Wing Sanctuary Zone @ Bird Paradise Mandai in Singapore

This zone at Bird Paradise Mandai is nearest to the entrance but we checked it out only towards the end of our visit; my suggestion, go for the sanctuary first, which showcased threatened bird species.

Main reason: it reminded me of traditional bird parks where large, restrictive metal cages were commonly used to exhibit the birds, and in one sentence, it's a boring method that drew no excitement. 

 While all birds in the new bird park were held captive, it was exceptionally glaring to see them behind "bars", in a space that contrasted greatly from the ginormous open-concept aviaries that we went through earlier that day.

Trees were also not as tall and as numerous in this zone, and it was sweltering hot when we were there at about 1.30pm. Hence my earlier suggestion to visit this when you arrive earlier in the day, when it's cooler. 

Furthermore, checking this boring zone earlier is better as the rest of the zones were just so much more impressive. For us, Wing Sanctuary kind of dampened our overall review score of Bird Paradise Mandai.

Pictures of the birds in captivity at this zone; the above was Southern Roufus Hornbill that was found in the Philippines with the nickname, Clock of the Mountains, as "it calls at specific times of the day".

Blue-crowned Laughingthrush which is a critically endangered species.

No idea what this was; seemed like a huge turkey to me. 

Trumpeter Hornbill - the thing fused to the beak was known as a casque and despite looking heavy; it's actually hollow and lighter than its appearance. 

Black Hornbill - known also as durian bird, it's said to be a "major seed disperser for wild durians". One unique dietary habit for this species is to "wait outside caves at dusk and catch bats as they emerge".

Rhinoceros Hornbill - "state bird of Sarawak and national bird for Malaysia", renowned for its unique casque that's a key draw for poachers. 

All the information I got was from the information panels in front of the cage! This is, to me, the key benefit of having caged birds instead of open-air aviaries, as it's easier to identify the bird species, if you can spot them. 

Frankly, my intention was to check out eagles but from what we had seen so far, there were a lot more hornbills species and nothing on eagles.

There's just one towards the end of our way, the Philippine Eagle - a national emblem of Philippines and also its national bird! I asked a staff about the lack of this majestic bird species and the response was that you can see most of them in the shows.  

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Location

Wing Sanctuary Zone,

Bird Paradise Mandai, Singapore