European shag or Common shag - Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii (Payraudeau, 1826): Θαλασσοκόρακας - Cyprus

 See also:

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

List of Birds of Cyprus - Κατάλογος πουλιών της Κύπρου

Subspecies

There are three subspecies:

G. a. aristotelis – (Linnaeus, 1761): nominate, found in northwestern Europe (Atlantic Ocean coasts)

G. a. desmarestii – (Payraudeau, 1826): found in southern Europe, southwest Asia (Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts)

G. a. riggenbachi – Hartert, 1923: found in northwest African coast

The subspecies differ slightly in bill size and the breast and leg colour of young birds. Recent evidence suggests that birds on the Atlantic coast of southwest Europe are distinct from all three, and may be an as-yet undescribed subspecies.

The name shag is also used in the Southern Hemisphere for several additional species of cormorants.

The European shag or common shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mainly wintering in its breeding range except for the northernmost birds. In Britain this sea bird is usually referred to as simply the shag 
It feeds in the sea, and, unlike the great cormorant, is rare inland. It will winter along any coast that is well-supplied with fish.

The European shag is one of the deepest divers among the cormorant family. Using depth gauges, European shags have been shown to dive to at least 45 m (148 ft). European shags are preponderantly benthic feeders, i.e. they find their prey on the sea bottom. They will eat a wide range of fish but their commonest prey is the sand eel. Shags will travel many kilometres from their roosting sites in order to feed.
In UK coastal waters, dive times are typically around 20 to 45 seconds, with a recovery time of around 15 seconds between dives; this is consistent with aerobic diving, i.e. the bird depends on the oxygen in its lungs and dissolved in its bloodstream during the dive. When they dive, they jump out of the water first to give extra impetus to the dive.
It breeds on coasts, nesting on rocky ledges or in crevices or small caves. The nests are untidy heaps of rotting seaweed or twigs cemented together by the bird's own guano. The nesting season is long, beginning in late February but some nests not started until May or even later. Three eggs are laid. Their chicks hatch without down and so they rely totally on their parents for warmth, often for a period of two months before they can fly. Fledging may occur at any time from early June to late August, exceptionally to mid-October.

The shag is a pursuit-diving seabird that feeds predominantly in benthic habitats. Due to the relative ease with which diet samples can be collected from this species (regurgitated food or pellets) and the perceived conflict between the Phalacrocoracidae and fisheries, shag diet competition has been the subject of substantial scientific interest. Evidence collected at one colony, the Isle of May, Scotland, between 1985 and 2014, suggests that shag chick diet composition in this population has diversified in response to ocean warming. Shags also feed on fewer sandeel on windy days, presumably due to the strong effect of wind on flight in this species. The year-round diet of full-grown shags at this colony has also changed over the past 3 decades, from sandeel specialists to an increasingly diverse prey base

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Davlos by George Konstantinou 

Black tern (Chlidonias niger) (Linnaeus, 1758) - Μαυρογλάρονο - Cyprus

The black tern (Chlidonias niger or Chlidonias nigra) is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.

Their breeding habitat is freshwater marshes across most of Canada, the northern United States and much of Europe and western Asia. They usually nest either on floating material in a marsh or on the ground very close to water, laying 2–4 eggs.

North American black terns migrate to the coasts of northern South America, some to the open ocean. Old World birds winter in Africa.

Unlike the "white" Sterna terns, these birds do not dive for fish, but forage on the wing picking up items at or near the water's surface or catching insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and fish as well as amphibians.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Achna by George Konstantinou 

Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) (Boddaert, 1783, France) Κηποσυκαλλίδα - Cyprus

The garden warbler (Sylvia borin) is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in western Asia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white underparts; the sexes are similar and juveniles resemble the adults. Its two subspecies differ only slightly and interbreed where their ranges overlap. Due to its lack of distinguishing features, this species can be confused with a number of other unstreaked warblers. The garden warbler's rich melodic song is similar to that of the blackcap, its closest relative, which competes with it for territory when nesting in the same woodland.

The preferred breeding habitat in Eurasia is open woodland with dense low cover for nesting; despite its name, gardens are rarely occupied by this small passerine bird. The clutch of four or five blotched cream or white eggs is laid in a robust cup-shaped nest built near the ground and concealed by dense vegetation. The eggs are incubated for 11–12 days. The chicks are altricial, hatching naked and with closed eyes, and are fed by both parents. They fledge about 10 days after hatching. Only about a quarter of young birds survive their first year. The garden warbler is strongly migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. A wide range of habitats are used in Africa, but closed forest and treeless Sahel are both shunned. Insects are the main food in the breeding season, although fruit predominates when birds are fattening prior to migration, figs being a particular favourite where available. These warblers have a mixed diet of insects and fruit in their African wintering grounds.

The garden warbler is hunted by Eurasian sparrowhawks and domestic cats, and its eggs and nestlings are taken by a variety of mammalian and avian predators. It may be host to various fleas, mites and internal parasites, and it is a host of the common cuckoo, a brood parasite. The large and fairly stable numbers and huge range of the garden warbler mean that it is classed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Despite a small population decline in much of its European range, the bird's breeding distribution is expanding northwards in Scandinavia.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photo and video Geri by George Konstantinou 

Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) (Brehm,1831) Μαυροβουτηχτάρι - Cyprus

The black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), known in North America as the eared grebe, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It occurs on every continent except Australia and Antarctica.

The black-necked grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its prey underwater, eating mostly fish as well as small crustaceans, aquatic insects and larvae. It prefers to escape danger by diving rather than flying, although it can easily rise from the water.

Like all grebes, the black-necked grebe nests on the water's edge, since its legs are set very far back and it cannot walk well. Usually two eggs are laid, and the striped young are sometimes carried on the adult's back.

The black-necked grebe is 28–34 centimetres (11–13 in) long. The adult is unmistakable in summer, with a black head and neck and yellow ear tufts. In winter, this small grebe is white with a poorly defined black cap, which distinguishes it from the crisper-looking Slavonian grebe (horned grebe in America).

The black-necked grebe is essentially flightless for most of the year (9 to 10 months), and is one of the most inefficient fliers among avifauna. Generally, it avoids flying at all costs and reserves long-distance flight exclusively for migration. However, when migrating, it will travel as much as 6,000 km (3,700 mi) to reach prosperous areas that are exploited by few other species. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Meneou by George Konstantinou 

Black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) (Linnaeus,1758) Ασπροκώλα - Ασπροκωλίνα - Cyprus

The black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) is a wheatear, a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae).

This 13.5-15.5 cm (5.6 inch) long insectivorous species is dimorphic with eastern and western races, sometimes split as eastern black-eared wheatear (Oenanthe melanoleuca) and western black-eared wheatear (which then retains the name hispanica). In both forms, birds with or without a black throat are met with.

The breeding male of the western form O. h. hispanica of the Iberian peninsula and north Africa has the forehead and crown white or nearly white, the mantle buff, and the wings blacker than those of the northern wheatear. The underparts are white tinged with buff. The back, upper tail coverts and most of the tail are white. The ear coverts and a line from the bill, and sometimes the throat, are black.

In autumn and winter the head and mantle are distinctly buff, as are the underparts, including the throat, but the buff varies in intensity. Except for the central pair, the tail feathers are much whiter than in the northern wheatear, the white on the inner web often extending to the tip.

The female is a browner bird, but has the characteristic lower back, and her seasonal changes are less marked.

The eastern O. h. melanoleuca is found in the eastern Mediterranean, and migrates to winter quarters in the Sudan.

The male of the eastern form is even whiter in summer than the western bird, but as a rule may be distinguished by the line which extends across the base of the bill. Black-throated individuals of this race have a greater amount of black on the throat and face than on the western birds, and the black generally terminates more abruptly or in a straighter line.

It is a rare vagrant to northwest Europe.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos and video Akrotiri by George Konstantinou 

Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) (Linnaeus,1758) Τρασιήλα - Σταρήθρα - Cyprus

The Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range, many birds move to lowlands and the coast in winter. Asian birds appear as vagrants in Alaska; this bird has also been introduced in Hawaii, western North America, eastern Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese skylark is now usually considered a subspecies.

The Eurasian skylark is 16 to 18 centimetres long. It is a bird of open farmland and heath, known throughout its range for the song of the male, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50 to 100 m, when the singing bird may appear as just a dot in the sky from the ground. The song generally lasts two to three minutes, but it tends to last longer later in the mating season, when songs can last for 20 minutes or more. The male has broader wings than the female. This adaptation for more efficient hovering flight may have evolved because of female Eurasian skylarks' preference for males that sing and hover for longer periods and so demonstrate that they are likely to have good overall fitness.

Like most other larks, the Eurasian skylark is a rather dull-looking species on the ground, being mainly brown above and paler below. It has a short blunt crest on the head, which can be raised and lowered. In flight it shows a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white, which are visible when the bird is flying away, but not if it is heading towards the observer. The Eurasian skylark has sturdy legs and spends much time on the ground foraging for seeds, supplemented with insects in the breeding season.

The Eurasian skylark makes a grass nest on the ground, hidden amongst vegetation. It is sometimes found nesting in bracken, using it for cover. Generally the nests are very difficult to find. Three to six eggs are laid in June. A second or third brood may be started later in the year. The eggs are yellow/white with brownish/purple spots mainly at the large end.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri by George Konstantinou