Aviary

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title: "Aviary" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["aviaries", "aviculture", "buildings-and-structures-used-to-confine-animals", "bird-parks"] description: "Large enclosure for confining birds" topic_path: "general/aviaries" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviary" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Large enclosure for confining birds ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Aviary_Néthen.jpg" caption="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 the setting of a zoological garden (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. 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.

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. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/A_Bali_Starling_or_Rothschild_Mynah_at_the_Waddesdon_Aviary.jpg" caption="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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Military_aviary2.jpg" caption="access-date=23 November 2018}}"] ::

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.

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 228 ft long, 84 ft wide, and 50 ft 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, 180 ft long, 60 ft wide and more than 100 ft 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.

With the Antwerp cage system (1948), birds are only separate from public with a light system used indoor the Bird Building at Antwerp Zoo.

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.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. ;

Scherpner, Christian, "Walk-through Bird aviaries at Frankfurt Zoo", International Zoo Yearbook, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1965, pp. 244–246. 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.

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.

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.

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 4 acre exhibit, visitors see flamingos, ducks, swans, storks, cranes, spoonbills, ibis and egrets. The Aviary is 800 ft long and rises to 75 ft 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.

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 21761 m2 with a total volume of 375372 m3. It is home to around 3,000 individual birds from 200 species.

List of public aviaries

::data[format=table]

Name	Location	Size
Bali Bird Park	Bali, Indonesia Indonesia	20,000 m2
Bioparco di Roma	Rome, Italy Italy	725 m2
Bird Garden of Isfahan	Isfahan, Iran Iran	17,000 m2
Bird Kingdom	Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Canada	4,200 m2
Bird Paradise	Mandai, Singapore Singapore	170,000 m2
Birds of Eden	Western Cape, South Africa South Africa	23,000 m2
Bloedel Floral Conservatory	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Canada	1,450 m2
Chai Nat Bird Park	Chai Nat province, Thailand Thailand	38,500 m2
Clissold Park	Hackney, United Kingdom United Kingdom	54 m2
Edward Youde Aviary	Hong Kong, China China	3,000 m2
Flamingo Gardens	Davie, Florida, United States United States	2,300 m2
Flying High Bird Sanctuary	Apple Tree Creek, Australia Australia	8,100 m2
Great South American Aviary	Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France France
Hamilton Aviary	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Canada
Karanji Lake Aviary	Mysuru, India India	2,400 m2
Kobe Kachoen	Kobe, Japan Japan
Kuala Lumpur Bird Park	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia	85,000 m2
Lake View Bird Park	Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistan
Les Aigles du Léman	Sciez, France France
Loro Parque	Tenerife, Spain Spain
Melaka Bird Park	Melaka, Malaysia Malaysia	20,200 m2
National Aviary	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States United States
The Nest	Ixtapaluca, Mexico Mexico	70,000 m2
Olching Bird Park	Olching, Germany Germany	20,000 m2
Palmitos Park	Canary Islands, Spain Spain
Parque das Aves	Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil Brazil	160,000 m2
Saint Louis Zoo	St Louis, Missouri, United States United States	1,794 m2
Shuka Vana	Mysuru, Karnataka, India India
Simmons Aviary	Omaha, Nebraska, United States United States	16,000 m2
Tracy Aviary	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States United States	32,000 m2
Turtle Back Zoo	New Jersey, United States United States
Vogelpark Avifauna	Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands Netherlands	150,000 m2
Vogelpark Turnersee	St. Kanzian am Klopeiner See, Carinthia, Austria Austria	20,000 m2
Voliere Zürich	Enge, Zürich, Switzerland Switzerland
Waddesdon Manor's Aviary	Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom United Kingdom
Weltvogelpark Walsrode	Walsrode, Germany Germany	240,000 m2
Wings of Asia	Miami Metro Zoo, Florida, United States United States	5,017 m2
World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park	Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa South Africa	40,000 m2
::

Former aviaries

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

Gallery

File:1904 Flight Cage.JPG|1904 Flight Cage 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

References

References

1. [http://www.tracyaviary.org/about/history.php Tracy Aviary History] {{webarchive. link. (11 October 2008 retrieved on 7 December 2008.)
2. link. (19 February 2009 , [http://www.aquarium.org/ Oregon Coast Aquarium's official website], retrieved on 3 February 2007.)
3. [http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/sandy.asp Sandy Shores] {{webarchive. link. (12 February 2009 , [http://www.mbayaq.org/ Monterey Bay Aquarium's official website] {{webarchive). link. (14 February 2009 , retrieved on 3 February 2007.)
4. "The Aviary at Waddesdon Manor".
5. [http://siarchives.si.edu/findingaids/faru0074.htm National Zoological Park, Records, 1887–1966], [[Smithsonian Institution Archives]].
6. "Giant Zoo Cage to be Dedicated by Eagles Soon," ''San Diego Union'', 21 February 1937.
7. [https://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/84summer/gill.htm San Diego Historical Society]
8. "European zoos", ''[[Life (magazine). Life]]'', Vol. 25, No. 23, 6 December 1948.
9. [http://www.zsl.org/info/about-us/zoo-architecture,103,AR.html ZSL Architecture]{{webarchive. link. (28 February 2008 , [[Zoological Society of London). ZSL]], retrieved on 3 June 2008.
10. 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
11. link. (23 December 2008 retrieved on 27 November 2008.)
12. "Voliera: scopri tutti gli uccelli della Grande voliera del Bioparco!".
13. webmaster@thaiticketmajor.com. "Chainat Bird Park: An Exotic Experience Inside The Largest Aviary in Asia".

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