Tufted Duck is a great looker

The Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) is a really great looking member of the family. Yet it is often neglected by birders in many parts of Europe because it's quite common. Anyway, we like them.

Robin...

You know, we should never neglect the "common" birds. So here is a Robin, the original one, the European one...

Long-eared Owl roosts

Long-eared Owls are now gathering in their winter roosts in Hungary. I have checked a few places and numbers are building up.

Little Owl

Little Owl (Athene noctua), Hungary. Common in the lowlands and always popular with our guests.  

European Pond Terrapin

Of course, when out birding, you find all kinds of other wildlife. Here is a European Pond Terrapin seen out of the water in the Kiskunság, Hungary.

Tengmalm's Owl juvenile

Upon returning to the Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus), aka Boreal Owl, nest in Austria (see previous post), we were pleased to see a juvenile! Gerard Gorman.  

Tengmalm's Owl from Austria

Just finished a very successful tour around Austria, from the Alps to the lowlands in the east. We saw many great birds, with a highlight being this Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus), aka Boreal Owl. This beauty popped its head out of a Black Woodpecker cavity which I was checking. Gerard Gorman.  

Bee-eater in Hungary

These beauties are always popular with visiting birders! Wonder why? European Bee-eater Merops apiaster, in Hungary.

Hungarian Grey Bull

Whilst looking for Great Bustards yesterday in the Kiskunság NP, Hungary, we came upon this magnificent Hungarian Grey Bull. OK, not a bird, but worth a picture!

A new book entitled simply WOODPECKER is due to be published this summer by Reaktion Books, London, in their acclaimed Animal Series. Written by Gerard Gorman the book examines not only the natural but the cultural history of the animal... how it has been viewed by people from ancient times to the present day, and examines the woodpecker in art, literature, media, religion, mythology, legend and folklore. 

Great Capricorn Beetle

Yes, not a bird, but we admire all wildlife. Here is a pair of mating Great Capricorn Beetles (Cerambyx cerdo) found in woodland near Zagreb, Croatia, on a recent tour. This magnificent species is also known as the Oak Cerambyx. 

Blue Rock Thrush

We have just finished another great birding trip around Croatia. Here is one of the typical birds of rocky habitats in Dalmatia that we saw, and heard singing, daily... Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius.

Owls!

Owls are popular with all birders and even with many non-birders. On our tours in Central and Eastern Europe a great selection of owl species can be seen, including this stunner, Ural Owl! This is a bird that many visitors often have high on their lists of wants.

White-fronted Bee-eater

Another popular bird from our recent tour around South Africa: the colourful White-fronted Bee-eater Merops bullockoides by Gerard Gorman. 

Tour to South Africa

In the European winter we often head off overseas, to warmer climes. We have just returned from a small group tour around the east of South Africa. We observed the BIG FIVE (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo) and many more mammals, including great views of African Wild Dogs. Of course, there were a great many birds, too. Here is one, the outrageous looking Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis.

BOOK REVIEW - BIRDS OF THE INDONESIAN ARCHIPELAGO: GREATER SUNDAS AND WALLACEA

A REVIEW OF AN IMPORTANT NEW BIRD GUIDE

BIRDS OF THE INDONESIAN ARCHIPELAGO: GREATER SUNDAS AND WALLACEA

by James A. Eaton, Bas van Balen, Nick W. Brickle & Frank E. Rheindt.

http://www.lynxeds.com/product/birds-indonesian-archipelago

Published in November 2016 by Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 2016. Hardback. 65 Euros.

This book is the first field guide to cover all the birds found in the Indonesian archipelago. This huge and ornithologically diverse area includes the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Bali (the Greater Sundas), and Sulawesi, the Moluccas and the Lesser Sundas (Wallacea) and the smaller islands amongst them. These two regions, divided by the Wallace’s Line, are shown inside the book in large and very helpful maps: the Greater Sundas inside the front cover and Wallacea inside the back.

A grand total of 1,417 bird species are covered in the book’s 496 pages. The comprehensive nature of the work means that, in addition to the region’s 601 endemics, the authors also detail 98 vagrants and eight non-native, introduced species. Every subspecies (race) is also described - a remarkable achievement by the authors. Many readers and reviewers, including myself, will occasionally question some of the taxonomic decisions made and thus the taxons included, but this is inevitable given the current state of avian taxonomy where no definitive list is agreed upon. It is enough to say here that the authors are very well-versed in today’s taxonomic issues and debates and made their decisions on what to include or omit, as species or subspecies, accordingly. The text is backed-up by around 2,500 illustrations and 1,339 distribution maps. The concise texts on species are directly opposite the colour plates which also have the distribution maps included on them. All very convenient and ideal for use in the field. Although essentially a field guide, an introduction of sixteen pages, a bibliography of six and an index of sixteen, add to its weight and size, but this is inevitable for the book to be as comprehensive as it is and given the number of birds it deals with.

Having a keen interest in the Picidae, upon receiving the book I at once turned to the woodpeckers on pages 206 to 214. The first thing that struck me was that the illustrations were very familiar. Perhaps I was naïve, but I was eagerly expecting to see new colourful plates of my favourite birds, however, the artwork throughout the book is largely that of the Handbook of the Birds of the World, also published by Lynx Edicions. In retrospect, I fully understand the practical and economic reasons for reusing the artwork. Regarding the treatment of woodpeckers in this book (and indeed all other families), although the artwork is from HBW the text and taxonomy are not. The authors seemed to have been given license by Lynx to divert from HBW when they wished. For example, Chrysophlegma mentale is not split into two species here, as it is in HBW. One, perhaps trivial, thing I must mention is that the suggestion of the name ‘Lilliput Woodpecker’ for Hemicircus concretus (which HBW calls ‘Red-crested Woodpecker’) when split to species, was a little jarring!

Although the authors have obviously spent much time scouring papers, articles and reports, and examined museum specimens, it’s clear that the solid basis for this fine work is their field experience. Besides plumages and vocalisations, their acquaintance with behaviour, local distributions and habitats of the species shines through. Thus, this book is without question now the indispensable guide for those visiting this bird-rich region. I shall certainly be referring to it often. All in all, BIRDS OF THE INDONESIAN ARCHIPELAGO is a user-friendly, practical, well-researched and professionally produced work, and everyone involved should be congratulated.

Gerard Gorman

Productive winter birding

It is always worth going out birding, even on cold winter days. A few days in the Hungarian countryside recently with two friends from the UK turned up a great range of birds. What about 2 flocks of Great Bustards, 3 Great Bitterns, 2 adult Eastern Imperial Eagles, several White-tailed Eagles of various ages, Pygmy Cormorants posing for pictures, many 1000s of Greater White-fronted Geese and a sprinkling of Tundra Bean, Lesser White-fronted, Greylag, Barnacle and Red-breasted Geese with them ? And also Great Grey Shrikes, Rock Buntings, Long-eared Owls at several roosts, Black, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted and Grey-headed Woodpeckers, and Long-tailed Tits with a mix of head colours. Not a bad haul at all...

Woodpecker articles

On this page (click the safe link) are the titles of some of the articles and papers I have written about woodpeckers.

WOODPECKER ARTICLES

Hope they are of interest! Gerard Gorman.