Eurasian crag martin or just Crag martin - (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) (Scopoli, 1769) - Βραχοχελίδονο - Cyprus

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Τα 5 είδη χελιδονιών της Κύπρου (WEB TV) - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 11/6/2018

The Eurasian crag martin or just crag martin (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long with ash-brown upperparts and paler underparts, and a short, square tail that has distinctive white patches on most of its feathers. It breeds in the mountains of southern Europe, northwestern Africa and southern Asia. It can be confused with the three other species in its genus, but is larger than both, with brighter tail spots and different plumage tone. Many European birds are resident, but some northern populations and most Asian breeders are migratory, wintering in northern Africa, the Middle East or India.

The Eurasian crag martin builds a nest adherent to the rock under a cliff overhang or increasingly onto a man-made structure. It makes a neat half-cup mud nest with an inner soft lining of feathers and dry grass. Nests are often solitary, although a few pairs may breed relatively close together at good locations. Two to five brown-blotched white eggs are incubated mainly by the female, and both parents feed the chicks. This species does not form large breeding colonies, but is gregarious outside the breeding season. It feeds on a wide variety of insects that are caught in its beak as the martin flies near to cliff faces or over streams and alpine meadows. Adults and young may be hunted and eaten by birds of prey or corvids, and this species is a host of blood-sucking mites. With its very large and expanding range and large population there are no significant conservation concerns.

This bird is closely related to the other three crag martins which share its genus, and has sometimes been considered to be the same species as one or both, although it appears that there are areas where two species' ranges overlap without hybridisation occurring. All three Ptyonoprogne crag martins are quite similar in behaviour to other Old World swallows that build mud nests, and are sometimes subsumed into the larger genus Hirundo, but this approach leads to inconsistencies in classifying other genera, particularly the house martins.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Latshi by George Konstantinou

Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) (Linnaeus, 1758) Τρυγόνι - Cyprus

Juvenile

The European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), also known as the turtle dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons.

The European turtle dove is a migratory species with a southern Palearctic range covering most of Europe and the Middle East and including Turkey and north Africa, although it is rare in northern Scandinavia and Russia. It winters in southern Africa.

Juvenile

According to the State of Europe's Common Birds 2007 report, the European turtle dove population in Europe has fallen by 62% in recent times. Environmentalist groups have said that this is partly because changed farming practices mean that the weed seeds and shoots on which it feeds, especially fumitory, are more scarce, and partly due to shooting of birds in Mediterranean countries. According to a 2001 study cited by the European Commission, between two and four million birds are shot annually in Malta, Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. Environmentalists have described spring hunting in Malta as particularly problematic as it is the only country with an EU derogation to shoot birds during their spring migration to breeding grounds.

According to a 2007 study by the European Commission, four currently identifiable potential threats to the turtle dove are (1) habitat loss /modification (medium to low impact), (2) droughts and climate change (mostly unknown but likely low impact), (3) hunting (partly unknown but overall medium impact), and (4) competition with the collared dove (unknown impact)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juvenile

Photos Meneou by George Konstantinou

Rock dove (Columba livia) (Gmelin,1789) Αγριοπερίστερο - Cyprus

The rock dove (Columba livia) or rock pigeon is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon".

The species includes the domestic pigeon (including the fancy pigeon), and escaped domestic pigeons have given rise to feral populations around the world.

Wild rock doves are pale grey with two black bars on each wing, while domestic and feral pigeons are very variable in colour and pattern. There are few visible differences between males and females. The species is generally monogamous, with two squabs (young) perbrood. Both parents care for the young for a time.

Habitats include various open and semi-open environments. Cliffs and rock ledges are used for roosting and breeding in the wild. Originally found wild in Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, feral pigeons have become established in cities around the world. The species is abundant, with an estimated population of 17 to 28 million feral and wild birds in Europe..From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Apostolos Antreas by George Konstantinou

Long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) (Cretzschmar, 1829) Αετογερακίνα - Σιαχινολάγουδο - Διπλογέρακο - Cyprus

See also

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

List of Cyprus birds of prey on this blog - Λίστα Αρπαχτικών πουλιών της Κύπρου σε αυτό το ιστολόγιο

Cyprus birds of prey - Αρπαχτικά πουλιά της Κύπρου

The long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) is a bird of prey in the Buteo genus. It is similar in appearance to the rough-legged buzzard(Buteo lagopus), but it is larger and more robust.
This is one of the largest species of Buteo. Length can range from 50 to 66 cm (20 to 26 in) and wingspan from 115 to 160 cm (45 to 63 in). Females, at an average mass of 1.3 kg (2.9 lb), are larger than males, at an average of 1.1 kg (2.4 lb). There are many different colour forms, but usually long-leggeds have a clear orange tint to the plumage, red or orange tail, pale head and largely white underwings. There is usually a distinctive black carpal patch and dark trailing edge to the wing. The rump and "trousers" are often dark or deep rufous. Plumage varies from ghostly pale individuals to very dark ones. Some plumages are almost similar to those of the steppe buzzard, the eastern subspecies of the common buzzard (Buteo buteo vulpinus), but long-legged buzzards have longer wings and are more like rough-legged buzzards or even a small Aquila eagle.
It inhabits dry open plains of northern Africa, southeastern Europe, west and central Asia east to China, and across central India. Recent sightings indicate that there is a small population in the Apulian region of south-eastern Italy. Open, uncultivated areas, with high bushes, trees, cliffs or hillocks are favoured as nesting areas. Younger birds disperse north of breeding grounds and there are records from Northern Europe. The breeding population in Greece is around 60 pairs.
Reforestation in the Judean Mountains in Israel is displacing populations of the long-legged buzzard, and the species is moving into the Judean Foothills and competing with the short-toed snake eagle there.
It feeds mostly on small rodents, although it will also take lizards, snakes, small birds and large insects
.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos and videos Athienou, Stazousa by George Konstantinou