Aberrant song of Brown-backed Solitaire
While birding with Alfredo Tol Gonzalez on Atitlán volcano, Guatemala on 8th January 2024, he pointed me to a Brown-backed Solitaire / Braunrückenklarino (Myadestes occidentalis) with an aberrant song at about 2250 m altitude. It …
Continue readingChestnut-colored Woodpecker apparently dies stuck to tree
While watching birds at Ixpanpajul, Guatemala on 13th February 2024, a tour participant pointed me to a male Chestnut-colored Woodpecker / Kastanienrückenspecht (Celeus castaneus) on a tree trunk, just a few meters in front of …
Continue readingDifferent appearances of hybrids of Red-crested Pochards x Mallard
Photos of two different hybrids of Red-crested Pochard / Kolbenente (Netta rufina) x Mallard / Stockente (Anas platyrhynchos), taken in the same place (Rheindelta, Austria), 18 years apart in May 2005 and November 2023. This …
Continue readingPutative hybrid Red-crested Pochard x Tufted Duck
Photos of a what I believe to be a female hybrid Red-crested Pochard / Kolbenente (Netta rufina) x Tufted Duck / Reiherente (Aythya fuligula). The bird was associated with a spring flock of Red-crested Pochards …
Continue readingA very pale Hooded Crow
Seewinkel in eastern Austria lies in the area of Hooded Crow / Nebelkrähe (Corvus cornix) – but barely. While Carrion Crows / Rabenkrähen (C. corone) also do occur here, they are vastly outnumbered by Hooded …
Continue readingA Ruff with two leg colors
On 22nd April 2023 I saw this adult male Ruff / Kampfläufer (Calidris puganx) at Racó de l’Olla/Albufera de Valencia, Spain. It shows a different color on each leg. The color appeared not to be …
Continue readingBee-eaters remove dead nestling from nest
On 10. August 2023 we noticed a dead nestling in the entrance of a nest of European Bee-eaters / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster) in a colony in Frauenkirchen, Austria. We tried to remove it, but it …
Continue readingLengths of nest tunnels of European Bee-eater
In fall 2023 I measured 56 nest tunnels of European Bee-eater / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster). 10 in Frauenkirchen, Austria and 46 on the Adriatic island of Susak, Croatia. All nests were found in loess cliffs …
Continue readingGiant Wrens nesting in a plastic bag
While watching a pair of Giant Wrens / Riesenzaunkönige (Campylorhynchus chiapensis) along a sandy track through banana plantations just south of Los Limones, Dep. San Marcos, Guatemala on 12 February 2023 with Ana Paula Oxom, …
Continue readingStrange sounds of a European Robin
A first-year European Robin / Rotkehlchen (Erithacus rubecula) caught during a standardized bird ringing operation at St. Martins Lodge, Frauenkirchen (Austria) gave strange, squeaking sounds while still in the net, while held in the cloth …
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