AIRONE CENERINO Ardea cinerea The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea ) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae . The Grey Heron is a large bird, standing 1 m tall, and it has a 1.5 m wingspan. It is the largest European heron. Its plumage is largely grey above, and off-white below. It has a powerful yellow bill, which is brighter in breeding adults. It has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped). This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes and spoonbills, which extend their necks This species breeds in colonies in trees close to lakes or other wetlands, although it will also nest in reed beds. It builds a bulky stick nest. It feeds in shallow water, spearing fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. Herons will also take small mammals and birds. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim. The call is a loud croaking "fraaank". This species is very similar to the American Great Blue Heron. The Australian White-faced Heron is often incorrectly called Grey Heron ALLODOLA Alauda arvensis The Skylark (Alauda arvensis ) is a small passerine bird. It breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations of are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range, many birds move to lowlands and the coast in winter. Asian birds appear as vagrants in Alaska; this bird has also been introduced in Hawaii and western North America. The Skylark is 16-18 cm long. It is a bird of open farmland and heath. It is known throughout its range for the song of the male birds, which is delivered in hovering flight from heights of 50-100 meters, when the bird itself may be appear to be just a dot in the sky from the ground. The song is generally 2 to 3 minutes long and it tends to get longer later in the season. The males have broader wings than the females. This adaptation for more efficient hovering flight has probably evolved owing to female birds' preference for males that hover and sing for longer periods - probably as an indicator of overall fitness. Like most other larks, it is a rather dull-looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and pale below, and with a short blunt erectile crest. In flight it shows a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white, which are visible when it is flying away, but not if it is flying towards the observer. They spend a lot of time on the ground looking for food and they have sturdy legs. It feeds on seeds supplemented with insects in the breeding season. The skylark makes a grass nest on the ground. Generally the nests are very difficult to find, hidden between foliage. 3-6 eggs are laid in June. A second or third brood may be started later in the year. The eggs are yellow/white with brownish/purple spots mainly at the large end. In the UK skylark numbers have declined over the last 30 years, as determined by the Common Bird Census started in the early 1960s by The British Trust for Orithology. There are now only 10% of the numbers that were present 30 years ago. The RSPB have shown that this massive decline is mainly due to changes in farming practices and only partly due to pesticides. In the past cereals were planted in the spring, grown through the summer and harvested in the early autumn. Cereals are now planted in the autumn, grown through the winter and are harvested in the early summer. The winter grown fields are much too dense in summer for the skylarks to be able to walk and run between the wheat stems to find their food. Farmers are now encouraged and paid to maintain biodiversity and they can get a few points (toward DEFRAs Entry Level Stewardship financial rewards) for improving the habitat for Skylarks. The RSPB's research of winter-planted wheat fields over the last 6 years has shown that suitable nesting areas for the Skylark can be made by turning the seeding machine off (or lifting the drill) for a 5 to 10 metres stretch as the tractor goes over the ground to briefly stop the seeds being sown. This is repeated in several areas within the same field to make about 2 skylark areas per hectare. Subsequent spraying and fertilizing can be continuous over the entire field. DEFRA suggests that the skylark areas should not be near to the perimeter of the field (ie should not be within 24 meters from the perimeter of the field), should not be near to telegraph poles and should not enclosed by trees. When the crop grows the unseeded areas in the field become areas of less dense growth suitable for Skylarks to build well-hidden nests and also suitable for them to hunt insects. These areas of low vegetation are just right, but the wheat in the rest of the field becomes too closely packed and too tall for the Skylarks to hunt on the ground for their food. At the RSPB's research farm in Cambridgeshire the Skylark numbers have increased three fold (from 10 pairs to 30 pairs) over 6 years. The RSPB hope this simple effective technique can be copied nationwide. Fields near too or over where larks were seen the year before would be an obvious good site for these skylark areas. Farmers have reported that the method is easy to implement. AVERLA PICCOLA Lanius collurio The Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio ) is a member of the shrike family Laniidae . This bird breeds in most of Europe and western Asia and winters in tropical Africa. Its range is contracting, and it is now probably extinct in Great Britain as a breeding bird, although it is frequent on migration. It is named as a protected bird in Britain under a Biodiversity Action Plan; its decline is due to overuse of pesticides and scrub clearance due to human overpopulation. It breeds in open cultivated country with hawthorn and dog rose. This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds, voles and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder". The general colour of the male’s upper parts is reddish. It has a grey head and a typical shrike black stripe through the eye. Underparts are tinged pink, and the tail has a black and white pattern similar to that of a wheatear. In the female and young birds the upperparts are brown and vermiculated. Underparts are buff and also vermiculated. BALLERINA BIANCA Motacilla alba The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba ) is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. This is an insectivorous bird of open country, often near habitation and water. It prefers bare areas for feeding, where it can see and pursue its prey. It nests in crevices in stone walls and similar natural and man-made structures. This is a slender bird, 16.5-19cm in length, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. It is basically grey above and white below, with a white face, black cap and black throat. The resident British subspecies, the Pied Wagtail, Motacilla alba yarrellii , is a generally blacker bird than the nominate race of western Europe, M. a. alba , but is otherwise identical in its behaviour. It is likely that the differentiation of White Wagtail into two subspecies (or races) in western Europe has arisen because of the partial isolation of the mainly resident British form, although M. a. yarrellii now also breeds in adjacent areas of the neighbouring European mainland. BALLERINA GIALLA Motacilla cinerea The wagtails are a group of small passerine birds with long tails which they wag frequently. Motacilla , the root of the family and main generic name, means moving tail . Wagtails are slender, often colourful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country in the Old World. They are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs at a time. BIGIARELLA Sylvia curruca The Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca , is a common and widespread Old World warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India. This is a bird of fairly open country and cultivation, with large bushes for nesting and some trees. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3-7 eggs are laid. As with most warblers, the sexes are almost identical. This is a small warbler with a grey back, whitish underparts, a grey head with a darker "bandit mask" through the eyes and a white throat. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also take berries and other soft fruit. It is slightly smaller than the closely related Whitethroat, and lacks the chestnut wings of that species. It is likely that the two species separated in the last ice age, with their ancestor being forced into two enclaves, one in the south east, which became the Lesser Whitethroat, and one in the south west which became the Whitethroat.