To mark its 50th anniversary this coming Sunday, Jurong Bird Park will lower its admission prices and feature pioneer birds in special shows.

Throughout next month, tickets will be priced at $2.50 for all local residents - the admission price when the park opened in 1971.

Tickets usually cost $32 for adults, $21 for children between three and 12 years old, and $15 for seniors aged 60 and above. Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which manages the park, said pre-booking of tickets is mandatory to facilitate crowd management and safe distancing measures.

Next month, visitors can also look forward to a special edition of the High Flyers Show which will feature Big John, a sulphur-crested cockatoo over 50 years old. The show is a spectacle of free-flying birds swooping over the audience as the presenter shares fun facts about them.

Big John was already a full-grown adult on the park's opening day. Birds of the species have a lifespan of 20 to 40 years in the wild. Big John will not be making any flights in the show due to his age. He will be brought out on a perch as presenters share his life story and quirks.

Visitors can also get a glimpse of how the park has evolved over the years, as well as its historic moments and future developments.

Photos to be displayed around the park include scenes from the park's early days, as well as from the visit of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to the Waterfall Aviary in 1972.

Visitors can also symbolically foster a flamingo next year by contributing $50. Contributors will receive an e-certificate and a voucher for a flamingo key ring.

WRS said the contributions will go towards "the care of animals, research and education programmes across (its) parks and support conservation projects to protect threatened species in Singapore and the region".

All this will be part of a series of celebratory events next year, including the launch of the park's first digital trail in March.