Archive for November, 2009

Spotted on our property Monte Horizonte today.

The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just outside in northern Iran. It is a rare species which is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel and Libya.

Red Kite, Rode Wouw, Rotmilan, Milhafre-real, Milano real

Adults differ from juveniles in a number of characteristics:

Adults are overall more deeply rufous, compared with the more washed out colour of juveniles;
Adults have black breast-streaks whereas on juveniles these are pale;
Juveniles have a less deeply-forked tail, with a dark subterminal band;
Juveniles have pale tips to all of the greater-coverts (secondary and primary) on both the upper- and under-wings, forming a long narrow pale line; adults have pale fringes to upperwing secondary-coverts only.
These differences hold throughout most of the first year of a bird's life.
 
The Red Kite's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits. It also feeds on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms also form an important part of the diet, especially in the spring.[8]

As scavengers, red kites are particularly sensitive to poisoning[9]. Illegal poison baits set for foxes or crows are indiscriminate and kill protected birds and other animals.

At signs of danger a mother will signal the young who will "play dead" to the extent that a fox will believe them to be dead and leave them, thinking it can return to eat them later.

Adult red kites are sedentary birds, and they occupy their breeding home range all year. Each nesting territory can contain up to five alternative nest sites. Both birds build the nest on a main fork or a limb high in a tree, 12-20m high made of dead twigs and lined with grass or other vegetation and sheep’s wool.

Asturian: Milán del Rau Forcau, Milán Rauforcau
Breton: Ar barged ruz
Catalan: Milà reial
Catalan (Balears): Milà reial
Welsh: Barcud coch, Barcut, Barcutan, Boda gwennol
Danish: Rød Glente
German: Rotmilan, Rotmilanmilvus
English: European Red Kite, Red kite
Esperanto: Ru^ga milvo
Spanish: Milano Real
Estonian: Puna-harksaba
Basque: Milà reial
Finnish: Isohaarahaukka
Faroese: Glenta
French: Milan noir, Milan royal
Irish: Cúr Rua
Gaelic: Clamhan Gabhlach, Clamhan Gobhlach, Croman Lachaidh
Galician: Milà reial, Millafre real
Hungarian: Vörös kánya
Icelandic: Svölugleða
Italian: Nibbio reale
Japanese: akatobi
Cornish: Scowl
Latin: Milvus milvus, Milvus milvus milvus
Lithuanian: Rudasis peslys
Dutch: Rode wouw
Norwegian: Glente
Polish: Kania rdzawa, kania ruda, kania ruda (kania rdzawa)
Portuguese: milhafre real, Milhafre-real, Milhano
Romansh: Milan cotschen
Slovenian: rjavi škarjek, rjavi škarnik
Albanian: Huta bishtgërshërë e kuqërreme
Swedish: Glada, Röd glada
 

Spotted on our property Monte Horizonte 

The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), also known as a ruddock, robinet, or (in Anglophone Europe) simply robin, is a small insectivorouspasserine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae).

Robin, Roodborst, Rotkehlchen, Pisco-de-peito-ruivo, Petirrojo Europeo

Around 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 in) in length, the male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upperparts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north.

The term Robin is also applied to some unrelated birds with red breasts. These include the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), which is a thrush, and the Australian red robins of the genus Petroica, which are more closely related to crows.

The European Robin was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae, under the name of Motacilla rubecula. Its specific epithet rubecula is a diminutive derived from the Latin ruber 'red'.[3] The genus Erithacus was created by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800, giving the bird its current binomial name of E. rubecula.

The distinctive red breast of both sexes led to the European Robin's original name of redbreast. In the fifteenth century, when it became popular to give human names to familiar species, the bird came to be known as Robin redbreast, which was eventually shortened to Robin.[5] In American literature of the late 19th century, this robin was frequently called the English Robin. The Frisian robyntsje or robynderke is similar to the English name, while Dutch Roodborstje and French Rougegorge both refer to the distinctive red front.

The Robin belongs to a group of mainly insectivorous birds that have been variously assigned to the thrushes or "flycatchers", depending on how these groups were perceived taxonomically. Eventually, the flycatcher-thrush assemblage was re-analysed and the genus Erithacus assigned to a group of thrush-like true flycatchers, the tribe Saxicolini, that also includes the nightingale and the Old World chats.

Other synonyms

Asturian: Raitán
Breton: Ar boc’hruzig rujodenn, Ar boc'hruzig rujodenn, boc'hruzig, Brennid-ruz, Bruched-ruz, Buruig, Draouennig-vras, Kofig-ruz, Pêrig kof-ruz, Pichig-ruz, Richodell, Rujodenn, Torig-ruz
Catalan: Pit-roig, Rupit
Catalan (Balears): Rupit
Czech: Cervenka obecná
Welsh: Brongoch, Bronrhuddyn, Bronruddyn, Coch-gam, robin goch
Danish: Rødhals
German: Kehlchen, Rotkehlchen
Greek: [Kοkkinοlaimis], kοkkinοlaimis, Κοκκινολα?μης
English: European Robin, European Robin Robin, Robin
Spanish: Petirro, Petirrojo, Petirrojo Europeo
Estonian: Punarind
Basque: Pit-roig , Txantxan, txantxangorri, Txantxangorria
Finnish: Punarinta
Faroese: bringureyði, Reyðbrystingur
French: Rougegorge, Rougegorge familier
Frisian: readboarstke
Irish: paporroibo, paporrubio, pisco, spideog, Spideóg
Gaelic: Am Brù-Dhearg, Broinn Dearg, Brù-Dhearg
Galician: Paporrubio, Pit-roig
Manx: Cleean Jiarg, Spiitag, spittag
Hungarian: Vörösbegy
Icelandic: Glóbrystingur
Italian: Pettirosso, Pettirosso comune, Pettirosso europeo
Japanese: Eoropean Robin, yoaroppakomadori, yo-roppakomadori, Youroppa-komadori
Cornish: Rudhak, rudhek
Latin: Erithacus rubecula
Ladino: pietcuecen
Lithuanian: liepsnele
Macedonian: crvenoguška
Maltese: pitirross
Dutch: Roodborst
Norwegian: Rødkjelk, Rødkjelke, Rødstrupe
Occitan: papach rós, papachrós
Polish: Plochacz halny, rudzik, Rudzik zwyczajny
Portuguese: pisco de peito riuvo, pisco de peito ruivo, Pisco-de-peito-riuvo, Pisco-de-peito-ruivo
Romansh: puppen cotschen, Puppencotschen
Romanian: gusa-rosie
Romany: loli-kolinaki, lolo-kolinako
Russian: zarjanka
Sardinian: Barbarrubia
Scots: Broinn dearg
Northern Sami: guovssoloddi
Slovak: cervienka
Slovenian: tašcica
Albanian: gushëkuqi
Serbian: crvendac
Swedish: Rödhake