Aviary

{{Short description|Large enclosure for confining birds}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Other uses|Aviary (disambiguation)}} thumb|upright|Home aviary, Néthen, Belgium, non-commercial wooden construction

An '''aviary''' is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as '''flight cages''' in the United Kingdom. Aviaries often contain plants and shrubbery to simulate a natural environment.

==Various types of aviary== Large aviaries are often found in zoological gardens (for example, the London Zoo, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the San Diego Zoo). Walk-in aviaries also exist in bird parks, including the spacious Bird Paradise in Singapore, or the smaller Edward Youde Aviary in Hong Kong. Pittsburgh is home to the USA's National Aviary, perhaps the most prominent example in North America of an aviary not set inside a zoo. However, the oldest public aviary not set inside a zoo in North America, the Hamilton Aviary is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Tracy Aviary is an example of a bird park within a public urban park, Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.<ref>[http://www.tracyaviary.org/about/history.php Tracy Aviary History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011060819/http://www.tracyaviary.org/about/history.php |date=11 October 2008 }} retrieved on 7 December 2008.</ref> Some smaller sized aviaries can often be found in European manorial gardens, such as Waddesdon Manor, UK, and Versailles, France. Some public aquaria, such as the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, or the Monterey Bay Aquarium, have aquatic aviaries.<ref name="Birds">[http://www.aquarium.org/exhibitsBirds.asp?sid=2 Birds] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219115725/http://www.aquarium.org/exhibitsBirds.asp?sid=2 |date=19 February 2009 }}, [http://www.aquarium.org/ Oregon Coast Aquarium's official website], retrieved on 3 February 2007.</ref><ref name="Sandy Shores">[http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/sandy.asp Sandy Shores] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212155628/http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/sandy.asp |date=12 February 2009 }}, [http://www.mbayaq.org/ Monterey Bay Aquarium's official website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214235655/http://www.mbayaq.org/ |date=14 February 2009 }}, retrieved on 3 February 2007.</ref>

Home aviaries are popular with some bird fanciers who have the space for them. Many bird breeders refer to their setups as "aviaries", since most bird pairs breed better there than in breeding ''cages''. Home aviaries may be built by the owner or obtained from a commercial supplier.

There are two main subcategories of home aviaries: grounded aviaries and suspended aviaries. Grounded aviaries have a concrete base to keep out rats and other vermin. Suspended aviaries are elevated with only the 'legs' of the aviaries affixed to the ground, eliminating the need for a protective base. Most grounded aviaries typically feature a woodwork or PVC frame unlike the metal frame of public aviaries; however, it isn't uncommon for suspended aviaries to feature a metal frame. Aviaries are also used for research purposes in ornithology institutes.

== History ==

=== Early modern origins === Aviaries date back to at least the 1500s, possibly earlier, as found in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan as noted by Hernán Cortés when he and his men arrived in 1521. Also the ''Raven Cage'' (created in 1829), is regarded as one of the oldest structures in the London Zoo.<ref name="ZSL-architecture" /> [[File:A Bali Starling or Rothschild Mynah at the Waddesdon Aviary.jpg|thumb|The Bali Myna, otherwise known as the Rothschild Myna, is one of the seven EAZA species at Waddesdon Manor's Aviary in Buckinghamshire, UK.]]

=== Victorian revival === [[File:Military aviary2.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Proposed architectural design for a French military aviary to house swallows as messenger birds, based upon a scheme by Jean Desbouvrie, 1889]]The first large aviary inside a zoological garden was established in 1880 in the setting of the Rotterdam Zoo. Aviaries were an important aspect for the many Rothschild houses that proliferated across Europe in the 19th century. This revived a late 1600s aristocratic custom, where the elite displayed power, status and wealth by exhibiting exotic birds and animals. For instance, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild built his aviary in 1889 at Waddesdon Manor, UK, erected in the style of Versailles' trelliswork pavilions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://waddesdon.org.uk/your-visit/grounds/aviary/|title=The Aviary at Waddesdon Manor|access-date=23 November 2018}}</ref>

=== 20th century to modern day === In 1902, a flying cage was completed in the setting of the National Zoological Park of the Smithsonian Institution. A new ''Great Flying Cage'' was built in 1964.<ref>[http://siarchives.si.edu/findingaids/faru0074.htm National Zoological Park, Records, 1887–1966], Smithsonian Institution Archives.</ref>

The Saint Louis Zoo is home to the 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage. It is one of only two permanent structures built for the World's Fair which still remain (the other is the Saint Louis Art Museum's Cass Gilbert building). In 1904, it was the largest bird cage ever built. It remains one of the world's largest free-flight aviaries. The {{convert|228|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} long, {{convert|84|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} wide, and {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} high cage was built by the Smithsonian Institution specifically for the St. Louis World's Fair. Local pride in the giant cage motivated St. Louis to finally establish a zoo in 1910.

In 1937, the San Diego Zoo's aviary designed by architect Louis John Gill opened; it was then the largest in the world. The mammoth steel structure, {{convert|180|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} long, {{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} wide and more than {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} high, funded by the Works Progress Administration at a cost of $50,000, had no beams, cross or guy-wires to impede the flight of the birds.<ref>"Giant Zoo Cage to be Dedicated by Eagles Soon," ''San Diego Union'', 21 February 1937.</ref><ref>[https://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/84summer/gill.htm San Diego Historical Society]</ref>

With the Antwerp cage system (1948), birds are only separate from public with a light system used indoor the ''Bird Building'' at Antwerp Zoo.<ref>"European zoos", ''Life'', Vol. 25, No. 23, 6 December 1948.</ref>

At the Frankfurt Zoo, the bird house was built in 1969. Its ''Bird Halls'' presented birds for the first time in large glassed miniature habitats. In diving exhibits, darters and kingfishers could be seen hunting under water, and in the free-flight hall visitors still walk amongst tropical birds in dense vegetation.<ref name="Frankfurt">Petzold, Dirk, "Zoologischer Garten Frankfurt am Main", in ''Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos'', Bell, Catharine E. (ed.), Fitzroy Dearborn, Chicago, 2001, Vol.3, pp.1452–1457. {{ISBN|1-57958-174-9}}; <br>Scherpner, Christian, "Walk-through Bird aviaries at Frankfurt Zoo", ''International Zoo Yearbook'', Vol. 5, No. 1, 1965, pp. 244–246.</ref> In 1963, the same principle was used outdoors to construct the ''Bird Thicket'', ten aviaries surrounded by dense bushes and designed in various habitat settings, which visitors can enter through wire netted doors and curtains of cords.<ref name="Frankfurt" />

The ''Snowdon Aviary'' in London Zoo was designed by Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, Cedric Price and Frank Newby, and built in 1962–1964.<ref name="ZSL-architecture">[http://www.zsl.org/info/about-us/zoo-architecture,103,AR.html ZSL Architecture]{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228070202/http://www.zsl.org/info/about-us/zoo-architecture%2C103%2CAR.html |date=28 February 2008 }}, ZSL, retrieved on 3 June 2008.</ref>

The Bronx Zoo's ''World of Birds'', a two-story bird house completed in 1972, is a huge, landscaped, indoor free-flight exhibit. The one-way flow pattern in the exhibit moves the visitors through twenty-five birds habitats, ranging from desert to tropical forest. Each setting recreates with impressive fidelity the microculture of the birds that fly merrily about within their diorama world, complete with living plants. Five of the aviaries are completely open: in two of the largest the uncaged public walks through the habitat with birds freely overhead.<ref>Kidder Smith, G. E., ''Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present'', Princeton Architectural Press, Princeton, 2000, p.376. {{ISBN|1-56898-254-2}}</ref>

The Henry Doorly Zoo's ''Simmons Aviary'' opened in 1983 and is one of the world's largest free-flight aviaries. About 500 birds from all parts of the world occupy the area of the aviary. In this {{convert|4|acre|m2|adj=on|order=flip}} exhibit, visitors see flamingos, ducks, swans, storks, cranes, spoonbills, ibis and egrets. The Aviary is {{convert|800|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} long and rises to {{convert|75|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} at the center. The structure of two-inch nylon mesh is supported by a system of cables and poles. The use of nylon instead of wire is a unique concept.<ref>[http://www.omahazoo.com/index.php?p=animalsexhibits&s=aviary Henry Doorly Zoo's Aviary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223073826/http://www.omahazoo.com/index.php?p=animalsexhibits&s=aviary |date=23 December 2008 }} retrieved on 27 November 2008.</ref>

Birds of Eden bird sanctuary, located in the Western Cape of South Africa, is possibly the largest free flight aviary in the world. The aviary opened in 2005 and covers an area of {{convert|21761|m2|foot2|abbr=on}} with a total volume of {{convert|375372|m3|foot3|abbr=on}}. It is home to around 3,000 individual birds from 200 species.

==List of public aviaries== {{Expand list|date=October 2011}} {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Name !! Location !! data-sort-type=number | Size |- | Bali Bird Park || Bali, Indonesia {{flag icon|Indonesia}} || 20,000 m² |- | Bioparco di Roma || Rome, Italy {{flag icon|Italy}} || 725 m²<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voliera: scopri tutti gli uccelli della Grande voliera del Bioparco! |url=https://www.bioparco.it/la-grande-voliera/ |access-date=28 May 2025 |website=Bioparco di Roma |language=it-IT}}</ref> |- | Bird Garden of Isfahan || Isfahan, Iran {{flag icon|Iran}} || 17,000 m² |- | Bird Kingdom || Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada {{flag icon|Canada}} || 4,200 m² |- | Bird Paradise || Mandai, Singapore {{flag icon|Singapore}} || 170,000 m² |- | Birds of Eden || Western Cape, South Africa {{flag icon|South Africa}} || 23,000 m² |- | Bloedel Floral Conservatory || Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada {{flag icon|Canada}} || 1,450 m² |- | Chai Nat Bird Park || Chai Nat province, Thailand {{flag icon|Thailand }} || 38,500 m²<ref>{{Cite web |last=webmaster@thaiticketmajor.com |title=Chainat Bird Park: An Exotic Experience Inside The Largest Aviary in Asia |url=http://www.thaiticketmajor.com/Travel-News/Chainat-Bird-Park:-An-Exotic-Experience-Inside-The-Largest-Aviary-in-Asia-2002-en.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110114332/http://www.thaiticketmajor.com/Travel-News/Chainat-Bird-Park:-An-Exotic-Experience-Inside-The-Largest-Aviary-in-Asia-2002-en.html |archive-date=10 November 2016 |access-date=29 May 2025 |website=ThaiTicketMajor}}</ref> |- | Clissold Park || Hackney, United Kingdom {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} || 54 m² |- | Edward Youde Aviary || Hong Kong, China {{flag icon|China}} || 3,000 m² |- | Flamingo Gardens || Davie, Florida, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || 2,300 m² |- | Flying High Bird Sanctuary || Apple Tree Creek, Australia {{flag icon|Australia}} || 8,100 m² |- | Great South American Aviary|| Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France {{flag icon|France}} || |- | Hamilton Aviary || Hamilton, Ontario, Canada {{flag icon|Canada}} || |- | Karanji Lake Aviary || Mysuru, India {{flag icon|India}} || 2,400 m² |- | Kobe Kachoen || Kobe, Japan {{flag icon|Japan}} || |- | Kuala Lumpur Bird Park || Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia {{flag icon|Malaysia}} || 85,000 m² |- | Lake View Bird Park || Islamabad, Pakistan {{flag icon|Pakistan}} || |- | Les Aigles du Léman || Sciez, France {{flag icon|France}} || |- |Loro Parque |Tenerife, Spain {{Flag icon|Spain}} | |- | Melaka Bird Park || Melaka, Malaysia {{flag icon|Malaysia}} || 20,200 m² |- | National Aviary || Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || |- | The Nest || Ixtapaluca, Mexico {{flag icon|Mexico }} || 70,000 m² |- |Olching Bird Park |Olching, Germany {{Flag icon|Germany}} |20,000 m² |- | Palmitos Park || Canary Islands, Spain {{flag icon|Spain}} || |- | Parque das Aves || Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil {{flag icon|Brazil}} || 160,000 m² |- | Saint Louis Zoo || St Louis, Missouri, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || 1,794 m² |- | Shuka Vana || Mysuru, Karnataka, India {{flag icon|India}} || |- | Simmons Aviary || Omaha, Nebraska, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || 16,000 m² |- | Tracy Aviary || Salt Lake City, Utah, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || 32,000 m² |- | Turtle Back Zoo || New Jersey, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || |- |Vogelpark Avifauna |Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands {{Flag icon|Netherlands}} |150,000 m² |- |Vogelpark Turnersee |St. Kanzian am Klopeiner See, Carinthia, Austria {{Flag icon|Austria}} |20,000 m² |- | Voliere Zürich || Enge, Zürich, Switzerland {{flag icon|Switzerland}} || |- | Waddesdon Manor's [https://waddesdon.org.uk/your-visit/grounds/aviary/ Aviary] || Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} || |- | Weltvogelpark Walsrode || Walsrode, Germany {{flag icon|Germany}} || 240,000 m² |- | Wings of Asia|| Miami Metro Zoo, Florida, United States {{flag icon|United States}} || 5,017 m² |- | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park || Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa {{flag icon|South Africa}} || 40,000 m² |}

===Former aviaries===

* Aviary — Lynchburg, Virginia, United States {{flag icon|United States }} * Alfa Planetarium — Nuevo León, Mexico {{flag icon|Mexico}} * Catalina Bird Park — Catalina Island, United States {{flag icon|United States }} * Leeds Castle — Leeds, United Kingdom {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} * Living Coasts — Torquay, Devon, United Kingdom {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} * Snowdon Aviary — London, United Kingdom {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} * Jurong Bird Park — Singapore {{flag icon|Singapore}} * Varro's Aviary — Italy (ancient) * Vogelpark Kahl — Kahl am Main, Germany {{Flag icon|Germany}}

== Gallery == <gallery> File:1904 Flight Cage.JPG|1904 Flight Cage<br />St. Louis Zoo File:Snowdon Aviary at London Zoo-30April2005.jpg|The Snowdon Aviary in London Zoo File:Voliere Schoenbrunn.jpg|Aviary in the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria File:Vulier.JPG|Aviary in a farm of Concorezzo, Italy File:Aviary at Waddesdon Manor.jpg|The Victorian Aviary at Waddesdon Manor, a National Trust property in Buckinghamshire, 1889 </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} {{EB1911 poster|Aviary}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prsXzDCRh-w Waddesdon Manor's Aviary, YouTube video] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060703051625/http://www.stlzoo.org/yourvisit/thingstoseeanddo/historichill/1904flightcage.htm 1904 Flight Cage] * [http://www.oac.cdlib.org/affiliates/images/csdhi/kt0290182t/hi-res/11499.jpg 1926 Scripps Aviary, San Diego Zoo] * [http://www.birdsofeden.co.za Birds of Eden], a {{convert|2.176|ha|m2}} aviary in South Africa * [https://tracyaviary.org/ Tracy Aviary] * [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73801 My pets: Real happenings in my aviary] (1908). [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1041 Marshall Saunders]

{{Zoos}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Aviaries Category:Buildings and structures used to confine animals Category:Bird parks