Our Christmas Eve contribution, since it’s Sunday, comes from biologist John Avise, who’s doing a series of birds from foreign countries. John’s notes and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.
Birds in Norway
In 2009, I visited Trondheim, Norway to attend a conference on population genetics. This week’s post shows several avian species I photographed during meeting breaks, all within easy walking distance from the downtown conference venue.
Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea):
Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus):
Black-headed Gull flying:
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), hooded form:
Carrion Crow flying:
Eurasian Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs):
Common Gull (Larus canus):
Common Gull flying:
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo):
Common Tern flying:
Common Tern headshot:
Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica):
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus):
European Oystercatcher flying:
Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris):
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba):
Very cool. The Fieldfare looks just like our American Robin, for obvious reasons. I didn’t know about it before.
There it is.
I think the black headed gull in flight is quite a demonstration of form – in-motion –
Splendid.
So lovely! The Black-headed gull is flying is my favorite. Such great markings.
Thank you!
Beautiful pictures as always – thank you! The flying tern looks suitably angelic for the Xmas season.
Thank you—it’s been many years since I last saw a chaffinch, fieldfare or wagtail, as they don’t exist here in Canada. That reminds me of my favourite bird sounds. Imagine yourself lying on an ancient hill fort in the Marlborough Downs, while the wind is buffeting your eardrums it is warm and the sun is bright. Lambs are bleating in the field at the foot of the hill and two birds are singing to you: a lark making the sweetest song of all, while a lapwing (we called them “Pee-wits” after their cry) is calling out as if lonely. It lies; there is a large flock on the ploughed field.
It was a jaw dropping moment, years after I left Wiltshire, to listen to the introduction to Sheep on Pink Floyd’s Animals and re-live those happy memories. Sheep and larks are the best music of all.
Excellent, a Tjeld (Oystercatcher)! That is the only bird that I know the Norwegian name for, since the field biology lab an hour N of Bergen that I once spent ten days (actually the converted summer cottage of a marine biologist), with one corner of the house IN the fjord, had a big flat rock across the mini-inlet from the dock that attracted them. I had no idea what they were, but there was a book of birds at the lab in Norwegian only, and no internet, so I had to wait a day to get to the library in Bergen to find out what a Tjeld was in English.
Of course, without that orange bill I probably wouldn’t have paid them much attention. I didn’t expect to find a bird with such a colorful bill and plus matching eyes and legs in Norway.