Alphabetical list

Gambia-02/2023

It occurs in the central and northern part of Argentina and in Brazil. Presented photos were taken in the park in Buenos Aires, where I could shoot them with no problems. It is as popular there as Eurasian collared doves in Polish cities. But much more colored with its scaly feathers on the neck. The weight of the pigeon can reach about 300 to 400 grams and a wingspan of up to 70 centimeters.

It occurs on the coasts of Europe and Asia most frequently. In Poland, an extremely rare visitor, though more and more often their hatching is said to be seen in our country. The pictures were taken in the Netherlands within the midday break in shooting the baillon’s crake. After a short conversation with the Dutch bird-watchers it was clear that pied avocets can be easily shot not so far away on the coast. They were not many there, probably less than 10 individuals living beside the colony of black-headed gulls and sandwich terns.

Watching the Pied Butcherbird again brings to my mind association with our magpie. This species is slightly smaller. Body weight is about 125 grams. Males are black and white with the head in plain black color. Females have clear brown throat. Their menu is similar to our Great Grey Shrike: rodents, birds, lizards. To divide its prey into smaller portions it punches them on spikes and sharp twigs. It occurs only in Australia.

Tanzania-12/2017
Last minute news-Ethiopia-12/2019
Last minute news-11/12-2022 – Botswana
Last minute news-02/2023-Gambia

Sri Lanka-12/2018
Last minute news-Ethiopia-12/2019

Photos of The Pied Currawong were taken in Sydney. This bird occurs in the east of Australia. It is omnivorous, can even hunt small birds. It belongs to the butcherbirds’ family and is endemic to Australia. It is  adapted to live among human settlements. In our country the Black-billed Magpie seems to be its counterpart. In one of  gardens  some inhabitants put up the toasted bread, that attracted rainbow lorikeets. The Pied Currawong without hesitation dropped in for a meal, ignoring the rainbow lorikeets that were eating there.

Another species of bird belonging to Polish fauna, and "gained" during my stay in South Africa. The first encounter with a pied kingfisher was while at sunrise we were waiting for turacos. Two pairs of pied kingfishers in the morning preyed very efficiently. Unfortunately there was a wide space between us and even the 2X converter could not do. But the first documentary photographs were taken and to my list of birds belonging to fauna of Poland another species was added.

The largest aggregation of these birds I could see in New Zealand at low tide. Oystercatchers should be linked with New Zealand, because the most of published photos were taken there. Its Polish name is derived from the characteristic orange-red beak, which can reach up to 8 cm. So long beak is useful for dealing with clams and other invertebrates. At seashore they can live together in colonies and warn each other against the threat of predators.