Prague's New Parrot House

On a midsummer visit to Prague, ROSEMARY LOW simply had to call in at the famous zoo, where she enjoyed a preview tour of the benchmark-setting new parrot pavilion

- Rosemary Low

EUROPEAN zoo enthusiasts recognise the Czech Republic as having exceptionally good establishments, with many species seldom seen and bred elsewhere.

Headed by curator Antonin Vaidl, Prague Zoo has an outstanding bird collection. In 2015, he described to me his dream of a new parrot house. Each aviary would represent a certain region, with the appropriate plants, parrot species and painted backdrop. Now this dream is reality! Known as Rakos’ House, the pavilion was named for the Czech breeder Stanislav Rakos. Before he died, Mr Rakos donated funds to Prague Zoo for the construction of a bird house. After four years in planning and construction, it opened on September 28 this year.

When I visited in June, I had a preview. Anton’s extraordinary genius for design and detail and his extensive experience with planting aviaries was wonderfully apparent here. The planting commenced more than two years ago and was an absolute joy to behold. Some of the authentic backgrounds were painted from Anton’s photographs of the habitats he had visited in the various countries of origin.