Biodiversity of Cyprus by NGO Protection of the Natural Heritage and the Biodiversity of Cyprus: Little Bustard - Tetrax tetrax (Linnaeus, 1758) - Χαμωτίδα - Νανόγαλος

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Πέντε σπανιότατα πουλιά της Κύπρου (WEB TV) Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 14/1/2018

The bird was first seen,at,Geri at buffer zone on 3rd December 2013 by George and Fani Konstantinou Cyprus (2 records)

The little bustard (Tetrax tetrax) is a large bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus Tetrax. It breeds in southern Europe and in western and central Asia. Southernmost European birds are mainly resident, but other populations migrate further south in winter. The central European population once breeding in the grassland of Hungary went extinct several decades ago.

This species is declining due to habitat loss throughout its range. It used to breed more widely, for example ranging north to Poland occasionally. It is only a very rare vagrant to Great Britain despite breeding in France.

Although the smallest Palearctic bustard, the little bustard is still pheasant-sized at 42–45 cm (17–18 in) long with a 90–110 cm (35–43 in) wingspan and a weight of 830 g (29 oz).^[3] In flight, the long wings are extensively white. The breeding male is brown above and white below, with a grey head and a black neck bordered above and below by white.

The female and non-breeding male lack the dramatic neck pattern, and the female is marked darker below than the male. Immature bustards resemble females. Both sexes are usually silent, although the male has a distinctive "raspberry-blowing" call: prrt.

This species is omnivorous, taking seeds, insects, rodents and reptiles. Like other bustards, the male little bustard has a flamboyant display with foot stamping and leaping in the air. Females lay 3 to 5 eggs on the ground.

This bird's habitat is open grassland and undisturbed cultivation, with plants tall enough for cover. It has a stately slow walk, and tends to run when disturbed rather than fly. It is gregarious, especially in winter.

On 20 December 2013, the Cypriot newspapers 'Fileleftheros' and 'Politis', as well as news website 'SigmaLive', reported the discovery of a dead little bustard in the United Nations Buffer Zone. The bird had been shot by poachers hunting illegally in the zone. The shooting was particularly controversial amongst conservationists and birders since the little bustard is a very rare visitor to Cyprus and had not been officially recorded in Cyprus since December 1979. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ΑΡΘΡΟ ΣΕ ΚΥΠΡΙΑΚΟ ΠΕΡΙΟΔΙΚΟ

Η επανεμφάνιση της Χαμωτίδας ή Νανόγαλου (Tetrax tetrax) στην Κύπρο μετά από εξαφάνιση τριών δεκαετιών

του Ε. Χατζηστερκώτη και Γ. Κωνσταντίνου

Η πρώτη καταγραφή στην Κύπρο τον 21^ο αιώνα.

Για πρώτη φορά μετά από 34 χρόνια έχει κάνει την εμφάνιση της στην Κύπρο ένα εξαιρετικά σπάνιο άγριο πτηνό η Χαμωτίδα (Tetrax tetrax), όπως είναι γνωστή στην Ελλάδα, ή Νανόγαλος. Στην Κύπρο είναι επίσης γνωστή και ως Αρκόγαλος, αν και το όνομα Αρκόγαλος αναφέρεται στη Μεγάλη Ωτίδα, γνωστή και ως Αγριόγαλος (Otis tarda).

Στην Κύπρο εμφανίστηκε ένα και μοναδικό θηλυκό στις 3 Δεκεμβρίου 2013. Το εντόπισαν η Φανή και ο Γιώργος Κωνσταντίνου, οι οποίοι είναι και οι πρώτοι που το φωτογράφισαν στην Κύπρο. Επίσης, διαβίβασαν την πληροφορία για καταγραφή στoν Πτηνολογικό Συνδέσμο Κύπρου, BirdLife Cyprus. Το πτηνό βρισκόταν σε απαγορευμένη περιοχή κυνηγίου έξω από το Γέρι. Η Χαμωτίδα παρατηρήθηκε να περιφέρεται και να τρέφεται σε βραχώδη ακαλλιέργητη επίπεδη περιοχή, καλυμμένη μερικώς με μαζιά (Sarcopoterium spinosum), σκυλοκρέμμυδα (Urginea maritima), ασφόδελος (Asphodelus microcarpus) και διάφορα χόρτα μεταξύ καλλιεργημένων χωραφιών με σιτάρι (Triticum aestivum) και κριθάρι (Hordeum vulgare). Συνεχίζει να περιφέρεται στον ακαλλιέργητο χώρο εδώ και δέκα μέρες, αποφεύγοντας τις καλλιεργημένες εκτάσεις. Ο εντοπισμός του είναι δύσκολος λόγω του χρώματος απόκρυψης του πτηνού και της συνήθειας να λυγίζει τα πόδια προς το έδαφος για να μειώνει το ύψος του. Εξακολουθεί να παραμένει στον ίδιο χώρο, παρόλο που την περιοχή έχουν επισκεφθεί διάφοροι πτηνοπαρατηρητές, οι οποίοι πληροφορήθηκαν την ύπαρξη του σπάνιου επισκέπτη από τον Γ. Κωνσταντίνου. Οι παρατηρήσεις γίνονται από το αυτοκίνητο, διότι όταν κατέβουν από το όχημα, η Χαμωτίδα πετά και απομακρύνεται. Είναι εντυπωσιακά ήρεμη, περιφέρεται στο βραχώδη χώρο και τρέφεται τσιμπολογώντας με απότομες κινήσεις της κεφαλής και του ράμφους προς τα κάτω, καταπίνοντας κυρίως τρυφερά χόρτα, αγριομολόχες (Malva silvestris), οξινούδια (Oxalis pes-caprae) και λίγο άγριο τριφύλλι (Trifolium stellatum). Επίσης, τρώει ακρίδες και σκαθάρια. Σε μια στιγμή που η Χαμωτίδα είχε γυρισμένη την πλάτη, αλλά μας κοίταζε κατά διαστήματα, πλησιάσαμε σε κοντινή απόσταση με το αυτοκίνητο και ο Γ. Κωνσταντίνου της έριξε ένα κομμάτι ψωμί. Στο άκουσμα του θορύβου του ψωμιού που έπεσε στο έδαφος, η Χαμωτίδα γύρισε με αστραπιαία ταχύτητα προς το ψωμί,

LITTLE BUSTARD AT GERI NICOSIA CYPRUS 3RD TO 14TH DECEMBER 2013

There are several birds on the Cyprus list that local birdwatchers have set their sights on seeing and on 3rd December 2013 Nicosia naturalists George and Fani Konstantinou were out near the buffer zone there, when they found a species that was high on the wanted list of many. They came across a Little Bustard Tetrax terax feeding near a track not too far from UN guard posts. Once they had confirmed the ID they set about informing other local birders and for many days afterwards they kindly ferried several people a day to the area, so that they too could enjoy good views of this confiding juvenile bird. Out in the middle of the fields outside Geri, the bird had chosen a relatively isolated area that you would struggle to find unless taken there.
Unfortunately though the story doesn't have a happy ending as most of you will now know. On 15th December a photograph of a shot bird was sent to BirdLife Cyprus Chairman Melis Charalambides by someone wanting to know what species their friend had shot. The photograph was of a shot Little Bustard and despite the fact that it is claimed that it had been shot in the area of Potamia, the Geri bird had not been seen since 14th. It is too much of a co-incidence and it can be safely assumed that the shot bird was George's bird.
According to P.Flint and P. Stewart in the second edition of 'The Birds of Cyprus' Little Bustard were seen, before 1946, usually in pairs, most winters especially in the Morphou area. They describe it as 'formerly a scarce to fairly common winter visitor to low ground Nov -- Feb'. They also mention many records of shot birds in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The most recent accepted record of a live Little Bustard on the island is from the Paphos area in December 1979. Tellingly however there are reports of shot birds most years and such a report was received less than a month before the Nicosia bird was found. There are authenticated reports of specimens in taxidermist shops that support this otherwise hearsay evidence.
Little Bustard are the smallest member of the bustard family in Europe and are slightly bigger than a Black Francolin although have a more upright stance than that species. It is listed as Near Threatened by BirdLife International due to reduction in range and numbers -- especially in the west of its range - thought to be mainly due to habitat loss and degradation as well as what they describe as low-level hunting pressure. In the west of Europe it occurs in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France and in the east of its range it occurs in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, north-west China, northern Iran and Turkey. Many overwinter eastwards from Turkey to Azerbaijan.
News of the shooting of this individual shocked all who had seen it and other local birdwatchers but giving its confiding nature some
Jane Stylianou

Video is taken by George Konstantinou at Nicosia,Geri at buffer zone on 3rd December 2013