Paradise of birds BirdPark is celebrating its 30th birthday with a new show featuring emus and an owl, and a river exhibit THE Jurong BirdPark, one of the most beautiful in the world, turns 30 on Wednesday. It is feeding time at the Penguin parade enclosure. the penguins are fed twice a day. The event will be marked by 12 weeks of celebrations in style. A new spectacular show, called 'The Amazing World of Birds', will kick off this month. It will feature the running emus, a flying-barn owl, the frog-slamming Sereimas and the amazing Rhinoceros Hornbill, all of which perform an array of natural acts. Next month, a cuckoo clock face will open at the main entrance. And in March, a novel 122 sq m exhibit, the Riverine, will be launched. It will feature various species of waterfowl, fish and turtles to simulate a river habitat. Now home to 8,000 birds of 600 species, the birdpark - Singapore's oldest wildlife park - is the largest attraction of its kind in the region. The park was the brainchild of Dr Goh Keng Swee, then Minister of Defence, who, after a visit to the Rio de Janeiro Aviary in 1967, advocated recreational diversion in an area of high industrialisation. More than a thousand free-flying birds, like these starlings and bee-eaters, occupy the world's largest aviary. It was also perceived as a potential tourist attraction. But starting the project was not easy. The park's first chairman, Jurong Town Corporation chairman Woon Wah Siang, was faced with the Himalayan task of finding the birds from all over the world. Desperate, he hung out at every country's National Day cocktail party here - just to acquire enough birds to populate the 20.2-ha park. Thanks to his efforts, thousands were made available from 12 countries, 40 private collectors and seven zoos, enabling the park to open on schedule on Jan 3, 1971.