Birds
Birds (Aves) are quite a plentiful category of vertebrates. We can count about ten thousand species. People have always been fascinated by their ability to fly and in some cases also by their beautiful singing. Now, we admire their incredible sense of direction (they are able to sense magnetism of the Earth and work with it), intelligence (using tools) and connection with dinosaurs, from which they developed. Unfortunately, a lot of mates of birds are endangered species and some of them are on the border of extermination. In the Czech Republic, we can see the biggest decrease in birds of fields, water and wetlands. There are main problems birds have to deal with: destroying of baulks, draining wetlands, and imprudent management of ponds.
Tawny owl (Strix alucco)
Order: Strigiformes
Size: 43 cm (500 g)
Biotope: deciduous and mixed forests
Food: small-sized mammals, birds
Interesting thing: Allegedly, his voice brought legends about a leshy into being.
Author of photography: Michal Hykel
Kingfisher (Alcedo attis)
Order: Coraciiformes
Size: 18 cm (40 g)
Biotope: high banks of rivers and bodies of water
Food: small fish, amphibians, invertebrates living in water
Interesting thing: It can catch its food almost 60 cm under water.
Author of photography: Michal Hykel
Raven (Corvus corax)
Order: Passeriformes
Size: 60 cm (1100 g)
Biotope: It nests in forests and on rocks.
Food: omnivore
Interesting thing: It is able to learn to speak.
Author of photography: Michal Pešata
Common Firecrest (Regullus ignicapilla)
Order: Passeriformes
Size: 9 cm (8 g)
Biotope: forests
Food: insects
Interesting thing: It is the smallest bird of Europe together with another mate of Regullus.
Author of photography: Michal Pešata
Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)
Order: Columbiformes
Size: 40 cm (500 g)
Biotope: forests, parks
Food: fruits, leaves, buds
Interesting thing: It is more and more common also in urban areas.
Author of photography: Michal Pešata
Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Order: Accipitriformes
Size: 52 cm (800 g)
Biotope: forests
Food: small vertebrates (especially common voles), seldom carcass
Interesting thing: It is not possible to find two buzzards with the same colouring.
Author of photography: Michal Pešata
Eurasian golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus)
Order: Passeriformes
Size: 24 cm (67 g)
Biotope: forests, alleys, parks
Food: insects, fewer plants
Interesting thing: A starling imitates oriole´s singing.
Author of photography: Michal Pešata
European blackbird (Turdus merula)
Order: Passeriformes
Size: 27 cm (90 g)
Biotope: urban areas, forests
Food: insect
Interesting thing: Most of its population left forest about 150 years ago and moved into human’s closeness.
Author of photography: Michal Pešata
Green plover (Vanellus vanellus)
Order: Charadriiformes
Size: 30 cm (200 g)
Biotope: wetlands, fields, meadows banks of ponds
Food: invertebrates
Interesting thing: Because of changes in farming, plovers are disappearing from our landscape.
Author of photography: Michal Hykel
Pelophylax, one of the species of fogs living in our country. They are endangered.
