Birds of Europe - seen in our French garden or overhead.

As always, I hope that my identification is correct, please let me know if there should be any mistakes.

I am not adding details today as these are all pretty common birds and easy to look up if necessary.

Great tit (Parus major), female.

French name - Mésange charbonnière

Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)...

French name - Hirondelle

As above.

Common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), male.

French name - Pinson des arbres.

European greenfinch, (Chloris chloris), male...

French name - Verdier d'Europe.

As above, female.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Mrs giving Mr an earful!!

French name - Moineau domestique.

as above and making up again. 💗😉

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).

French Name - Mésange bleue

 Greenfinch and sparrow having an altercation.

Common or Eurasian Cranes (Grus Grus) flying South.

French name - Grue Cendrée.

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Birds seen in our garden in France

As always, I hope that my identification is correct, please let me know if there should be any mistakes.

Common Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. Both these photos are of the male. Its wonderful fluty song accompanies dawn and dusk in spring.  It feeds on fruits, earthworms which it flushes out in a very skilful way, and will eat sunflower seeds in winter. Very territorial in the breeding season, it is more gregarious in winter and small groups feed together. The nest is a masterpiece made of grass and mud, and lined with soft vegetation. The female builds the nest in about three days, in the fork of a tree, a hedge or a shrub.  Incubation is by the female, although sometimes the male replaces her for short moments.

The adult male has black and glossy plumage overall. Bill and eye-ring are yellow. The eyes are dark brown and the legs are blackish. The female is a bit more reddish-brown, slightly mottled with a paler tinge on the underparts. Her throat can be paler, separated from the face by an indistinct buffy-brown malar stripe. Bill is brownish with a yellow base. Eyes and legs are dark brown. 

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto). It is gregarious and you can see groups of several birds at bird-feeders in winter.   The construction of the nest does not lead to an artwork, but rather to a small loose platform made with some coarsely woven twigs, from where the eggs often fall. Incubation by both parents lasts about two weeks. The nest is usually in a tree, shrub, against the trunk, not always well hidden. Both sexes are similar, although the female may have a slightly browner head.

European green woodpecker (Picus viridis). I believe this to be a female.  Ants are their favourite food, it extracts ants and pupae from the deep galleries, thanks to the stout bill and long tongue. The tongue may be extended up to 10 cm in order to explore the galleries. Ants are caught with the sticky tip, but it also takes various insects, earthworms and snails, also plant matter such as fruits, berries and some seeds are also consumed.  It breeds in cavities, a hole in a tree or in a large branch. Both male and female excavate the hole, and this work may last two to four weeks. The cavity is situated in a dead tree or in soft living wood, at 2 to 10 metres above the ground. The nest includes a circular or oval entrance, a tunnel, and the nest-chamber is dug into the soft part of the wood. Most of the wood chips are removed from the hole with the bill. The floor of the nest is covered with wood chips. The female lays 5-8 eggs. Incubation lasts 14 to 17 days by both sexes. The male incubates mainly during the night. Chicks are fed by their parents by regurgitation.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). I think everyone knows most of the facts about the sparrow, this is a female

Common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs). This is a male I am sure everyone knows this bird as well, but did you know that the nest of a Chaffinch tends to be in a tree or shrub, made from moss, grass and feathers, all bound with spider's webs in a neat cup shape, and lined with wool and decorated with pieces of bark.

As above.

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) a well known little bird of the tit family, here it is on our window sill. It is a very common sight in our garden and will visit our feeder all through winter though we seldom see them in summer. It thinks nothing of tapping on the window if food is low 😉

Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), it is the largest of the Columbidae European species. Very well known. It feeds both on the ground and in trees. It consumes plant matter and invertebrates, and is able to reach fruits in trees. The nest is placed between 1, 5 and 2, 5 metres above the ground in a tree fork, on a branch, or in a creeper.  It is made with twigs and lined with grasses and leaves, and finer twigs. It is often reused and may become bulkier after several broods. The incubation lasts 16-17 days by both parents.

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The last photos on South African birds until I get more from Christelle - or we go for a visit!

These are photos again taken by my friend, Christelle Miller, during 2018.

Thanks go to Christelle for allowing me to use these photos on my blog.

As always, I hope that my identification is correct, please let me know if there should be any mistakes.

Red-headed finch (Amadina erythrocephala). The male has a red head while the female has a brown head.  I wonder if the bird at the back is a young male as there are tinges of red seen on the head.  It feeds on the ground, and on the wing, mainly feeding on invertebrates and seeds. It is monogamous unless its mate dies. They create a nest on the ground, laying between 2 to 5 eggs which are brown in colour. The preferred habitats are woodlands and arid areas including grasslands. You will normally see the Red-headed Finch in flocks.

Black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus) also known as the black-shouldered kite. It breeds in savannahs, semi-desert grasslands, steppes and cultivated plains with thickets. In dry areas, it needs the vicinity of the water. It perches on exposed places from which it hunts small rodents, birds, reptiles and large insects. It may hunt from a perch, but often by hovering in mid-air with skill and little effort. When a prey is selected, it drops silently onto it, feet-first, with wings in a high V position, generally hunting at dusk. They build the nest themselves, and they build a new nest each year in the same area, and even in the same tree. The nest is a small structure made with thin twigs. It is a flat and loose structure and is usually located in a large tree, often in a thorny one.  The nest is built by both adults. The male brings most of the material, and the female works it into the nest. The female lays 3 to 5 eggs, at intervals of 2-3 days. Incubation lasts about 25 to 28 days, mainly by the female, but the male feeds her on, or close to the nest during this period. Eggs hatch at 2-3 days intervals, that means that a complete brood may take a week or more to hatch. Despite the wide variation in the size, older chicks are rarely aggressive to the younger.  Young reach their plumage at about 3 weeks of age. They may fly at 30 to 35 days when food is abundant. Young return to the nest between their flights, and are fed by adults away from the nest.  If food resources are good they might breed twice during the year

Hadeda ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) for info see Post 14 and Blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (Vanellus armatus). The Blacksmith feeds mainly on the ground feeding on Invertebrates and Aquatic life forms. The preferred habitats are grasslands.  You can expect to see them in flocks, pairs or as single birds. It creates its nest on the ground and the female lays eggs which are yellow in colour and number between 1 to 4.

Wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii). The male and female have the same plumage and colours. It feeds on the ground mainly on invertebrates. The preferred habitats are woodlands and grasslands but it is also at home in wetland areas. You will normally see them in pairs. It is monogamous unless its mate dies.  They construct neat half-bowl nests placed on vertical surfaces near water, such as below the ledges of cliffs or man-made structures, such as buildings and bridges. They collect mud with their beaks to line their nests with. The average clutch consists of 3 - 4 eggs in Africa. Unlike many other swallow species, which nest in colonies - the Wire-tailed Swallows are solitary and territorial nesters.

Purple-crested turaco (Gallirex porphyreolophus). This bird is a fruit-eater. Its glossy and colourful plumage makes this bird very attractive for humans and has been hunted in the past for their beautiful red flight feathers. Both adults are similar. The juvenile is duller.  It feeds on fruits from numerous plant species picking the fruits by perching at the end of the branches. This bird does not feed on the ground, except in captivity. The small fruits are swallowed whole, whereas the larger items are cut into pieces with the bill. It takes both wild and cultivated fruits, and some buds. They are often seen singly or in pairs, and occasionally in small groups of 4-5 birds....

It is a poor flier, but it moves with great agility from tree to tree in the canopy, alternating flapping and gliding. It takes flight with a short downwards glides and some fast wingbeats to the next tree. Then, it climbs and clambers back to the canopy with short hops, leaps and bounds. The nest of the Purple-crested Turaco is often placed high in tree or shrub, about 20 metres above the ground. It is a flat structure made with sticks and twigs and usually flimsy. This platform is well concealed among the thick vegetation. The female lays 2-3 glossy white eggs. Both adults incubate for 22-23 days. At hatching, the chicks are covered in thick greyish-brown down. They are fed by regurgitation by their parents. The adults clean the nest regularly. At about three weeks of age, the young move out of the nest and climb about in the nesting-tree. They are able to fly at 38 days old.

Brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus). For more info see post no 16.

There are nine species of baobab tree in the world: one in mainland Africa, Adansonia digitata, (the species that can grow to the largest size and to the oldest age) Some of Africa’s oldest and biggest baobab trees have abruptly died, wholly or in part, in the past decade, according to researchers.

The trees, aged between 1,100 and 2,500 years and in some cases as wide as a bus is long, may have fallen victim to climate change, the team speculated. 

Note the African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) in the smaller tree on the left. For more info on the Fish Eagle see post no 18

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