Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy

Bird name: Fulvous Whistling Duck
Latin: Dendrocygna bicolor
Other: Marreca-Caneleira • Marrecapeba • Marrecapéua • Xenxém
Family: Anatidae • Ducks, Whistling Ducks

Photo: monacoeye • June 2009 • Native from South America to California, India and sub-Saharan Africa.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye • Do not copy

Bird name: Black Bellied Whistling Duck
Latin: Dendrocygna autumnalis
Other: Pijije • Pixixi • Pichichi • Chiriría • Sirirí - (ala blanca • aliblanco) • Pato Maízal
Family: Anatidae • Ducks, Whistling Ducks

Photo: monacoeye • June 2009 • Native to South America up to southern USA.
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Photo copyright: monacoeye.com • Danube Delta • May 2009 • Do not copy

Bird name: Squacco Heron
Latin: Ardeola ralloides
Other: Crabier Chevelu (Fr)
Family: Ardeidae • Herons, Storks & Ibises

Squacco Herons line many of the canals in Danube Delta.

Adults have blue beaks with black tips. Lores are sometimes bright green, presumably in courtship. Feet are yellow-orange and legs orange-pink becoming redder during courtship.

Plumage of juveniles and winter adults is strongly streaked around the neck. Legs are greenish and beaks less blue.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye.com • Danube Delta • May 2009 • Do not copy

Bird name: Black Crowned Night Heron
Latin: Nycticorax nycticorax
Other: Night Heron • Bihoreau Gris • Héron Bihoreau
Family: Ardeidae • Herons Storks & Ibises

Some areas of the Danube Delta wetlands are home to great numbers of Black-crowned Night Herons - (simply “Night Herons” in Europe).

In the breeding season, feet turn reddish, irises turn brighter red and the herons grow a couple of plumes. At other times feet are yellow and wings light grey.

The juvenile Night Heron has brown wings with white spots and a brownish neck with faint streaks.More photos...

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Eurasian Hobby
Latin: Falco subbuteo
Other: Faucon hobereau
Family: Falconidae • Birds of Prey

The top shot illustrates the characteristic “red trousers” of the Hobby.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye.com • France • 2009 • Do not copy

Bird name: Common Kestrel
Latin: Falco tinnunculus
Other: Faucon Crécerelle
Family: Falconidae • Birds of Prey

The male Kestrel has a grey cap and tail (below), while the female is brown (above). Their region is Europe and around the Mediterranean, and some parts of Asia.

Kestrels, with the Common Buzzard, are the most abundant and visible birds of prey in Europe - they are often seen hovering in mid air before swooping down to catch a lizard or small mammal.

They are small birds, a little larger than pigeons.

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Photo copyright: monacoeye.com • 2009 • Do not copy

Bird name: Bald Eagle
Latin: Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Other:
Family: Accipitridae • Eagles, Sea Eagles, Birds of Prey
Range:
Similar:

The Bald Eagle is the national bird of America. It lives in North America only. As one of 8 “sea eagles” the Bald Eagle forms a species pair with the White Tailed Eagle, which lives in Asia and Europe.More photos...

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: White Tailed Eagle
Latin: Haliaeetus albicilla
Other: Sea Eagle • Erne • Ern • White-Tailed Sea-Eagle • Pygargue à Queue Blanche • Grand Aigle de Mer • Aigle Barbu
Family: Accipitridae • Eagles, Sea Eagles, Birds of Prey
Range:
Similar:


A superb bird, with a massive beak, the White-Tailed Eagle has a two metre wingspan and is the fourth largest eagle in the world. They can live to thirty years old.

The White Tailed Eagle is rare in Europe so the Danube Delta is a good place to see one. As this one approached on Caraorman Island he was mobbed by crows and then disappeared again.More photos...

Photo copyright: monacoeye.com • Brazil May 2006 • Do not copy

Bird name: Mantled Hawk
Latin: Leucopternis polionotus
Other: Gavião Pombo Grande (br)
Family: Accipitridae • Hawks, Birds of Prey
Range:
Similar:


I saw this Mantled Hawk high above the forest, deep in the Mata Atlantica just south of São Paulo. Distinguishable by white rim feathers overlapping a black trailing wing edge.

Native to Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. IUCN status: Near Threatened.More photos...

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Great Spotted Woodpecker
Latin: Dendrocopos major
Other: Pic épeiche (fr)
Family: Picidae • Woodpeckers

See Syrian Woodpecker for differences. These are both females from lack of red patch on back of head.More photos...

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Syrian Woodpecker
Latin: Dendrocopos syriacus
Other: Pic syriaque (fr)
Family: Picidae • Woodpeckers

This Syrian Woodpecker obliged by landing on an electricity pole in front of me as I was waiting for a boat trip.

The Syrian Woodpecker can be differentiated from the more widespread Great Spotted Woodpecker by a broken black line around the neck - on the Great Spotted Woodpecker this line is not interrupted.

The red patch on the back of the head identifies this woodpecker as a male.More photos...

Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Black Woodpecker
Latin: Dryocopos martius
Other: Pic noir (fr)
Family: Picidae • Woodpeckers

The Black Woodpecker!More photos...