Hutton in 1871 describes it as follows: Head, neck and lower parts, dull black ; back and wings, greenish black; tail, black ; forehead, cheeks and throat, grey. The young have the whole under surface, and over the tail, white ; the inner webs of the lateral tail feathers white, with black tips. It is […]
Category: Charadriiformes
Rarest birds of the World: St. Helena Plover, the Wirebird
This species population is very small and declining because of a degrade of suitable nesting ground. The population has shown some signs of recovery and is now above 250 mature individuals. St. Helena, then uninhabited, was discovered in 1502 and the introduction of goats in 1513 heralded the speedy destruction of the forests, which were […]
The Slender-billed Curlew, last seen in the previous century
In 1875 Bree wrote: “In all parts of Italy this species is met with; but while it is only a bird of passage and rather rare in the northern parts, in the central and southern parts it is common, and passes the winter there. In Sicily and in Malta it is the most common species […]
Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea)
It is incredible what activity this little bird has rendered since, about 8 years ago, for still not fully understood reasons, its popluation had declined to less than a 1000 individuals. In present day it is estimated at only 250 individuals and the population is aging. The crucial countries all working together, the action plans, […]
World Shorebirds Day
Initiated by long-time shorebird conservationist Gyorgy Szimuly, the World Shorebird Day is becoming a reality. Gyorgy relates this information to all birders with a soft spot towards shore birds. I kindly ask you to look at our blog, which is just launched, to get an idea what it is about: World Shorebirds Day Blog I […]
The Story of the Plover and Lady Mary
In the beginning the plover used to fly in large coveys. But one day, when Our Lady was riding on a horse, they ran across the road and frightened the horse so much that it threw the rider. Angry at the mishap, St. Mary cursed the plover that they should no longer gather in coveys […]
How the Curlew Down-under got his thin red legs
Bleargah the hawk, mother of Ouyan the curlew, said one day to her son: “Go, Ouyan, out, take your spears and kill an emu. The women and I are hungry. You are a man, go out and kill, that we may eat. You must not stay always in the camp like an old woman; you […]
The children that became sea-pigeons, did they?
It was very early in the spring. The sun rose, stayed for only a moment above the horizon, and then sank again from the sight of Eskimo children. But already huge icebergs broke from the shore and floated out to sea. Already the icy winds hurried away farther north. Already a few of the bravest […]
The Great Auk in Penobscot folklore
The great auk, now almost forgotten in the world by all except the ornithologists, is still remembered among the Penobscot as one of the legendary bird chiefs. While we may hesitate a moment in believing the strict identity of this now-extinct bird with the hero character in one of the creation tales, it nevertheless seems […]
The ritual of the birdman cult, the Manutara of Motu Nui
The Sooty Tern breeds often in great colonies on remote rocky islands and reefs. One of its regular breeding-places is the small rocky island of Moto Nui, lying off the S.W. end of Easter Island close to the crater of Rano Kao. In this post is described the great annual ceremony which was observed by […]