefully gain more traction. These are some of my favorite animals in zoos, but they're pretty much absent in game barring the penguin and ostrich, which fill completely unique niches of their own. I feel like this is one of the major holes in Africa's otherwise relatively well-off roster, with only the secretary bird gaining any major traction when put up against its mammalian competitors, and that species alone - while understandably a fan favorite and a great one to have - is only scratching the surface of what we could get.
In short, I like the Afrotropics, and I like birds (wowie what a shocker). Here are some animals that fit both of those categories that I think really outta be in-game:
Ground Hornbills
Unfortunately, the odds are probably stacked against these guys due to how unique - and I'd imagine hard to make they are - but man they'd be an incredible addition. I've heard of and seen them myself in open-topped enclosures, often mixed with ungulates like sitatunga, okapi, white rhinos, zebras, and giraffes, as well as other birds like the saddle-billed stork. My local zoo back home keeps a super playful pair by themselves in what used to a maned wolf habitat. There's the southern ground hornbill (163 Holdings), and the Abyssinian/northern ground hornbill (76) holdings. I'd prefer the southern due to how much more common it is, but I certainly wouldn't say no to either or even both if a second was, say, used to pad out a PZ2 base game's roster or something, since they cover very different parts of the continent.
Grey Crowned Crane (233 Holdings for the East African subspecies alone)
This is my own nostalgia bias speaking (though that holding number is fantastic), but I've always viewed these guys as the zoo bird, along with Victoria crowned pigeons and Indian peafowl. I just have fond memories of them, but putting all that aside they'd be a phenomenal addition to the game. Like many of the other birds I'm mentioning, they can be mixed with each other as well as various hoofstock, or do fine on their own. Honestly, I shouldn't even have to argue too much for them, they're absolutely gorgeous and so iconic to the point where I'm a bit surprised they aren't discussed more overall compared to other birds or even mammals from the same region - though again I'm pretty biased towards them lol.
Saddle-Billed Stork (52 Holdings)
Obligatory mention of the crazy
mixed exhibit potential, but I've also seen these guys solo plenty of times. I remember Disney's Animal Kingdom had one of them on their own in the final habitat you ride through on Kilimanjaro Safaris (in the exhibit which later held scimitar-horned oryx and now domestic goats), so they certainly stand out.
Marabou Stork (196 Holdings)
Big bald guy, love him. Super common, super unique, and once again mixed with a variety of species as long as they're big enough not to get eaten. I'd love to make a big ol' African wetlands habitat with these guys, buffalo, and lechwe.
Kori Bustard (17 Holdings)
It's nowhere near the most common animal, but I also wouldn't call it a bad pick. They're very unique and are super fun to watch from the few times I've seen them IRL.
Last, but certainly not least, is my savior, the Helmeted Guineafowl (253 holdings for non-subspecific status). The things I would do for this stupid looking creature... I love them so much. They can be in an exhibit on their own, or mixed with a variety of other birds, ungulates or even elephants, and can be put in sections ranging from bird areas, African areas, or even domestic sections. I'd love to have groups of these guys spicing up my savanna habitats with some feathers, especially if we end up with better herding/flocking behavior someday. Also, oh my god they are so cute, please Frontier I need my little savanna chickens to mix with my elephants.
Hello?? Look at these little orbs??
Okay, maybe the helmeted isn't last, since I might as well mention the vulturine guineafowl (144 holdings). It's not as common (by guineafowl standards, it's still very common in the grand scheme of things), but I think it's unique enough to stand on its own, and the two species are even mixed sometimes IRL.
I won't go over waterfowl too much since there's already a wonderful thread for them here (though they're still very welcome in this thread too as long as they range into Africa), but I do want to shout out the Egyptian goose, the African pygmy goose, and of course, the white-faced whistling duck.
Anyways thanks for coming to my TedTalk. Sorry if this is unorganized as hell, I'm working on some other stuff rn and got distracted to bird post on the internet.
In short, I like the Afrotropics, and I like birds (wowie what a shocker). Here are some animals that fit both of those categories that I think really outta be in-game:
Ground Hornbills
Unfortunately, the odds are probably stacked against these guys due to how unique - and I'd imagine hard to make they are - but man they'd be an incredible addition. I've heard of and seen them myself in open-topped enclosures, often mixed with ungulates like sitatunga, okapi, white rhinos, zebras, and giraffes, as well as other birds like the saddle-billed stork. My local zoo back home keeps a super playful pair by themselves in what used to a maned wolf habitat. There's the southern ground hornbill (163 Holdings), and the Abyssinian/northern ground hornbill (76) holdings. I'd prefer the southern due to how much more common it is, but I certainly wouldn't say no to either or even both if a second was, say, used to pad out a PZ2 base game's roster or something, since they cover very different parts of the continent.
Grey Crowned Crane (233 Holdings for the East African subspecies alone)
This is my own nostalgia bias speaking (though that holding number is fantastic), but I've always viewed these guys as the zoo bird, along with Victoria crowned pigeons and Indian peafowl. I just have fond memories of them, but putting all that aside they'd be a phenomenal addition to the game. Like many of the other birds I'm mentioning, they can be mixed with each other as well as various hoofstock, or do fine on their own. Honestly, I shouldn't even have to argue too much for them, they're absolutely gorgeous and so iconic to the point where I'm a bit surprised they aren't discussed more overall compared to other birds or even mammals from the same region - though again I'm pretty biased towards them lol.
Saddle-Billed Stork (52 Holdings)
Obligatory mention of the crazy
mixed exhibit potential, but I've also seen these guys solo plenty of times. I remember Disney's Animal Kingdom had one of them on their own in the final habitat you ride through on Kilimanjaro Safaris (in the exhibit which later held scimitar-horned oryx and now domestic goats), so they certainly stand out.Marabou Stork (196 Holdings)
Big bald guy, love him. Super common, super unique, and once again mixed with a variety of species as long as they're big enough not to get eaten. I'd love to make a big ol' African wetlands habitat with these guys, buffalo, and lechwe.
Kori Bustard (17 Holdings)
It's nowhere near the most common animal, but I also wouldn't call it a bad pick. They're very unique and are super fun to watch from the few times I've seen them IRL.
Last, but certainly not least, is my savior, the Helmeted Guineafowl (253 holdings for non-subspecific status). The things I would do for this stupid looking creature... I love them so much. They can be in an exhibit on their own, or mixed with a variety of other birds, ungulates or even elephants, and can be put in sections ranging from bird areas, African areas, or even domestic sections. I'd love to have groups of these guys spicing up my savanna habitats with some feathers, especially if we end up with better herding/flocking behavior someday. Also, oh my god they are so cute, please Frontier I need my little savanna chickens to mix with my elephants.
Hello?? Look at these little orbs??
Okay, maybe the helmeted isn't last, since I might as well mention the vulturine guineafowl (144 holdings). It's not as common (by guineafowl standards, it's still very common in the grand scheme of things), but I think it's unique enough to stand on its own, and the two species are even mixed sometimes IRL.
I won't go over waterfowl too much since there's already a wonderful thread for them here (though they're still very welcome in this thread too as long as they range into Africa), but I do want to shout out the Egyptian goose, the African pygmy goose, and of course, the white-faced whistling duck.
Anyways thanks for coming to my TedTalk. Sorry if this is unorganized as hell, I'm working on some other stuff rn and got distracted to bird post on the internet.
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