Birds In Germany

Abstract

For Americans visiting German zoos, the question could easily be where not to go and what not to see. InAbenteuerZoo,aguidebooktozoosinGermany,Austria and Switzerland (Petzold & Sorge, 2007), 454 German collections of living animals are described to varying degrees, and another 175 are simply listed-a total of 629 zoos, aquariums, bird parks, nature centers, butterfly houses, city park aviaries, safari parks, etc.

I made my first trip to Germany, for thirteen days, in April and May 2008, in the company of my wife, Natalie, who had been there once ten years before. Among the nine zoos we visited, I'm sure I saw well over 800 species and subspecies of birds, perhaps closer to a thousand, of which at least 110 were birds I had never seen in captivity before.

Before discussing the birds I saw in each collection, I think it would be useful to share some observations:

Always carry some small change. In many, but not all zoos, the restrooms (for both sexes) are managed by middle-aged women wearing white smocks, who expect the equivalent of about 50 cents if one avails oneself of their facility. They usually have a dish with a sign sitting by the door, but often keep watch on the proceedings.

Zoos, especially the bigger ones, often have one or more restaurants that serve full-scale hot meals ( usually cafeteria style, but sometimes with wait-staff). Although one comes across things like the Mexican restaurant at Frankfurt, the food is often very German. I enjoyed it-especially the soused (brinecured) herring in "House Wife Sauce", which I had at both the zoos in Berlin.

Eggs (the kind you eat) have bright orange yolks. They feed the chickens canthaxanthin. (It used to be ground-up beets)

If you see the word "beer" in menus, it means "berries". The beer you drink is spelled "bier".

Dandelions are not considered an eyesore. Rather, they are enjoyed as ornaments on meadows and lawns.

Zoologischer Garten Frankfurt

It's around a nine-hour non-stop flight to Frankfurt-am-Main from Dallas, over Arctic Canada, the south coast of Greenland, the United Kingdom and Holland. One can take the subway from the airport to the zoo, with, if memory serves, one change of trains.

 At 101 species as of mid-2008, Frankfurt's bird collection is not comparatively large, but is very choice, and deservedly famous.

Established in 1858, and relocated to its present site in 1874, this 32-acre zoo is now surrounded by apartment buildings, churches and schools. During the Second World War, an antiaircraft battery was installed on the zoo grounds, with the result that four fifths of the zoo and nine tenths of the animal collection were destroyed by allied bombing. Under the brilliant postwar administration of Dr. Bernhard Grzimek, reconstruction featured beautifully designed exhibits.

Among these was the Bird House. Opened in 1961, and little altered since then, it features spacious planted aviaries, which have always contained a choice collection. Over the last four decades, the number of species hatched in this building is startling, distinguished by many first breedings. A display case at one of the entrances lists these accomplishments by the year they first occurred.

One species, which has been bred only at Frankfurt, is the Gray-headed Bald Crow (Picathartes oreas), first hatched there in 1971. One, hatched in 1984, is the last member of its genus alive outside of Africa. (The other species of Picathartes, P. gymnocephalus, the White-necked Bald Crow, was also first hatched in captivity at Frankfurt, in 1965. The last captive specimen of that species, also hatched in 1984, was hatched and died at the San Antonio Zoo).

While the last living Picathartes outside of Africa, sharing a very large display with a Congo Peacock, may take pride of place among the inhabitant's of Frankfurt's Bird House, it shares it with a very distinguished collection. African monarch flycatchers have always been rare in captivity, but Frankfurt has kept and bred Brown-throated Wattle-eyes (Platysteira cyanea) for years. In one of the specially designed aquarium-like displays for aquatic birds, is a Little Grebe, hatched at the Dresden Zoo. There are a number of species managed in European Zoo consortia, such as the Bali Mynahs (currently breeding), Montserrat Oriole, and the Grayson's or Soccorro Dove (for which the European Associaiton of Zoos and Aquariums...