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Planet Zoo 2 flying habitat animals: all 12 birds compared

If you searched for aviary animals, these are the species the Zoopedia files under the flying habitat. Two other birds, the Common Ostrich and African Penguin, are terrestrial habitat animals, so they're not covered here.

All 12 flying habitat animals

Space is shown as first bird + each additional bird, in square meters. Temperature and barrier columns are the Zoopedia's own values for each species.

Flight space versus land space

Every bird on the list needs at least as much land as flight space for its first animal, and nine need at least twice as much. The Long-Tailed Parakeet is the only one with equal figures, 6 m² of each. At the other extreme, the Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Sea-Eagle need 8 times as much land as flight space: 400 m² against 50 m². Added across all 12 species, the first-bird minimums come to 2,251 m² of land and only 501 m² of flight space.

Flight figures also vary far less than land figures. The largest first-bird flight figure on the list is 60 m², while land figures range from 6 m² to 475 m², with the White-Backed Vulture at the top.

Pairs and flocks

Eight of the twelve birds have a group size of 1 to 2: Eurasian Bittern, Golden Eagle, Javan Green Magpie, Long-Eared Owl, Secretarybird, Shoebill, Toco Toucan and White-Tailed Sea-Eagle. The other four are flock species, and their minimum group already adds up:

• Great Hornbill: 2 to 10 birds. The smallest group needs 70 m² of flight space and 120 m² of land.
• Long-Tailed Parakeet: 2 to 12 birds. Even a full flock needs just 72 m² of flight space and the same of land.
• White-Backed Vulture: 6 to 80 birds. The minimum flock of six needs 185 m² of flight space and 975 m² of land; a full flock needs 2,035 m² and 8,375 m².
• Greater Flamingo: 20 to 500 birds. That minimum of 20 is the highest of any species on the roster. Twenty flamingos need 98 m² of flight space, 214 m² of land and 137 m² of aquatic space.

Barriers for flying habitats

Barrier needs are mild across the board. All twelve birds list a minimum height of 1 m, none needs a climb-proof barrier, and none allows a water barrier in place of a wall. The Greater Flamingo and Javan Green Magpie need grade 1; the other ten need grade 2. The barrier only rises when a bird shares its habitat with a ground animal that needs more, as the next section shows.

Which flying animals share a habitat

The Zoopedia pairs flying birds with each other only four times: the Great Hornbill, Javan Green Magpie and Long-Tailed Parakeet are all compatible with one another, and the Greater Flamingo pairs with the Shoebill. Every other pairing involves a terrestrial animal. The table counts each bird's partners and names the one that pushes the shared barrier highest.

The White-Backed Vulture has more partners than any other bird on the list: it thrives with 12 terrestrial species, among them both wildebeest, both giraffes and the Plains Zebra, and is neutral with the Common Ostrich. Ten of its thirteen pairings share 14 to 36 °C, which trims 5 °C off the top of its own 14 to 41 °C range. Sharing with the Reticulated Giraffe raises the barrier to grade 3 and 2 m.

The three Asian birds all share 18 to 33 °C and can live with the Siamang and Sumatran Orangutan. Of all their pairings, these two push the barrier furthest: with the siamang the shared barrier becomes grade 2, 3 m and climb-proof, and with the orangutan grade 3, 3 m and climb-proof. The Toco Toucan's only partner, the Golden Lion Tamarin, likewise lifts the shared barrier to 3 m and climb-proof at grade 2, and narrows the toucan's range to 18 to 33 °C.

The Secretarybird is neutral with the Aardvark, Meerkat and Wild Boar. The Greater Flamingo adds the Cape Buffalo, Red Deer and Wild Boar to its Shoebill pairing. Four birds have no listed partner at all, so plan each of them a habitat without other species: the Eurasian Bittern, Golden Eagle, Long-Eared Owl and White-Tailed Sea-Eagle.

Bird-by-bird comparisons

Golden Eagle and White-Tailed Sea-Eagle

On space, group size and barrier the two eagles are identical: 50 m² of flight space and 400 m² of land for the first bird, 50 m² and 200 m² for the second. They differ on temperature. The golden eagle accepts −30 to 30 °C, the widest range of any flying species, against −20 to 28 °C for the sea-eagle. The Golden Eagle is also the only flying bird marked as Deluxe content.

Greater Flamingo and White-Backed Vulture

These are the two big flocks, and they scale very differently. Each extra flamingo adds 2 m² of flight space and 6 m² of land; each extra vulture adds 25 m² and 100 m². So 500 flamingos fit in 1,058 m² of flight space while 80 vultures need 2,035 m².

Great Hornbill and Long-Tailed Parakeet

Both are small Asian flocks with the same 18 to 33 °C range and, apart from each other, the same partners. The hornbill needs far more room per bird: 50 m² of flight space for the first and 20 m² for each extra, against 6 m² per parakeet. A full flock of 10 hornbills needs 230 m² of flight space; 12 parakeets need 72 m².

Toco Toucan and Javan Green Magpie

Both need 50 m² of land for the first bird and 25 m² for the second. Their flight figures differ (20 + 10 m² for the toucan, 25 + 5 m² for the magpie), yet a pair of either comes to the same 30 m². The toucan's range is wider at 14 to 36 °C, and the magpie has the lower barrier grade.

Secretarybird and Shoebill

Both start at 200 m² of land, but the second shoebill needs another 200 m² against 100 m² for a second secretarybird. The secretarybird needs more flight space (60 m² against 50 m²). They list different biomes in the Zoopedia, grassland for the secretarybird and wetlands for the shoebill, and their partners don't overlap.

Long-Eared Owl and Eurasian Bittern

Neither has a listed partner. The owl needs 250 m² of land and 50 m² of flight space for one bird; the bittern needs only 40 m² and 20 m², plus 25 m² of aquatic space. Both accept cold: the owl down to −14 °C, the bittern to −6 °C.

New in Planet Zoo 2

Eleven of the twelve flying species were not in the first Planet Zoo; the Greater Flamingo is the one returning bird. The full roster comparison is on the new animals page.

To plan a mixed aviary, enter the birds and any ground animals in the habitat planner for total area, shared temperature and the strictest barrier. The compatibility list covers every pairing, and habitat requirements has the barrier table for all habitat animals.

Bird figures are taken from the official Zoopedia (checked 2026-10-14); flock totals and the comparisons are worked out on this site. Details on how the data is collected.