In the heart of Novosibirsk, near the Studentskaya metro station, there is a bird market. The institution corresponds to the historical meaning of the term: the place is visited not only by potential buyers, but also by lovers of unusual animals. Large selection and low prices attract residents of neighboring cities, and zoologists from other countries come for rare species of birds and fish.
What is the bird market?
Back in the Middle Ages, the term “bird market” was dubbed the clusters of private merchants who smuggled rare breeds of animals from neighboring countries that were banned from hunting. The opening of the bird market attracted the attention of the whole city: a crowd of people flocked to the shelves like an exhibition, looking at outlandish animals.
Over time, affordable goods began to appear in such establishments: domestic rodents, dogs, fish, and the bird market became synonymous with a pet store. The largest network of pavilions with plants and animals is located in Moscow, but Novosibirsk may surprise many.
Range
In the open air and in the pavilions of the bird market in Novosibirsk, hundreds of different products from dozens of botanists and breeders are presented. You can buy a lot:
- Plants: indoor flowers, aquarium algae, rare herbs (e.g. hornwort).
- Domestic animals: cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs.
- Birds: pigeons, canaries, owls, parrots.
- Aquarium and river fish.
- Snakes and arthropods: crayfish, mollusks.
The bird market in Novosibirsk boasts exotic animals. Parrot centenarians from the genus Hyacinth Ara, a rare breed of dog. But the main pride of the local zoo market is a wide selection of fish: from freshwater guppies to oceanic sea snakes and decorative oranda.
You can’t buy at the local bird market unless an alligator and, oddly enough, catfish. According to the owners, breeding the latter is difficult and unprofitable due to low demand. Prices for non-exotic products are comparable to the Russian average for such markets, and fish and plants are lower than in the vicinity of the city.
Driving directions
The bird market in Novosibirsk is located at: st. Trolley, d.17 / 1. The easiest way to get to it is from Ploshch Marksa metro station: follow signs for Titova Street, go towards the intersection with Stanislavsky Street, turn right onto Trolleybus. The bird market will be in front of the Novosibirsk-Zapadny railway station. You can also walk along Kotovsky street: from the Studencheskaya metro station in the direction of the Gorsky pit to Kotovsky, and from there right to the entrance to the market.