Well for starters, just to make it clear, it's not that I don't want a bird pack. Not saying you meant that I was one of those people; but just to make that clear
But if people are then expecting a habitat bird system or an all non aviary bird pack with one bird in a walkthrough exhibit, the bird pack just goes further into the baseless speculation area for me, which is still fine; but that's a form of speculation I'm not really interested in myself.
True, I didn't mean you as one of those
I wouldn't consider it baseless though, at least not more than most other themes getting suggested these days. Most themes we as a community have gotten right have either been based on obvious missing mammals, continents, or leaks. This year we didn't have a lot of these things left to base our DLC speculation on, and the most echoed themes on the forum haven't been right, with the twilight pack being a bit on the edge.
A bird pack of some kind has been suggested since day one, and that alone makes it somewhat likely to me. Given that other strongly suggested packs have made it in like the continental packs and the endangered species pack in form of the conservation pack.
And given that some of the most highly requested mammals no longer are the typical ABC species, I think a lot of familiar faces to the public outside of this forum are among the birds now. More people would probably be able to recognize a pelican over a Tasmanian devil, or see the kiwi as a more unique inclusion to the game than another dog in form of the maned wolf.
A marine pack would require more work than a mostly habitat bird pack since there isn't much in the game already to base fully aquatic species on.
But we do have habitat birds already to make easy-to-do species from, even some popular ones like the emu.
Among birds, we also find fan favorites among those who played ZT2 like the secretary bird. And yes, they are most commonly kept in aviaries, but they will function fine without them in the game. And it is possible to build one if we like realism.
And while the bats don't promise birds in exhibits, it at least makes it a possibility.