Choosing the first walkthrough aviary bird/birds for Planet Zoo

[Cynogale bennettii II]

The introduction of walkthrough aviaries to Planet Zoo has increased the hopes of many that flying birds will come to the game in some form. However, from what we have seen of the walkthrough aviaries, they either get a single species (fruit bat and sloth) or multiple species of an easy reskin (butterflies). So I have decided to make this thread to try and work out what could be a good workable first flying bird, or flying birds, to add to the game.

If choosing a single species, there are many things to consider.

Firstly, there is recognisability – I imagine quite a few people wouldn’t be best pleased if our first flying bird was some obscure Amazonian songbird that only the hardcore ornithologist has ever heard of before.​

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Second, ubiquity – are the birds commonly-kept in zoos, and is there anywhere that they are rare or absent in captivity? If people from part of the world cannot see these birds in their local zoos, they may not be as interested.​

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Third – activity. Smaller flittering birds will make it more obvious that animations are looped within the walkthrough exhibit, but equally some birds have such low activity levels when kept in zoos that they would essentially be static. There are species for which a happy medium could exist.​

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Fourth – size. The bigger the bird, the smaller the aviary will appear to it. Equally, tiny birds would be easier to lose in such a large aviary. A happy medium would be a medium-sized bird, which can be kept in a group.​

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Fifth – walkthrough suitability. The walkthrough exhibit is 12 x 20m in dimensions, with a large path running right through the middle of it. Some larger birds, even though they can be kept in walkthrough displays, could be potentially aggressive towards visitors in such a confined space. Were the exhibits not walkthrough, there would probably be more in the way of options.​

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Sixth – sociality. The walkthrough will look better if a number of birds can be kept in it. It would not be great to have only a singleton or pair of birds able to use such a space, but equally a massive flock of tiny birds would be difficult to animate.​

There are also some other considerations, but they are not as important as the first four. I will include them here as a means of further deciding what would make the best bird.

The first of these less important considerations – beauty. This is entirely subjective. What is beautiful to one person may be garish or even ugly to another (I, for instance, think that certain vultures and seagulls can be beautiful although I’m sure not many will agree).​

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Second, call. Again, this is a subjective thing. Some players might enjoy the screeching of parrots while others would find it irritating. The options range from the full songs of smaller songbirds, through more simply calling birds to the many birds, such as many birds of prey, that are practically mute.​

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Third, rarity. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that conservation status is not the most important consideration when animals are being made for Planet Zoo. However, being able to communicate the role that zoos can play in conserving birds would still be a good thing.​

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Fourth – range and biome. A bird that occupies only a tiny wild range can be seen as either a positive or a negative. Equally, a bird that uses many different in-game biomes may have great utility, but some would prefer a greater number of similar birds that each use a different biome.​

For a multiple species set, not only do all the above criteria apply, but they also need to be pretty much identical in base appearance. And so I have chosen, where possible, birds that share the same genus that are of pretty much equal sizes to each other. The only differences would be in plumage colour and possibly call.

One thing I am noting here – I am not making this with any plans for mixed-species aviaries. Although they are very much possible, it is often recommended in zoos that any birds you want to breed are kept solely with their own species. Some familiar birds are actually highly predatory to other birds and their eggs or chicks (toucans, hornbills, corvids, woodpeckers and mynas), while others are either destructive or aggressive when they are themselves nesting (parrots especially fall in here). So for now, I am choosing birds with the assumption that they will be kept alone.

I have decided to make a chart to rank these things for several species or species groups of birds, in order to determine which birds could be an ideal first option. Each category has a score of up to 5, so each bird will get a score out of 50. This is the key for the scoring, ranging from 5 (highest) to 1 (lowest):

1. Recognisability

5. Instantly recognisable​

4. Fairly well-known, even if not instantly recognisable​

3. Recognisable to group, not to species​

2. Recognisable by birders, but not by laypersons​

1. Very obscure​

2. Ubiquity

5. Kept on all major zoo continents, and commonly-kept​

4. Kept on all major zoo continents, but patchily distributed​

3. Kept on some or all major zoo continents, but not common anywhere​

2. Kept in only a handful of zoos (<10 globally, or <15 but only in range country)​

1. Not kept in captivity​

3. Activity

5. Goes between stationary and some movement, either with direct flight or by climbing/running​

4. Often makes short direct flights rather than flying loops of the exhibit​

3. Mostly stationary​

2. Lots of flying movement, mainly on loops of the aviary​

1. Very active, moving a lot from perch-to-perch with rapid movements​

4. Size

5. 40-60cm (roughly the length of a meerkat)​

4. 60cm-1m​

3. 20-40cm​

2. 1m or longer​

1. Shorter than 20cm​

5. Walkthrough suitability

5. Friendly towards people, can be fed by the public​

4. Indifferent towards people​

3. Shy towards people, but not to the point where breeding would fail​

2. Aggressive towards people when breeding​

1. Very shy or potentially aggressive​

6. Sociality

5. Lives and breeds in stable family groups​

4. Lives and breeds in groups, but with frequent squabbling​

3. Territorial when breeding, but social when not breeding​

2. Lives singly or in pairs​

1. Requires a large flock to be effective as a display​

7. Beauty

5. In your view, one of the most beautiful birds​

4. A bird you think would add welcome beauty to the game​

3. A bird that has appealing features​

2. Not stunning, but equally not dull or ugly​

1. A bird you personally find drab or boring​

8. Call

5. You find this call necessary to the zoo soundscape​

4. If you hear this bird calling, you will stop to listen to it​

3. Almost serves as a background noise​

2. Either not the most pleasant sound or mostly mute​

1. Hearing this bird frequently would spoil the game for you​

9. Rarity

5. Critically Endangered or Extinct in the Wild​

4. Endangered​

3. Vulnerable​

2. Near Threatened​

1. Least Concern, Data Deficient or Domesticated​

10. Range and biome

5. Occupies multiple continents and four or more biomes​

4. Occupies multiple continents and two to three biomes​

3. Occupies multiple continents and a single biome, or a single continent and three plus biomes​

2. Occupies a single continent and one or two biomes​

1. Very range-restricted and tied to a single specific habitat​

Below, I have included several examples, including five single-species inclusions and three multi-species selections. For these multi-species choices, I will mention their sizes and dimensions, ensuring that only colour and call are the things separating them (for instance if one of my bird choices had a crest while the others didn't, that would not be workable).

Golden conure, Guaruba guarouba

Recognisability - 4
Ubiquity - 4
Activity - 5
Size - 3
Walkthrough suitability - 5
Sociality - 5
Beauty - 5
Call - 3
Rarity - 3
Range and biome - 2

Total: 39 out of 50​

Common barn owl, Tyto alba

Recognisability - 5
Ubiquity - 5
Activity - 3
Size - 3
Walkthrough suitability - 4
Sociality - 3
Beauty - 3 to 4
Call - 2
Rarity - 1
Range and biome - 4
Total: 33 to 34 out of 50

Bali starling, Leucopsar rothschildi

Recognisability - 3
Ubiquity - 4
Activity - 1
Size - 3
Walkthrough suitability - 4
Sociality - 3
Beauty - 4
Call - 4
Rarity - 5
Range and biome - 2
Total: 33 out of 50

White-cheeked turaco, Tauraco leucotis

Recognisability - 3
Ubiquity - 4
Activity - 5
Size - 5
Walkthrough suitability - 4
Sociality - 2
Beauty - 4
Call - 3
Rarity - 1
Range and biome - 2
Total: out of 50

Andean condor, Vultur gryphus

Recognisability - 4 to 5
Ubiquity - 5
Activity - 3
Size - 2
Walkthrough suitability - 1
Sociality - 2
Beauty - 3
Call - 2
Rarity - 3
Range and biome - 2
Total: 27 to 28 out of 50

Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, olive-backed sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis and red-legged honeycreeper, Cyanerpes cyaneus

Similarity between species: All measure around 12-14cm, sunbirds are in different genera and honeycreeper is actually a tanager, but all are short-tailed, curve-billed birds with colour and song being the main difference

Recognisability - 3
Ubiquity - 3 (collectively)
Activity - 1
Size - 1
Walkthrough suitability - 4
Sociality - 2 (sunbirds) to 4 (honeycreeper)
Beauty - 4 (sunbirds) to 5 (honeycreeper)
Call - 3 (honeycreeper) to 4 (sunbirds)
Rarity - 1 (collectively)
Range and biome - 4 (collectively)
Total: 26 to 30 out of 50

Scarlet macaw, Ara macau, blue-throated macaw, Ara glaucogularis and military macaw, Ara militaris

Similarity between species: All measure between 70 – 85cm in length, all are in the same genus (Ara) and are otherwise differentiated by colour

Recognisability - 5
Ubiquity - 4 (blue-throated) to 5 (scarlet and military)
Activity - 5
Size - 4 (collectively)
Walkthrough suitability - 2
Sociality - 3
Beauty - 5 (collectively)
Call - 5
Rarity - 1 (scarlet), 3 (military) and 5 (blue-throated)
Range and biome - 4
Total: 38 to 43 out of 50

Acorn woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus and yellow-fronted woodpecker, Melanerpes flavifrons

Similarity between species: Both are around 18-21 cm, both are in the same genus (Melanerpes) and are mostly differentiated by colour

Recognisability - 4
Ubiquity - 2
Activity - 5
Size - 1 or 3 (ranges to either side of 20cm)
Walkthrough suitability - 1
Sociality - 5
Beauty - 3 (acorn) to 4 (yellow-fronted)
Call - 4
Rarity - 1 (collectively)
Range and biome - 5
Total: 31 to 34 out of 50

Here is the template for the scoring system, for anyone who wants to try it out themselves for their favoured birds.

Recognisability -
Ubiquity -
Activity -
Size -
Walkthrough suitability -
Sociality -
Beauty -
Call -
Rarity -
Range and biome -
Total: out of 50