Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests

Showing posts with label Birds of Belarus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birds of Belarus. Show all posts

Saturday 2 August 2014

WHITE WAGTAIL (Motacilla alba) Goritsa Forest, Burgas Province, Bulgaria


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The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small ground nesting passerine and along with the longclaws and pipits is in the family Motacillidae which is in the genus Motacilla. This species is the commonest and most widespread wagtail that is found in Eurasia. It also breeds in parts of North Africa and there is a small Alaskan breeding population. The northern populations are migratory and winters in Southern Europe, Africa and Southern Asia. Up to 11 sub-species are recognised, including the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) which breeds in Britain, Ireland and the near-continent
Text © www.rawbirds.com

Sunday 20 January 2013

WOOD SANDPIPER (Tringa glareola) Pripyat River, Turov, Homiel Province, Belarus


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The Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) is a medium sized shorebird or wader of the family Scolopacidae which is in the genus Tringa. It is a summer resident which breeds across a wide band that stretches from the uplands of Scotland, where 10 to 25 pairs breed annually, to Scandinavia eastward to the Pacific coast of Asia. This long distant migrant spends the winter in sub Saharan Africa, southern Asia and parts of Australia. During spring and autumn, it is irregularly encountered outside its normal range as a scarce or rare overshooting migrant. 

Text © Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds.com

Wednesday 16 January 2013

BARN SWALLOW Hirundo rustica) Belarus

 
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  The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is of the family Hirundinae which is in the genus Hirundo . It is a summer resident which breeds in the Northern Hemisphere. There are small sedentary populations in some of the tropical parts of this range but during the summer it is mainly absent from the Indian sub-continent and South East Asia. This common and widespread insectivorous species feeds exclusively on small flies and midges. 
In late autumn with the onset of colder weather, when its prey items begin to diminish, it migrates south to its wintering areas. The North American population winters in Central and South America. The Eurasian population winters in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and parts of Northern Australia. In early spring the return migration north begins. At least races are recognised.  
There are 74 species of hirundines which includes Swallows and Martins. In additional, the only known record of the Red Sea Cliff Swallow (Hirundo perdita) was of one found dead at Sanganeb Lighthouse, Sudan in May 1984.

  Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Tuesday 15 January 2013

BARN SWALLOW Hirundo rustica Belarus

 
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  The Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) is of the family Hirundinae which is in the genus Hirundo . It is a summer resident which breeds in the Northern Hemisphere. There are small sedentary populations in some of the tropical parts of this range but during the summer it is mainly absent from the Indian sub-continent and South East Asia. This common and widespread insectivorous species feeds exclusively on small flies and midges. 
In late autumn with the onset of colder weather, when its prey items begin to diminish, it migrates south to its wintering areas. The North American population winters in Central and South America. The Eurasian population winters in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and parts of Northern Australia. In early spring the return migration north begins. At least races are recognised.  
There are 74 species of hirundines which includes Swallows and Martins. In additional, the only known record of the Red Sea Cliff Swallow (Hirundo perdita) was of one found dead at Sanganeb Lighthouse, Sudan in May 1984.

  Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Saturday 12 January 2013

BLACK STORK (Ciconia nigra) Pripyat Marshes, Gomel Region, Belarus

 
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The Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) is of the family Ciconiidae which is in the genus Ciconia.

Tuesday 8 January 2013

WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia) Białowieski Park Narodowy, Hajnówka, Belarus

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The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is of the family Ciconiidae which is in the genus Ciconia.

WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia) Białowieski Park Narodowy, Hajnówka, Belarus

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The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is of the family Ciconiidae which is in the genus Ciconia.


WHITE STORK (Ciconia ciconia) Białowieski Park Narodowy, Hajnówka, Belarus

 
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The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is of the family Ciconiidae which is in the genus Ciconia.

Saturday 5 January 2013

WESTERN JACKDAW (Corvus monedula). There are several subspecies recognised including the EASTERN JACKDAW (Corvus monedula monedula) Belarus

 
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 The Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) or Eurasian Jackdaw is of the crow family Corvidae which is in the genus Corvus.

COMMON CHIFFCHAFF (Phylloscopus collybita subspecies P. c. collybita) Popelevo, Brest Region, Belarus

 
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 The Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is of the family Phylloscopidae which is in the genus Phylloscopus. This small insectivorous species of leaf warbler is a summer resident from mid March to October which breeds in the northern and temperate regions of Eurasia. In the autumn it migrates south to spend the winter in the Mediterranean Basin, sub Saharan Africa and southwestern Asia. Small numbers also overwinter in northwest Europe.  
There are several subspecies recognised including, Common Chiffchaff (P. c. collybita), Scandinavian Chiffchaff (P. c. abietinus) and Siberian Chiffchaff (P. c. tristis).  
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Friday 4 January 2013

RUFF (Calidris pugnax) male in breeding plumage with two females, Belarus

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The Ruff (Calidris pugnax) is a medium sized shorebird or wader of the sandpiper family Scolopacidae which is in the genus Calidris.

AQUATIC WARBLER (Acrocephalus paludicola) Pinsk District, Belarus

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The Aquatic Warbler
(Acrocephalus paludicola) is of the family Acrocephalidae which is in the genus Acrocephalus. This is a rare summer resident with a very restricted and localised breeding range in Eastern Europe including
Belarus. The autumn migration south to its wintering areas in sub Saharan western Africa begins in early July extending into September.
This species has been in serious decline since the 70's and there are now less than 10,000 breeding pairs. In Britain small numbers occur each autumn but in Ireland it has only been recorded on 13 occasions mainly from Cape Clear Island, Co. Cork and the most recent record is also from there on 26th September 1989.


Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds
 


Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) distribution map

  Breeding    Passage     Non-breeding - winter   Possibly  passage    Probably extinct  

SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons




    




CRESTED TIT (Lophophanes cristatus) Bialowieza Forest (Bielaviežskaja Pušča), Hajnówka 17-200, Belarus

 
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 The European Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus) or simply Crested Tit is a small perching bird of the family Paridae which is in the genus Lophophanes. The genus name Lophophanes is from the Ancient Greek lophos meaning "crest" and phaino "to show". Its specific name cristatus is Latin for "crested". It has a widespread distribution in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian Peninsula. In Britain, it is only found in Scotland and even then is confined to the Caledonian forests of Inverness and Strathspey. It is absent from Iceland and Ireland.

Sourcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_crested_tit

CRESTED TIT (Lophophanes cristatus) Bialowieza Forest (Bielaviežskaja Pušča), Hajnówka 17-200, Belarus

 
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 The European Crested Tit (Lophophanes cristatus) or simply Crested Tit is a small perching bird of the family Paridae which is in the genus Lophophanes. The genus name Lophophanes is from the Ancient Greek lophos meaning "crest" and phaino "to show". Its specific name cristatus is Latin for "crested". It has a widespread distribution in coniferous forests throughout central and northern Europe and in deciduous woodland in France and the Iberian Peninsula. In Britain, it is only found in Scotland and even then is confined to the Caledonian forests of Inverness and Strathspey. It is absent from Iceland and Ireland.

Sourcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_crested_tit