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Cyprus Delights – Part III

10,000 Birds

There are 154 species of cuckoos in the world, and they’re all a fascinating bunch. However, my current favourite member of the family Cucilidae is the Great Spotted Cuckoo (GSC), a common bird in Cyprus in spring. I wonder whether birds that breed in Europe ever meet up with those nest in southern Africa?

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Cypriot Delights: Part I

10,000 Birds

I’ve been a regular visitor to the island of Cyprus for over 25 years, making around a dozen trips during this period, every one in search of birds. According to the taxonomists, these weren’t regular Scops Owls ( Otus scops ) but the endemic Cyprus Scops Owl ( Otus cyprius ). Laughing Dove : now a common resident on Cyprus.

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Cyprus forests and avian inhabitants

10,000 Birds

All our six endemics have exclusive or partial populations living in forest habitats – exclusive being the Cyprus Jay Garrulus glandarius glazneri , Cyprus Coal Tit Periparus ater cypriotes , Cyprus Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla dorotheae and Cyprus Scops Owl Otus scops cyprius. That’s quite a lot!

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Cyprus Delights – Part II

10,000 Birds

One thing that I have learned from repeated spring visits to Cyprus is that no two years are ever the same. The island’s largest salt lake, Akrotiri, is not a great draw for waders, but the range of large, shallow saline pools on its east side, along Lady’s Mile, were in perfect condition to attract a wide variety of species.

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Migrant Warblers in Cyprus

10,000 Birds

Migrating warblers typically pass through Cyprus from March until May every Spring – a fact that is sadly taken advantage of by illegal poachers. But that gets me thinking of just how many warbler species migrate through Cyprus. Their migration typically peaks about a week before the end of April however. 2 Hippolais sp.,

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Birding without a phone

10,000 Birds

This is an uncommon species here – only about a dozen birds overwinter in the country annually. Well, this would be a fitting season for the second, then, this was the strangest Stonechat I ever saw (those birds in January already were in breeding plumage), and it’s either a 1st winter Common male or the Siberian Stonechat.

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“Birds of Cyprus” field guide review

10,000 Birds

Therefore, I was quite surprised when I learned that Helm has taken the gauntlet and, this January, published the “Birds of Cyprus” by Colin Richardson and Richard Porter. pounds to carry around, “Birds of Cyprus” (BOC) has 256 pages and weighs only one pound. Unlike “Collins Bird Guide” (CBG) with 416 pages and 1.7

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