Our national birds
49
OUR NATIONAL BIRDS “LITTLE BIRD – LITTLE TALE” Comenius School Partnership Radost, Bulgaria
description
Â
Transcript of Our national birds
OUR NATIONAL BIRDS“LITTLE BIRD – LITTLE TALE”
Comenius School PartnershipRadost, Bulgaria
Radost, Bulgaria
Avocet• Avocet ( Recurvirostra avosetta ) is a migratory bird of the family Plovers . It is also found in Bulgaria . According to
the Red Book of Bulgaria the species is considered endangered.• Body length of the Avocet is 43 cm, wingspan of - 78 cm, and the plumage is diachronic. Head, back of the neck,
shoulders and part of the primaries feathers are black, and the other parts of the body are white. Beak long curved upward and resembles a curved sword . Sexual dimorphism was observed, but there is pronounced age dimorphism. Juveniles have a gray breast and rusty color on the wings.
• Avocet is widespread in Central and Southern Europe , Africa , West Asia , North America and Australia . It winters in Africa, South Asia , the Balkans and on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Caspian Sea . Northern populations migrate south between August and October and return to breeding between March and May.
• In Bulgaria in March flies and flies in September and October. During the migration period can be encountered near the inner basins of the country. Individuals remain at home in the winter. During the breeding season is observed only in the Black Sea Coast , where inhabit
• During migration and in winter are found in flocks in a variety of wetlands . For the night gather in large flocks of several thousand individuals.
• The food of the Avocet is mainly composed of water invertebrates with a length between 4 and 15 cm, including aquatic insects , small beetles , flies, larvae of flies, crustaceans , worms and mollusks which meet at the muddy bottom of spills. When looking for food immersed in water head, neck and front of the body. Nest may be located in different places, including on the bare sand , dried mud , short grass, dry vegetation, debris and waste. It is a cavity, covered with grass and aquatic plants. Avocet nests in large colonies, the distance between two adjacent slots is usually about one meter, but it may be 20 to 30 cm. The female lays 3-4 eggs in ocher color, flecked with gray and blackish spots. Two birds hatched them along the shift for 22-24 days.
Swan• Swans ( Cygnus ) are the big family of birds in the family Waterfowl (Anatidae).• Weighing between 3 and 15 kg. Their neck is long and thin. Do not dive, but swim very
well. The wings are long and narrow. Fly well, quickly and rapidly.• They are distributed throughout the world except Antarctica . In many places they live
alongside humans in half-wild state parks or birds , and thus compensate for them in their natural environment of habitation. Most species are migratory. It inhabits coastal areas of lakes , reservoirs and large rivers , saltwater pools, including seas , oceans .
• They live in pairs, sometimes outside the breeding season form flocks , sometimes mixed with other species. They feed on plant and animal food, which looks to a depth meter, meter and a half. Their life expectancy is remarkable reports of swans transferred 50 years of age.
• Monogamous birds , as couples often stay together for life. Incubation is continued, often over months. The eggs hatch sufficiently developed to be able to move, began to fly at the age of 3-5 months. Parents defend very active and successful nest and the young of attacks on predators .
• In many places around the world Swans live in half-wild state park as birds and even wild populations are often settled to live in close proximity with humans. Reproduce well at home and feel good in human intimacy. In Bulgaria all members of the genus are protected by law.
Black-winged Stilt• Black-winged Stilt ( Himantopus himantopus ) is a bird of the family Plovers . It is also
found in Bulgaria , where dwells mostly swamps and lakes.• Body length of 37 cm Stilt reach and wingspan of - 75 cm There is pronounced sexual,
seasonal and age dimorphism. The male has a black crown and black back of the neck, which in winter are white.The female is like the male in winter plumage. In young head and back are gray. Voice: Repeated "Kick Kick".
• These birds gather food from sand or provide fished in the shallows of ponds. They basically feed on insects and crustaceans.
• Autumn, the majority of birds fly in August and early September.• Immediately after arrival, the couple take their nesting territories in marshy areas, wet
meadows, shafts, dams and even in cultivated fields near ponds. In Bulgaria, about 200-250 breeding pairs, with most birds nest in Atanasovsko and lake. For the past 10 years breeding numbers of Black-winged Stilt in Bulgaria has decreased by half. The main threats to the species are destruction of its natural habitat, disturbance during the breeding season, increased number of land-based predators. The species is included in the Red Book of Bulgaria as an endangered and protected by the Biodiversity Act.
ARABELLA, BULGARIA
GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Dendrocopos major)
It has colorful plumage. In Bulgaria it is sedentary bird. It is found in the plains and the mountains. The woodpecker is inhabitant of deciduous, mixed and coniferous forests, parks and gardens. It feeds with varied food. Often makes holes in the bark of trees. Nests in holes, which makes in the trees. The woodpeckers lay 4-8 white eggs which hatch 12-13 days. Hidden between the leaves woodpecker is hard to notice.
BLACKBIRD (Turdus merula)
Blackbird is a sedentary bird. Adult male has black plumage
and the female has a brown color. In Bulgaria it is found on the whole territory. Prefers to live in flocks. It eats grains of almost all field plants. Blackbird prefers to eat grape and causes rapid and large devastation eating it. Blackbird is a monogamous species and a couple usually remain together till the end of life of one of two partners. The female makes a nest of twigs, moss, hay, leaves and plastered inside with mud. It lays 3-5 eggs. Parents feed their baby birds up to 3 weeks after that they leave the nest. The average lifespan of blackbird is 2,4 years.
Great Tit (Parus major)
The Great Tit is a passé ring bird. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely harsh winters. Until 2005 this species was lumped with numerous other subspecies. The Great Tit is a distinctive bird, with a black head and neck, prominent white cheeks, olive upperparts and yellow under parts, with some variation amongst the numerous subspecies. It is predominantly insectivorous in the summer, but will consume a wider range of food items in the winter months, including small hibernating bats. Like all tits it is a cavity nester, usually nesting in a hole in a tree. The female lays around 12 eggs and incubates them alone, although both parents raise the chicks. In most years the pair will raise two broods. The nests may be raided by woodpeckers, squirrels and weasels and infested with fleas, and adults may be hunted by Sparrow hawks. The Great Tit has adapted well to human changes in the environment and is a common and familiar bird in urban parks and gardens. The Great Tit is also an important study species in ornithology. The Great Tit is the symbol of our capital Sofia.
Istituto Comprensivo “Giovanni XXIII”
Mogliano
Birds from Italy
PICCHIO MURAIOLO (Tichodroma Muraria)WALLCREEPER
WALLCREEPER Description: length:17-18 cm; weight: 15-20 g; wingspan: 27-30
cm. The body and head of wallcreeper are grey , it has got long,
rounded, black and red wings. Its beak is long, thin and hooked. Habitat: In Italy it lives in the Alps and in the northen- central
Apennines. In the Marche region the wallcreeper can be seen in “Monti Sibillini” Park, in rocky areas.
Habits: In our country the wallcreeper is sedentary. It moves with agility along the rocky sides because it is in search of food. Its flight is similar to that of a butterfly.
Feeding: : The wallcreeper eats larvae and insects as spiders. It catches them while moving on the rock walls.
Reproduction: It builds its nest in the rocks and lays eggs once a year. The eggs hatch after 18-19 days. The baby birds leave the nest when they are 22-23 days old.
MERLO (Turdus merula)BLACKBIRD
BLACKBIRDDescription: Adult male blackbirds are totally black. They
have a bright golden-yellow beak and a yellow ring around the eye. Female are brown.
Length: 23.5-29 cm.Habitat: It is found from city centres to highland moors,
including woodland, gardens and parks. The blackbirds are distribuited from Iberia throughout temperate Europe.
Habits: A range of vocalisations is produced, including melodious songs.
Feeding: It feeds on fruits, berries, earthworms and insects.Breeding: The nest is built by female; starting from March
between 3 to 5 eggs are laid and incubated by the female for up to 15 days.
PICCHIO VERDE (Picus Viridis) THE GREEN WOODPECKER
THE GREEN WOODPECKER Description: The green woodpecker is about 35 cm long, it weighs
140-200 grams, its wing span can be from 50 to 53 cm. It is green, yellow, red and black. Its claw has got two front and two rump fingers.
Habitat: You can observe a green woodpecker in Eurasia, therefore also in Italy, but not in the bigger isles. It lives on the plan, in the hills and in the mountins up to 1000 mt altitude.
Feeding: It eats insects and grubs hidden below the bark of the trees,
that it captures thanks to its beak used to bore into wood.
Reproduction: The green woodpecker nidificates from March to the beginning of Summer. The male makes a hole into the trunk of a tree, which is about 6 cm large, the female lays down in it 5-7 white eggs. After 18-20 days, some chicks come to life. Their weaning lasts 20 days.
ST. DUNSTEN UK
Robin Facts• Each country has a national bird that represents them.• Our bird is the Robin.• Not many people know facts about the Robin. Here are some facts about this bird.• • • How do Robins stay warm in the winter? • • The bird fluffs up his feathers for protection from the cold. Their fluffiness is important.
Fluffed out feathers insulate the bird’s internal organs so that they stay at 104 degrees F. They shelter in the bushes, buildings and trees.
• • What do Robins eat?• • Robins eat fruit in the winter because they can’t get to the worms because the worms
hide underground from the cold. They usually eat worms.
Nr 19 TUWIMA, ZORYPOLAND
White-tailed Eagle – Orzeł bielik
• Description: The White-tailed Eagle is a very large bird. It measures 66–94 cm in length with a 1.78–2.45 m wingspan. The wingspan, with a midpoint of 2.18 m, is on average the largest of any eagle. The White-tailed Eagle is sometimes considered the fourth largest eagle in the world and is on average the fourth heaviest eagle in the Word.
• This species has broad "barn door" wings, a large head and a large thick beak. The adult is mainly grayish-brown except for the slightly paler head and neck, blackish flight feathers, and distinctive white tail. All bare parts are yellow in color, including both the bill and the legs. In juvenile birds, the tail and bill are darker, with the tail becoming white with a dark terminal band in sub-adults. The combination of mousy-brown coloration, broad, evenly-held wings, white tail, strong yellow bill and overall large size render the White-tailed Eagle essentially unmistakable in its native range.
• • Distribution and systematics: This large eagle breeds in northern, eastern Europe and northern Asia. The largest bird
population in Europe is found along the coast of Norway. The bird population in 2008 stood at only 9,000–11,000 pairs. They are mostly resident, only the northern most birds such as the eastern Scandinavian and Siberian population migrating south in winter.
• • Diet: The White-tailed Eagle's diet is varied, opportunistic and seasonal. Prey specimens can often include fish, birds and
mammals. Many birds live largely as scavengers, regularly pirating food from otters and other birds including cormorants, gulls, Ospreys and various other raptors. Carrion is often the primary food source during lean winter months, with fish and ungulates being preferred but everything from cetaceans to livestock to even humans being eaten after death. They are often dominant among the scavengers in their range, over all but perhaps the largest carnivorous mammals (i.e. gray wolves, etc.). However, this eagle can be a powerful hunter as well. In the Baltic the diet of this species consists mainly of sea birds and pike. Adults, nestlings and eggs of other birds are all regularly consumed. When targeting non-nesting birds, they often fly towards a waterbird repeatedly, forcing it to dive again and again, until the bird is exhausted and more easily caught.[3] When very large prey is killed, such as swans, the prey may be dragged along the surface of the water to the shore to be consumed.
COTLU
AdanaTurkey
Yellow-vented Bulbul
• The Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is resident breeder in southeast Asia and Middle East It is found in a wide variety of open habitats, but not deep forest. It is one of the most common birds in cultivated areas. They appear to be nomadic, roaming from place to place regularly.
• The Yellow-vented Bulbul builds a well-camouflaged but fragile, loose, deep, cup-shaped nest from grass, leaves, roots, vine stems, and twigs. The nest is untidy on the outside, but it is neatly lined with plant fibers. It may be built in a wide range of places from low bushes to high trees. This is a species adapted to humans and may even nest in gardens. The Yellow-vented Bulbul lays 2-5 eggs in February to June.
• The Yellow-vented Bulbuls eats berries and small fruits. They also sip nectar, nibble on young shoots, and take some insects
Kingfishers
• Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australasia. The group is treated either as a single family, Alcedinidae, or as a suborder Alcedines containing three families, Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). There are roughly 90 species of kingfisher. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with little differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. They consume a wide range of prey as well as fish, usually caught by swooping down from a perch. Like other members of their order they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A few species, principally insular forms, are threatened with extinction. In Britain, the word 'kingfisher' normally refers to the Common Kingfisher.
• Diet and feeding• Kingfishers feed on a wide variety of items. They are most famous for hunting and eating fish, and some species
do specialise in catching fish, but other species take crustaceans, frogs and other amphibians, annelid worms, molluscs, insects, spiders, centipedes, reptiles (including snakes) and even birds and mammals. Individual species may specialise in a few items or take a wide variety of prey, and for species with large global distributions different populations may have different diets.
• Distribution and habitat• Kingfishers occupy a wide range of habitats. While they are often associated with rivers and lakes, over half the
worlds' species are found in forests and forested streams. They also occupy a wide range of other habitats.
Eurasian Oystercatcher• The Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just
Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia, Kamchatka, China, and the Turkey. No other oystercatcher occurs within this area.
• The Oystercatcher is one of the largest waders in the region. It is 40–45 centimetres (16–18 in) long (bill 8–9 cm) with a wing-span 80–85 centimetres (31–33 in).[2] They are obvious and noisy plover-like birds, with black and white plumage, red legs and strong broad red bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs such as mussels or for finding earthworms.[2] Despite its name, oysters do not form a large part of its diet. The bird still lives up to its name, as few if any other wading birds are capable of opening oysters at all.
• This oystercatcher is unmistakable in flight, with white patches on the wings and tail, otherwise black upperparts, and white underparts. Young birds are more brown, have a white neck collar and a duller bill. The call is a distinctive loud piping.
• The bill shape varies; oystercatchers with broad bill tips open molluscs by prising them apart or hammering through the shell, whereas pointed-bill birds dig up worms. Much of this is due to the wear resulting from feeding on the prey. Individual birds specialise in one technique or the other which they learn from their parents.
• Ecology• This is a migratory species over most of its range. The European population breeds mainly in northern Europe, but in winter the birds
can be found in north Africa and southern parts of Europe. Although the species is present all year in Ireland, Great Britain and the adjacent European coasts, there is still migratory movement: the large flocks that are found in the estuaries of south-west England in winter mainly breed in northern England or Scotland. Similar movements are shown by the Asian populations. The birds are highly gregarious outside the breeding season.
• The nest is a bare scrape on pebbles, on the coast or on inland gravelly islands. 2–4 eggs are laid. Both eggs and chicks are highly cryptic.
• Because of its large numbers and readily identified behaviour, the Oystercatcher is an important indicator species for the health of the ecosystems where it congregates. Extensive long-term studies have been carried out on its foraging behaviour, in northern Germany, in the Netherlands and particularly on the River Exe estuary in south-west England. These studies form an important part of the foundation for the modern discipline of behavioural ecology.
ROMANIA
Alba Ca Zapada
Great White Pelican
• The Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) also known as the Eastern White Pelican, Rosy Pelican or White Pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and in Africa in swamps and shallow lakes.
• Description: The Great White Pelican is a huge bird, with only the Dalmatian Pelican averaging larger amongst the pelicans. The wingspan can range from 226 to 360 cm (7.41 to 11.8 ft), with the latter measurement the largest recorded among extant flying animals outside of the great albatrosses.
• In flight, it is an elegant soaring bird, with the head held close to and aligned with the body by a downward bend in the neck. • The Great White Pelican is well adapted for aquatic life. The short strong legs and webbed feet propel it in water and aid the rather awkward
takeoff from the water surface. Once aloft, the long-winged pelicans are powerful fliers, however, and often travel in spectacular V-formation groups.
• Distribution and habitat: A pair in breeding condition in Walvis Bay, Namibia • Great White Pelicans are usually birds found in and around shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Migratory populations are found
from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan during the breeding season. More than 50% of Eurasian Great White Pelicans breed in the Danube Delta in Romania.
• The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November. Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan.
• The diet of the Great White Pelican consists mainly of fish. The pelicans leave their roost to feed early in the mornings and may fly over 100 km (62 mi) in search of food. Each pelican needs from 0.9 to 1.4 kg (2.0 to 3.1 lb) of fish every day. This corresponds to around 28,000,000 kg (62,000,000 lb) of fish consumed every year at the largest colony of Great White Pelicans, on Tanzania's Lake Rukwa, with almost 75000 birds.
• Great White Pelicans also eat crustaceans, tadpoles and even turtles. They readily accept handouts from humans, and a number of unusual items have been recorded in their diet. Pelicans will also rob other birds of their prey.
• Today, because of overfishing in certain areas, White Pelicans are forced to fly long distances to find food. Great white pelicans are exploited for many reasons. Their pouch is used to make tobacco bags, Their skin is turned into leather, the guano is used as fertilizer, and the fat of young pelicans is converted into oils for traditional medicine in China and India. In Ethiopia, Great White Pelicans are shot for their meat. Human disturbance, loss of foraging habitat and breeding sites, and pollution are all contributing to the decline of the Great White Pelican.
ROKUTIS
LITHUANIA
LA ANGOSTURASPAIN
ALIARTOSGREECE
LATVIA
ATVASITE
HOFSTADASKOLIICELAND
