You're sure to find a feathered friend at London Zoo's new £2.5m bird pavilion

By BETH HALE

Last updated at 22:00 20 March 2008


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Walking tall: A black-necked stork

From starlings to sunbirds, partridges to pigeons, you're sure to find a feathered friend there.

And as London Zoo opens its new tropical birdhouse today, visitors are expected to be flocking in.

With constant temperatures of 20c (68f) and above – and sweltering humidity of 55 per cent or more – it boasts a stunning array of beautiful and exotic species, many flying freely in the lofty enclosure.

On display is the only hummingbird collection open to the public in Britain, as well as a species of dove extinct in the wild.

Visitors to birdhouse in the £2.5million Blackburn pavilion, which has been restored from its original Victorian state, might however need an umbrella to guard against the occasional ten-minute artificial

rain shower – designed to make the inhabitants feel more at home.

The pavilion, originally built in 1883 to house reptiles, has been modernised to showcase the rare birds in a naturalistic environment.

A red-crested turaco is perhaps the brightest of those on show. With its vivid scarlet wings, it sits in the treetops as happily as if it were at home in the Congo.

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Billing and coo-ing: Pair of blue-crowned Lorys

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Victim of the volcano: The Montserrat Oriole

More modest in colour, but by far the rarest inhabitant, is the Socorro dove. Native to Socorro Island off the west coast of Mexico, the species has not been sighted in the wild since 1972.

The zoo has successfully bred the birds, of which four fly in the 100ft walkthrough area. Another endangered species is the Montserrat Oriole, imperilled since the volcanic eruption that began on the

Caribbean island of Montserrat in 1995.

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Out of Africa: The red-crested turaco

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Coat of many colours: A Peking robin

However, the tiny star attractions are expected to be three amazilia hummingbirds, housed in an area named the Cloud Forest – where the temperature is kept at 24c (75f) and humidity is up to 80 per cent.

Altogether, there are 150 species of bird within the pavilion with about 50 free-flying.

"Wherever you go, you see birds flying around," said senior keeper Adrian Walls. "But it's different when you can visit a zoological collection and walk among the birds in their habitat.

"This is a special environment created for the birds, where they can be comfortable and do their natural behaviours."

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Rarest: Socorro dove (left) and a red-headed Pope cardinal

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Mighty mouth: Tocco toucan

Some visitors might be concerned about the aerodynamics of some of those "natural behaviours" in such an open environment.

But Mr Walls insisted there is no need to be unduly concerned. And he pointed out that any direct hits

from above should, as tradition dictates, be treated as a sign of good luck.

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