Week 23, 2017
This week has not brought the most numerous results when it comes to birds. However, I hadn't really spent as much time outside as I would have liked, all thanks to rain!
Nevertheless, on Friday night I had an opportunity to hear and see some nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus, LT lėlys), which was completely fascinating! Sadly due to combination of it being too dark (nightjars are obviously night birds that become active late at dusk) and them hiding in the trees most of the time, I couldn't get any pictures. But I did capture a short video when one of these birds was sitting in a nearby tree, singing its strange song (yes, that's the continuing 'errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr') before flying away.
Of course, after this encounter, I have been reading about nightjars. As many other birds that are active at night, nightjars, have always fascinated and somewhat spooked people. Due to our love of light and nightjars' preference of the darknes, we are mutual strangers.
The strangest and oldest idea associated with nightjars is reflected in the scientific name of the genus, Caprimulgus. Latin word capra stands for 'goat', while mulgere means 'to milk'. It translates into a 'goatsucker', which is based on an ancient belief that nightjars feed by sucking the teats of goats. Despite the known fact that nightjars feed on insects such as moths, this idea has been widespread for thousands of years and I would not be surprised if in some remote vilages it still existed!
It goes back all the way to Aristotle's History of Animals:
The so-called goat sucker lives on mountains... it lays two eggs or three at most, and is of a sluggish disposition. It flies up to the she-goat and sucks its milk, from which habit it derives its name; it is said that, after it has sucked the teat of the animal, the teat dries up and the animal goes blind. It is dim-sighted in the daytime, but sees well enough by night.
And true enough, nightjars can see well at night, all thanks to tapetum lucidum - minute droplets of oil behind the retina surface, they enhance the light-gathering capability of their eyes. And it is due to this layer that nightjars' eyes appear bright pink, red or fierce-orange when they encounter the car headlights or a torchlight.
(Most of these facts come from an amazing book called Birds & People by Mark Cocker.)
So here's the video and I hope I'll get to meet these birds again!
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While walking around Göteborg I've also met some not-so-mysterious little feather balls that are all too well known!
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| ♀ Greenfinch/ Žaliukė (Chloris chloris) |
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| ♂ Greenfinch/ Žaliukė (Chloris chloris) |
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| This very disheveled looking nuthatch/bukutis (Sitta europaea) 1/3 |
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| This very disheveled looking nuthatch/bukutis (Sitta europaea) 3/3 |
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| This very disheveled looking nuthatch/bukutis (Sitta europaea) 2/3 |
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| House sparrow/ naminis žvirblis (Passer domesticus) and a cloverfield |
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| White wagtail/baltoji kielė (Motacilla alba) hurrying with its catch |
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| House martin/ langinė kregždė (Delichon urbicum). These guys are so difficult to capture as they're always moving super fast |
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| Chaffinch/kikilis (Fringilla coelebs) |
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| One more ♂ blackbird/ juodasis strazdas (Turdus merula) |
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| Blue tit/ mėlynoji zylė (Cyanistes caeruleus) bringing food to the babies |
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Hidden in the trees
Robin/liepsnelė (Erithacus rubecula)
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And, of course, I again have met some four-legged animals. I am still fascinated by how many hares there are in Göteborg! Same goes for deers too; before I had moved to Sweden I used to only see them grazing in the meadows adjacent to the highway Klaipeda -Vilnius. But of course, we didn't have as many huge parks around the city as we do here. And also, nowadays I spend more time in the nature than I used to during my study years in Vilnius!
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