ZOO Planckendael is taking its visitors to the South East Asian forests…
In support of the Silent Forest Campaign, ZOO Planckendael (Belgium) is raising awareness of the Songbirds fate in South East Asia. They have created a beautiful exhibit informing about bird trafficking on markets, where colors come from bright cages rather than from free birds… For those who can’t visit the zoo, here’s a sneak peek: Photo […]
A Silent Forest gold medal for Bird enthusiasts!
Author: Matyáš Adam (Liberec Zoo, Czech Republic) Commemorative medal vending machines are in use in several European zoos already, selling coins with their favourite animals on them. So why not using them in favour of the Songbirds? Especially when children really love to bring souvenirs from their zoo visit! Wroclaw Zoo (Poland) brought this awesome […]
Listening to Songbirds in Mulhouse Zoo
Author: David Di Paolo (Mulhouse Zoo, France) On 17th and 24th of June, the Silent Forest days took place in Mulhouse zoo. How can we draw our visitors’ intention on Songbirds? That’s not so easy: birds are shy and sometimes hide when people come in their aviary… Thus we played birdcall recordings in our aviary […]
Racing for Mynas – part 2
Remember last month’s post Racing for Mynas? The race is now over and was successfully finished by our two athletic birds enthusiasts! Here are some updates from Joost Lammers (Birdpark Avifauna, The Netherlands). “June 9th, 7:30 am, we began our Trois Ballons adventure with great spirits and knowing we already collected more than €600,- for the Nias Hill […]
Helping the Songbirds in Stuttgart’s Wilhelma
We are excited to report some of the amazing activities around the Silent Forest Campaign taking place at the Zoological and Botanical Garden Wilhelma in Stuttgart (Germany). They have set up a beautiful exhibition in one of their historic greenhouses. It was launched for Conservation Day on the 21st of May 2018 and raises awareness […]
When Javan Green Magpies feel blue
Authors: Simon Bruslund (Heidelberg Zoo, Germany) and Andrew Owen (Chester Zoo, UK) Did you know that Green Magpies fade from vivid green to a turquoise blue when they don’t receive the correct diet? It has long been known that the plumage of Green Magpies of the genus Cissa fade in colour when they are kept […]
Understanding The Songbird Crisis
Author: Julia Migné (Chester Zoo, UK) We caught up with one of our Conservation Scholars and PhD student from Manchester Metropolitan University, Harry Marshall, to learn more about his research on the songbird crisis and the drivers affecting it. South East Asian songbirds are currently facing a major extinction crisis evidently driven by the huge […]
At Heidelberg Zoo, the forest does not stay silent
Author: Simon Bruslund (Heidelberg Zoo, Germany) When visiting Heidelberg zoo, you will find three permanent Silent Forest exhibitions: at the entrance, in the middle of the zoo and in the peasantry’s aviary. In addition, a mobile manned display table is active as often as possible and showcases the Songbird Crisis with dedicated flyers and several […]
Planning for Songbirds, a deep dive into zoo conservationists’ work
Author: Simon Bruslund (Heidelberg Zoo, Germany) May was the month of meetings for EAZA bird people: first the Threatened Asian Songbird Alliance (TASA) met to discuss current songbird project developments; then the Joint Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) Chair meetings took place for an update on global wildlife population management; finally, the Birds TAG’s meetings happened […]
Racing for Mynas
As you may know, the critically endangered Nias Hill myna (Gracula robusta) is one of the six Silent Forest Campaign flagship species and the project “Save Magiao: Nias Hill Myna Conservation Breeding Center” is entirely dedicated to its conservation. To raise some money and help achieve the financial goals of this project, Dennis Appels and […]