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 …
Continue readingGreat Tinamou roosting in a tree
During a night walk in a lowland rain forest in northern Costa Rica, we came across this sleeping Great Tinamou / Großer Tinamu (Tinamus major) in a tree, around 5 meters off the ground. Since …
Continue readingViviparous Lizards as nestling food of Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush
Bei der Beobachtung eines Brutpaares von Steinröteln (Monticola saxatilis) oberhalb von Anras, Osttirol gelang ein interessanter Einblick zur Rolle der Bergeidechse (Zootoca vivipara) als Nestlingsnahrung dieses Fliegenschäpperverwandten. Original-Publikation: ÖGH-Aktuell 56, 2021
Continue readingA Citril Finch’s subsong
Sound recording of a very young Citril Finch singing subsong.
Continue readingWigeon x Mallard hybrid, putative intersex
This presumed hybrid Eurasian Wigeon / Pfeifente (Anas penelope) x Mallard / Stockente (Anas platyrhynchos) has been wintering in Vienna since at least 2012 (there seem to be no sightings from summer, which points to …
Continue readingGreat Tit mimicking calls of Siberian Chiffchaff
While Great Tit / Kohlmeise (Parus major) rather frequently imitates the calls of Common Chiffchaff / Zilpzalp (Phylloscopus collybita collybita) – see recordings here – I’ve not heard it giving a (to my ears) rather …
Continue readingRed-backed Shrike bathing
Red-backed Shrike / Neuntöter (Lanius collurio) is a species that’s less often seen bathing or drinking compared to many other passerines in Central Europe. Here are two photos of a juvenile taking a bath on …
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