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 Spanish Birds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spanish Birds. Show all posts

Monday 8 July 2013

EURASIAN NUTHATCH (Sitta europaea) Los Quejigales, Parque Natural Sierra de Las Nieves, Málaga, Spain

 
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 The Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is of the family Sittidae which is in the genus Sitta.

Tuesday 7 May 2013

EUROPEAN STONECHAT (Saxicola rubicola subspecies S. r. .rubicola) male at Dehesa de Abajo, Sevilla, Spain

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Click external link here for detailed species information
Click external link here to see distribution map and to hear calls

The European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is of the chat family Muscicapidae which is in the genus Saxicola. Preferred habitats include rough grassland, sand dunes and heathland where it is typically seen perched on brambles, gorse or shrubs within the breeding area. 
In the temperate part of its range, nesting commences in late March and up to three broods are raised. It is a partial migrant. Populations from the colder regions move to spend the winter in southern Europe and northern Africa. Successive hard winters, as was the case in 2009/10 and 2010/11 caused severe losses in the mainly sedentary northwestern populations
 
There are two subspecies generally recognised: 
  • Saxicola rubicola rubicola - occurs in central, eastern and southern Europe as well as northern Morocco and southeastern Turkey. 
  •  Saxicola rubicola hibernans - occurs in northwestern Europe including Britain, Ireland, France and Norway.
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds