Meet the Bristol Zoo birds being moved to Wild Place

Bristol Zoological Society has moved some of its birds from the former Bristol Zoo to Wild Place.

The zoo closed to the public in September after 186 years. Since then, the team have had the huge task of relocating animals to different sites across the UK.

When choosing where to move the birds, Bristol Zoological Society chose to focus on relocating birds to Wild Place that are vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.

Wild Place opened in 2013, with a focus on conservation and preservation; and in the next few years is expected to change its name to Bristol Zoo.

It currently coordinates 84 breeding programmes and has looked to create spaces for the birds that closely match their natural habitat.

Here are the birds being moved to Wild Place:

Seven turtle doves

Turtle doves are part of the pigeon and dove family, and each year they migrate down to Africa for the winter. In the summer they nest in hedgerows in Europe. They are endangered because there is not enough seed and grain to sustain them during their breeding season in Europe, and they are struggling to find suitable places to nest.

Turtle doves eat seeds such as chickweed and oilseed rape, as well as cereal grains

Two Mindanao bleeding heart doves

These beautiful doves are named after their red tummy and the Mindanao Island in the Philippines where they are most commonly found. They are in fact endemic to the Philippines and are shy birds that like to forage for food and stay on the forest floor.

The Mindanao Bleeding Heart dove’s name comes from the red blotch on its breast

Two Socorro doves

The Socorro dove was extricated from its native home, the volcanic island of Socorro, Mexico. Non-native predators such as cats on the island are mainly responsible for the birds’ rapid decline in population. There are plans to reintroduce them to Mexico.

The last sighting of the Socorro dove in its natural habitat was in 1972

Two Visayan Tarictic hornbills

Visayan Tarictic hornbills are critically endangered, mainly due to hunting and habitat loss – they naturally live in groups in the canopy layer of rainforests. They are very noisy, and like to eat fruit as well as insects, ants and beetles.

Visayan Tarictic hornbills are noisy and emit an incessant sound that sounds like ‘ta-rik-tik’, hence the name

One Sumatran song thrush

These birds are extinct in the wild. A third of the montane rainforest on Sumatra (a western island of Indonesia) has been lost due to deforestation, so they have lost a lot of their natural habitat, and they are also frequently captured in the wildlife trade.

Other birds that are less in need of conservation have been moved to different locations. The greater flamingos for example have been moved to Flamingo Land in Yorkshire, where they “are happy and settling in really well” according to Trevor Franks, the zoo’s curator of birds.

Construction of the new bird site is expected to begin in 2024.

Wild Place will remain open throughout any development for visitors to see the current animals, including the birds that moved there most recently.

All photos: Bristol Zoological Society

Read next:

• Being a zoo keeper for the day at Wild Place
• ‘We will take the spirit of Bristol Zoo Gardens with us’ 
• The project seeking to bring wild-to-life in Lockleaze

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