Rwanda Nyungwe Forest Heart of Africa @ Bird Paradise Mandai in Singapore

The largest and most forested aviaries at Bird Paradise Mandai would be the Rwanda Nyungwe Forest Heart of Africa. As the paradise was planned in the loop format, this would be the first stop if you open for the anti-clockwise loop. 

With numerous suspension bridges, there were over 150 matures trees preserved from the original site, before the construction of this attraction! Not that I would have noticed since trees are merely trees to me.

Above was fake though; decorative to stand out and for ease of differentiation from aviary to aviary. If I recall correctly, there were eight aviaries at Bird Paradise Mandai.

Just wondering what else were being built here. This was taken in March last year and a check on Google Map revealed it was the location of Singapore's newest attraction, Rainforest Wild ASIA! 

Flamingos underneath us! With a light pink plumage, these are lesser flamingos, smallest amongst the six flamingo species and also the one with the most population at 3 million.

Maybe because Nyungwe Forest Heart of Africa was the most densely forested zone, there were exotic birds that required sophisticated equipment, resulting in the darn huge lens used by the bird photographers.

Towering boulder that could have doubled up as a rock climbing wall but that could have been more suitable for Rainforest Wild ASIA.

I don't know about you but I was so not expecting to see shit splatters! And the appearance of a hideous looking bird, the northern bald ibis! 

Other birds spotted. 

Bird feeding which I presume was chargeable at a hefty S$8 per portion. Even for Singaporeans, visiting the attractions of Mandai Wildlife Reserve are not cheap. S$8 would be a full meal with drink for me at a hawker centre.

Happier, and cheaper, to see the birds feeding themselves instead. 

Guess the food must have been quite good.

If not, the squirrel wouldn't have bothered. 

More photographs for reference.

Ground level - the zone had three varying levels to showcase the bird species that can be seen from the top canopy, the mid canopy and the ground level.

I know there would be a specific species for the above.

For the ignorant humans, like me, it's a duck.

Red crested turaco which had a cute nickname.

They are known as feathered mohawks! 

Red-winged starling - a bird with shades of black, with the head bearing a grey plumage. Wait, where's the red?! Apparently, you can only see when the bird flies.

Saddlebill storks, and yellow billed storks. For the former, it felt as if the saddlebill storks had their beaks taped with a black tape! 

I noticed the motionless bird on top of the building with the entrance / exit, and thought it was a decorative item since I recognized the bird species and assumed it would be too heavy to fly so high.

Turned out the shoebill was real! And despite their size, their average weight was only about 8 kilograms, and the odd looking bird can indeed fly at an altitude "ranging from 500 to 1,000 feet"!

Photos with the dad! 

Going out of the zone; measures in place to prevent the birds from escaping the caged aviary! Just wondering if any extreme animal activists would attempt to "help" the birds. 

Inside the air-conditioned arena that also functioned as an educational realm. Like the explanation of a peacock feather; do you know it has four components?! 

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Location

Rwanda Nyungwe Forest Heart of Africa Zone,

Bird Paradise Mandai, Singapore  

Website

https://www.mandai.com/en/bird-paradise.html

Kuok Group Wings of Asia @ Bird Paradise Mandai in Singapore

Now going into the Kuok Group Wings of Asia at Bird Paradise Mandai - the strings of large plastic beads that served as a barrier preventing the birds within from flying out.

Another barrier in the form of an additional room serving as both an air-conditioned arena for visitors to beat the heat and an educational hub; for example, how birds find safety for their eggs and chicks in the harsh reality of the great outdoors.

A human-sized woven nest by weaver birds on display here. And here's a seven-decade old human bird peering out from the cavity!

Another info panel on bird eggs! Do you know that chicken eggs come in blue or green too, in addition to the common brown and white?! 

And these were the different egg photographs on display, marveling us with the myriad of colors! Another fun fact: "egg colors, streaks or spots are added just hours before the eggs are laid"!

Starting the exploration in the great outdoors.

All eyes were on this pair of hornbills that were feasting on the meals provided! Known as the Papuan hornbill, the one with a golden head is male whereas the other is a female. If i recall correctly, hornbills mate for life. 

Dad was happy with the close encounter! 

This zone had a Balinese theme, with a Candi Bentar serving as a welcome gateway! Also known as a split gateway, it "is a traditional Balinese and Javanese architectural feature commonly found at the entrance of temples, palaces, and cemeteries in Indonesia".

Centerpiece for the zone would be this Balinese-inspired padi fields! Likely the only place whereby we can see padi in Singapore, my primary concern would be whether the birds, with more than 30 species, would destroy the stalks of padi! 

As the bird show was starting soon at the sky amphitheatre, we returned back to this zone a few hours later, via another entrance! 

Frankly, these plain bamboo totems gave the funeral vibes. Bet they would look more eerie at night, especially if you include the mystical Balinese dance.

Checking out the adventure trail.

Note: not suitable for prams and wheelchairs.

I thought these were cute, ornamental ducks! Turned out they were bar-headed geese! At relatively low risk of extinction, aren't geese supposed to be much larger than ducks?

Milky stork and black-faced spoonbill! From the photograph, it seemed like the smaller spoonbill was paying deference to the bigger stork. 

With a large roaming area where species mix, it can be quite hard to rely on the information panel to keep track on the species we saw.

A shelter for visitors, in case the rain strikes, given Singapore's unpredictable weather. According to the webpage, this zone resided on a former village and Bird Paradise Mandai retained some of the fruit trees for the benefit of the birds.

A strange looking bird.

The path flanked with bamboo groves! Do you know that bamboo is type of grass, not a tree?! Unlike most grass, bamboos can be used as a weapon, and can be lethal if shaped.

Information about the bamboo groves and the types of common bamboo. I chanced upon a unique one in my Taiwan trip in January; the bamboo looked round but felt square when we ran our hand across it. 

What are these?

Called torch ginger, the flower is a key ingredient in rojak, although the version we saw in rojak stalls are in the bud form, and not the full flower version as above.

Spotted this stork with an iridescence head and neck. An AI overview check on google revealed that this would be the Black-necked Stork.

Ending the post with the padi fields again. Visual was nice although my main aim in visiting Bird Paradise Mandai was to see birds and I didn't see many at the compartmentalized fields, given the heat!

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Location

Kuok Group Wings of Asia,

Bird Paradise Mandai, Singapore  

Website

https://www.mandai.com/en/bird-paradise.html