On a hot evening on 13th May 2024 on the island of Pag, Croatia I observed European Bee-eaters / Bienenfresser (Merops apiaster) and Eurasian Golden Orioles / Pirole (Oriolus oriolus) bathing together at the same …
Continue readingKategorie: Behavior / Ecology
White-throated Magpie-Jay picks ectoparasites off White-tailed Deer
While at Los Tarrale Natural Reserve, Guatemala on 9th August 2024, I observed a White-throated Magpie-Jay / Weißkehl-Elsternhäher (Cyanocorax formosus) perching on the back of a ruminating young male White-tailed Deer / Weißwedelhirsch (Odocoileus virginianus). …
Continue readingStock Dove tries to mate with Collared Dove
On 16th March 2024 Martin Suanjak and me observed an apparent male Stock Dove / Hohltaube (Columba oenas) persistently following and trying to mate with a Eurasian Collard-Dove / Türkentaube (Streptopelia decaocto) at St. Martins …
Continue readingLong-eared Owls breeding in Kestrel nest box
The default nesting location of Long-eared Owl / Waldohreule (Asio otus) are abandoned nests of corvids like Carrion Crow, Hooded Crow or Eurasian Magpie, as well as other large nests (e.g. of Common Buzzard, Grey …
Continue readingAberrant 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 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 readingRed Kite catches dragonfly in mid-air, then gets harassed by Kestrel
While watching this juvenile Red Kite / Rotmilan (Milvus milvus) in late fall, the bird suddenly performed a swift, aerial maneuver. I appreciated the move for the bird showing it’s underside nicely, but I didn’t …
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