In a little house in a little old village in Japan lived a little old man and his little old wife. One morning when the old woman slid open the screens which form the sides of the Japanese houses, she saw on the doorstep a poor little sparrow. She took him up gently and fed […]
Category: Eurasia
The blacksmith’s wife stole the Dove’s egg, and all were punished
A dove laid an egg in the hollow of a big tree in front of the blacksmith’s house. When she flew away from her nest in search of food, the blacksmith’s wife stole the egg. The dove came back to her nest and found the egg missing. The dove knew at once that the blacksmith’s […]
The Geese and the abbess
Many years ago there was near the sea a convent famed for the rich crops of grain that grew on its farm. On a certain year a large flock of wild geese descended on its fields and devoured first the corn, and then the green blades. The superintendent of the farm hastened to the convent […]
The Eagles
A poster featuring Eagles from the Palearctic region. The drawings are made by Jan Gerrard Keulemans, a famous 19th century artist. I have collected many of his drawings, primarily from his work for the Britsh Museum
Vintage plate Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
In 1902: The breeding-habits of the Fieldfare are only to be observed in the north and east of Europe ; for in every other part of the continent the bird is scarcely ever known as other than a winter visitant. It is fond of the neighbourhood of cultivated land, birch-woods, or those wherein birch and […]
Seasonal variation in bill morphology of Nuthatches Sitta europaea dietary adaptations or consequences?
Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) Science Article 3 abstract Bills of juvenile Nuthatches continue to increase in size (length and depth) for up to three months after fledging. Bills of individual full-grown birds increase in length from April to October with a temporary drop in June, and decrease throughout the winter season. Bill depth increases from […]
Do male Nuthatches (Sitta europaea) guard their mates?
Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) Science Article 1 abstract We expected to find a clearly manifested mate guarding behaviour in males of Sitta europaea as males of this socially monogamous species participate extensively in parental care. We recorded behaviour of nuthatches during one breeding season in primaeval stands of the Biatowie
Extra-pair young despite strong pair bonds in theEuropean Nuthatch ( Sitta europaea)
Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) Science Article 2 abstract We choose the European Nuthatch (Sitta europaea), an extremely socially monogamous passerine species, to investigate the breeding biology and frequency of extra-pair activities of females. Breeding individuals live in strong pair bonds for their total life and defend their territory all year round. As a consequence of […]
The population decline of the starling, Sturnus vulgaris, in GreatBritain: patterns and causes
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 9 abstract Although the starling has the capacity for explosive population growth, its population in Britain has declined bytwo-thirds over the last 40 years. Here we summarize a major study (Crick et al., 2002) which investigates the reasons for this.The starling is commonest in urban and farmland habitats, though density […]
Population trends of the Finnish starling Sturnus vulgaris, 1952-1998, as inferred from annual ringing totals
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Science Article 3 abstract Finnish starling populations have declined, a phenomenon first noted towards the end of the 1970s. Here we use national ringing totals to estimate changes in the starling population. However, the numbers ringed depend not only on the population size but also on yearly variations in ringing activities. Thus, […]