Photos of a male Common Pochard / Tafelente (Aythya ferina) with asymmetric color aberration (one white cheek) from Lebring, Austria.
Continue readingShades of Pink and Yellow: „omissus“ Herring Gulls from the German Baltic coast
… yellow-legged individuals are present throughout the whole of Scandinavia. (…) We still do not have a solution as to why some argentatus have yellow legs and others not, but it may simply be diet-related. …
Continue readingHouse Martins nesting in woodpecker holes in styrofoam facade
In the breeding season 2022, House Martins / Mehlschwalben (Delichon urbicum) in a colony of roughly 80 natural nests started to occupy and build nests in three holes that a Green Woodpecker / Grünspecht (Picus …
Continue reading„Rusty“ Greylag Geese
On 7th July 2022 I spotted three adult Greylag Geese / Graugänse (Anser anser) among a big flock, that stood out due to their rusty-looking plumage. Judging from the stained undertail coverts these birds were …
Continue readingA pale Common Snipe
When taking pictures of a small group of Common Snipe / Bekassine (Gallinago gallinago) from the bird photo hide of St. Martins Lodge in Frauenkirchen, Austria, this very pale individual, with buff-colored breast, head and …
Continue readingFeathers of Omani Owl
Since there are no photos to be found online of feathers of Omani Owl / Omankauz (Strix butleri), I asked Hanieh Pasalari from Iran who cares for a captive individual to take a picture of …
Continue readingSublingual fistula in a Red-crested Pochard
Do you notice the thing below the female Red-crested Pochards / Kolbenente (Netta rufina) bill? It’s the tongue of the bird, hanging through the mandible. A condition known as oral or sublingual fistula. A sublingual …
Continue readingNest of Golden Oriole made from plastic ribbons
In early spring 2014 I found an old nest of Golden Oriole / Pirol (Oriolus oriolus) in a poplar tree, ca. 10 metres above the ground, south of Podersdorf, Austria. As far as I could …
Continue readingA very pale Reed Bunting
I recently got reminded of this outstanding, extremely pale Common Reed Bunting / Rohrammer (Emberiza schoeniclus) that was present on the 24th of December 2014 near Unterpremstätten, Austria. I vividly remember how some twitchers tried …
Continue readingLeast Grebe breaking up fish into pieces
I watched this Least Grebe / Schwarzkopftaucher (Tachybaptus dominicus) catching fish in a small, artificial lagoon in Guatemala. Until this observation, I was under the impression that grebes (at least of the genera Tachybaptus and …
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