10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

Cyprus Wheatears are the easiest to find of the three endemic birds that occur on Cyprus Black Francolins once bred in Portugal, Spain and Italy, all countries from which this handsome little game bird has long been lost. They are very late breeders, as they feed their young on autumn migrants which they generally intercept out to sea.

Cyprus 225

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 225

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

Of course, this fanciful story had been devised to explain the absence of nests in Europe by this Arctic breeder, but Frederick dismissed it as nonsense. Whatever they may be, the image makes a handsome label for this week’s wine, the 2015 Siir from San Martino, a vineyard in the Aglianico del Vulture region of Basilicata in Italy.

2015 113

2015 Italy Falcons Europe 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Quite recently, it has started to expand inland, along the river Rhone and to the South of Germany, where it is now an uncommon but conspicious breeder. A different form ( atlantis ) which may or may not constitute a separate species, is found on the Azores, Fuerteventura, and the Canary Islands.

Europe 127

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 127