Author:mena
The Red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a species of small passerine bird in the finch family (Length / Wingspan: 15-17 cm / 27-30 cm). A bird with a large head, it has one of the most surprising and specialized beaks of all European avifauna. It is a robust, scissor-shaped tool, whose jaws intersect to form a perfect pincer with which to extract the nutritious pine nuts found in the cones of conifers (scots, black, aleppo and black pines), which constitute […]
The European serin Serinus serinus is a passerine bird of the Fringillidae family, of which at 11-12 cm it is the smallest species. Stocky in appearance with a short, conical beak. The feathers of the adult male are greenish, with darker streaks on the back, wings and tail, as well as on the inside of the head and sides. Those on the forehead have a yellowish color, as do the eyebrows and some of the neck, as well as the […]
Cagarneres en la lloma, verderols en el paller, les perdius en l’estepar, teuladins en el carrer. The European greenfinch (Chloris chloris) is a small songbird, from the order of passerines and from the family Fringillidae (like the finch). It is a common species in the Iberian Peninsula. It measures 13 to 15 cm long. Its plumage is a striking yellowish-green color, more intense during the breeding season, with yellow sides of the tail and rump. In flight, it sports a […]
Limonium mansanetianum (M.B Crespo & M.D Lledó) Saladilla (Limonium mansanetianum) is a species of perennial plant from the Plumbaginaceae family, with a green or slightly grayish tone, which reaches 50 to 70 cm in height. It is very branched and has lax spikes of violet flowers. It blooms between July and September, although it is common to see flowering specimens in the first months of autumn. It is a very rare plant, which grows exclusively in a small area that […]
The European crested tit (Lophophanes cristatus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Paridae. About 11.5 cm in length, it is easily recognizable by its prominent, curved and pointed crest of black and white feathers. Its face has black and white lines, with a black beak. The dorsal area is yellowish brown, with gray wings and tail. It is a very widespread and common species in coniferous forests such as pine forests in central and northern Europe and […]
Autumn has settled in the Font Roja. From the sea of orange trees in my town in the Ribera Alta, I pass without respite to a world with a mosaic of ocher and yellow colors. In its shadiest and most humid corners, this deciduous forest composed of the gall oak or Valencian oak (Quercus faginea), the ash, the maple (Make opalus subsp. Granatense), the mostajo, the yew… is at its maximum splendor. In the understory of this oak forest made […]
“Això era i no era, bon viatge fassa la cagarnera…” The goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a bird from the finch family, very lively and restless, with very striking colors and highly appreciated for its fluted and melodious song. Social in nature, they usually go in small groups, making short and fast flights at low altitude. It is 12 cm long and 23 cm wide, from head to tail, with a conical and sharp beak. Very showy plumage, as we have […]
Sin Dios y sin Santa María, por la chimenea arriba!… parten las brujas volando en escobas o transformadas en cárabos… rumbo a Cernégula… The afternoon falls in some lonely and secluded place in the imposing and wild Caroig Massif Natural Park. After a long day traveling along paths and roads, I arrived at the edge of an immense forest, after having crossed an endless sea of olive trees. I see in the distance flocks of finches, pipits and starlings wandering […]
The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is an emblematic bird of the Spanish urban landscape, extremely linked to man who has always been with us and which is now experiencing a marked decline in its populations. There used to be more sparrows in the streets of cities and towns throughout Spain. It is scarce in places where there are no towns and is absent in higher altitude areas and in forests without any type of human construction. But that balance that […]
When the cold arrives in our region, many species of birds that have migrated south have already left us for a few weeks, such as the swallow, the bee-eater, the oriole and other summer birds, which will spend the winter season in their barracks in Africa. On the other hand, when temperatures drop and winter shows itself in full force, other birds from more northern latitudes adapt to our landscapes. Species such as the redstart, robin, chiffchaff, wren, Eurasian siskin… […]
