Zaros lake

89. Muscovy ducks

In the lively colors of Zaros lake.

And some domesticated ducks/geese.

Seen in Zaros, April 24th, 2016

First grebe

88. Great crested grebe

First bird of the family of grebes on the list. I have one sighting and the photos clearly don't do it justice. They are beautiful birds with very special decorations and dances. The juveniles have black and white stripes on the head. They were nearly hunted to extinction in the UK.

Grebes in general are freshwater diving birds. They might have a close relationship to flamingos.

Seen in Como Lago, March 20th, 2016

Northern Italy (part 2)

87. European Robin

from a great distance. It is very small and the male and female are very similar. Here you can see the American Robin for comparison.

Seen in Citta alta, March 15th 2016

86. Mute swan

My first beautiful mute swans! In this post you can see the Whooped swan seen in Iceland and in the link below you can see the obvious difference of the two species, concerning their beaks.

http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/swans.html

Seen in Como lago, March 20th 2016

85. Eurasian coot

Black, except for its white frontal shield with very strong toes and red eyes.

Seen in Como lago, March 20th 2016

Northern Italy

84. Eurasian magpie (or Common magpie or Gazza ladra!)

It is one of the most intelligent birds. Quoting from wikipedia:

In Italian folklore, magpies are believed to have a penchant for picking up shiny items, particularly precious stones. Rossini's opera La gazza ladra and The Adventures of Tintin comic The Castafiore Emerald are based on this theme.

Seen in Novate Milanese, March 21st, 2016

83. Common Kestrel

It belongs in the same family as falcons and it is a bird of prey. It is small and the female is noticeably larger than the male. The male has blue-grey cap and tail. This one is either a juvenile or a female.

Seen in Citta alta, Bergamo, March 15th, 2016

82. Great black cormorant

It was nearly hunted to extinction in the past! Fishermen are sometimes able to take fish out of the cormorants' mouths since they catch it without being able to fully swallow them.

Seen in Como Lago, March 20th, 2016

South Crete

Both seen in Martsalo, in the cliffs of southern Crete, end of August.

81. Great tit
This is clearly a male because of the bright plumage. It usually doesn't migrate. Its diet consists of insects in the summer, plus berries, seeds and fruit in the more harsh seasons.

80. Rock Partridge
Beautiful birds which are decling in parts due to over-hunting. Though, they are found in very hilly -not very approachable- countries, they lay quite a lot of eggs (up to 20) and they manage to hold their population until now.

Hooded crow

I am now in Heraklion, Crete, the largest island of Greece. I will be staying for a long time in beautiful Crete, so most photos coming up will be of birds of the south-east part of the Balkans. Discover Crete with me!

Hooded crow

From the city of Heraklion, Crete.

More

Other beautiful birds found in abundance in Iceland.

beautiful European Starlings

domestic pigeons (or Rock doves)

Mallard ducks 

male digging in the water

female

Massive ravens

79. Eurasian Blackbird (Blackbird/Common Blackbird)

78. Meadow pipit

77. Herring Gull

Tens of gulls in Tjorn lake.

From Reykjavik, first days of June.