The European bee-eater

European bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

The European bee-eater looks like a large colourful swallow. It is often seen in flocks and is usually heard before being seen.

During the past couple of decades it became more common in Malta and can nowadays be seen migrating regularly, often in large flocks, during both the spring and autumn migration. 

Until about a hundred years ago it used to breed in the Maltese islands and nests were recorded from Ramla l-Ħamra in Gozo but stopped doing so because of human disturbance. 

During the past couple of years it started breeding again in one locality on mainland Malta. This resumption in breeding coincided with the abolition of hunting during the spring migration. They nest in colonies in sandy banks near rivers but can also breed in coastal sand dunes and sloping soil mounds. 

The nest consists of a lined depression at the end of a long tunnel excavated by the bee-eaters by using their bill and feet. Both the male and the female take care of the eggs, which are brooded for about 3 weeks.

Bee-eaters prefer to live in warm climates. The European bee-eater breeds in southern Europe, North Africa and western Asia and winters in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka.

In Maltese it is known as qerd in-naħal because it eats insects especially bees and wasps. It catches its prey in the air flying around and catching the flying insects in its beak either during continuous flight or more commonly by sorties from an open perch, usually a branch on the top of a tree or large bush. 

Before eating its meal it repeatedly hits the insect on a hard surface to remove its sting. Bee-eaters are colourful birds. The species seen in Malta has brown and yellow upper parts and green wings.

There are 26 different species of bee-eaters in the world. Most are found in Africa. They are all characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All have down-turned bills and pointed wings. 

This article was published in The Times on 21 October 2009.

The jujube, a small deciduous tree with fruit

Jujube fruit (Ziziphus jujuba)

The jujube is also known in English as the red date or chinese date. In Maltese it is known as żinżel. It is a small deciduous tree that grows between 5 and 10 metres high.It is grown primarily for its fruits and sometimes for the wood. 

It has been cultivated for centuries and its natural distribution is not known but it is believed to have originated in southern Asia between Lebanon and northern India, the Korean peninsula, and southern and central China. 

It is claimed that it also lived in southeastern Europe although its occurance there is most likely to be a result of human introduction.

In Malta it has been cultivated in a few areas including Mtaħleb where a few trees can still be found. These trees produce fruit in September and October. When immature the fruit is smooth-green, with the consistency and taste of an apple. It becomes dark red to purplish-black when mature and eventually it becomes wrinkled, looking like a small date. There is a single hard stone similar to an olive stone.

The jujube has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. It has several medicinal uses and the fruits have been used medicinally in both Chinese and Korean traditional medicine where it is believed to alleviate stress. 

Freshly harvested as well as candied dried fruits are often eaten as a snack.  

Jujube fruit is also made into tea and is even available in the form of teabags. In parts of Asia it is also possible to find jujube juice, jujube wine, jujube vinegar and jujube pickles.

The jujube’s sweet small is said to make teenagers fall in love, and as a result in the Himalayan region men take a stem of sweet-smelling jujube flowers with them or put it on their hats to attract women. In the traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, jijube and walnut were often placed in newlywed’s bedroom as a sign of fertility. The leaves are also used as a potpouri to help keep the houses smelling fresh, clean and insect free. 

This article was published in The Times on 14 October 2009.

The slant-faced grasshopper

The Mediterranean slant-faced grasshopper is a slim, delicate grasshopper with a cone-shaped face and triangular antennae. It lives either humid or dry habitats with vegetation or sand in which it is very well camouflaged. It can be found between mid-summer and early autumn in many parts of the Mediterranean including Malta.

Many species of grasshoppers, including the slant-faced grasshopper which is known in Maltese as ġurat ta’ rasu twila, have two colour forms as they can be either green or brown. 

These colours allow these insects to disappear in their surroundings. This is one of the most common forms of cryptic colouration known as camouflage. 

More than anything else the success of good cryptic coloration is to break the outline of a creature’s body. Many species of insects and other creatures including fish, reptiles and mammals use camouflage as a means of defence.

The type of camouflage a species will develop depends on several factors. The most important factor is the environment in which the species lives. Another important factor is the physiology and behaviour of the animal. Furred animals need different camouflage than those with feathers or scales. 

The nature of the predator also makes a difference. Thus if the predator does not see colours the animals will not need to match the colour of its surroundings. Cryptic coloration can change as well in response to changes in the environment such as some foxes and the weasel that become white in winter so as to be able to disappear in the snow. Some insects including many grasshoppers are green during the wetter months while the generation that hatches during the hotter months would be brown. 

It is believed that the temperature of the egg determines the colour of the adult insect. 

Warmer eggs produce brown insects which would blend with the dry vegetation. 

This artcle was published in The Times on 7 October 2009.

The yellow wagtail

The yellow wagtail is a common spring and autumn migrant. It is often seen in flocks especially at dusk when one can see them flying in the direction of reed-filled valleys where they roost. During the day it can be seen picking insects from the ground in fields and other open areas especially in valleys with water courses.

There are several races of yellow wagtail. These normally live in different areas but in Malta they can often be seen together. The male birds of the various races have different head colour which makes it easy to tell them apart but the females are similar and can be assigned to a particular race by simple observation.

The yellow, which is known in Maltese as isfar, is one of three species of wagtail that visit the Maltese islands. It breeds throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia as well as in Alaska. Most birds migrate to Africa and south Asia but some populations in Western Europe remain in the breeding areas throughout the year.

The other two species of wagtail that can be seen in Malta are the white wagtail (zakak abjad) and the grey wagtail (zakak tad-dell). The white wagtail is very common during the autumn and winter months. It can be seen throughout urban areas and in the countryside. The grey wagtail is also seen during the winter months but it is a very shy bird and often flies away with a typical loud call when disturbed.

Wagtails are characterised by their long slender body and by their constant waging of their tail. This characteristic is poorly understood and there are various theories about why it occurs. It has been suggested that it may flush up prey, or that it may signal submissiveness to other wagtails. Recent studies have suggested that it is a signal of vigilance to deter potential predators.

This article was published in The Times on 30 September 2009.

Birdwatching in Buskett

Last Monday bird watchers at Buskett saw and photographed two black storks by soaring over Buskett and other parts of Malta. The two spectacular birds were flying at a great height and visited Buskett several times during the afternoon. As it was getting dark they began to loose height and attempted to land somewhere outside the limits of the bird sanctuary but as they were landing several shots were heard. One of the two birds was seen falling to the ground shot. The other did not rise and was presumably shot as well.

When I started watching birds in 1977 visiting Buskett Gardens in September was like finding yourself in a war zone during a fierce battle. There used to be hundreds of hunters openly walking around as if they owned the place shooting at any bird within range of their guns. Buskett was a no go area for all non-hunters as it was too dangerous for anybody to be in the garden and in the surrounding countryside.

Birdwatchers used to try to be as innocuous as possible as their mere presence was taken as a provocation by the hunters some of whom did not think twice before shooting in their direction. The police hardly ever turned up at Buskett and when they did, not much action could be taken. The law stated that it was illegal to discharge a firearm in Buskett Gardens but it was not illegal for anybody to be there with a gun in his hand waiting for a bird to come within range. Furthermore birds of prey were not protected species.

The legislation changed in 1980. Birds of prey were among the birds which could not be shot but most hunters ignored the law and continued to shoot at raptors as before. Hundreds of honey buzzards, marsh harriers, kestrels, hobbies and other rare birds continued to be shot in Buskett.  In view of this situation youth members of the BirdLife Malta which at the time was known as the Malta Ornithological Society organised protests against the annual massacre of birds of prey in Buskett. 

During these protests they were often attacked and sometimes injured. After years of campaigns the situation started to change. Today Buskett Gardens is a relatively safe place for birds and humans. One can watch migrating birds without seeing them being shot in the bird sanctuary. The former youths who organised and took part in the protests in the 1980s now visit Buskett with their young and not so young children knowing that it is no longer dangerous to be there while birds of prey are migrating. Unfortunately the situation still has not changed in other parts of the Maltese islands and birds of prey as well as other protected birds are still being shot. 

This weekend Maltese and foreign volunteers who are monitoring bird hunting found the remains of nearly two hundred protected birds at Miżieb which is public land managed by the hunters. Miżieb is an important spot for migrating birds where and should be declared a protected area for birds and humans. 

This article was published in The Times on 23 September 2009. 

The amusing dung beetle

Dung beetles belong to the scarab beetle family which also includes the rhinoceros beetle (buqarn kbir), the barbary bugs (busuf) and the emerald chafer (għawwar dehbi).

About 33 species of scarabs are found locally. One species is the dung roller, known in Maltese as the ħanfusa tad-demel. This species makes a ball out of dung and then rolls it in a straight line to a spot where it will bury it in the soil.

Watching a dung beetle travelling with a dung ball can be quite entertaining. The journey starts with the beetle head down on its two front legs and then walking backwards while rolling the ball with its hind legs.

The journey usually takes the form of an obstacle race that can include seemingly insurmountable vegetation, pools of rainwater and large stones. To make the journey even more hazardous, other dung beetles start appearing on the scene as if out of nowhere, all trying to take away the ball from the original owner.

This species is said to be scarce in the Maltese countryside but while photographing one recently, another five appeared, showing that at least in some parts of the countryside they can be relatively common.

Dung beetles play an important role in the countryside. They help to recycle nutrients and make them available for plants. They also clear cattle-grazing areas of dung which would otherwise attract flies that can carry disease.

Several species of dung beetle from South Africa and Europe were introduced in Australia to improve cattle pastures.

Other species of dung beetle can be found in the Maltese countryside. The horned dung beetle, known in Maltese as ħanfusa barri tad-demel, is smaller and has a pair of long horns on its head.

This article was published in The Times on 20 March 2013.

The cicada

Cicada (Cicada orni)

Cicadas are insects with a large eyes and transparent wings. The species found in Malta, known as weżieq ta’ bi nhar, can be heard calling throughout the summer wherever there are trees even in urban areas. It is one of about 2,500 species of cicada found in temperate and tropical climates around the world. Cicadas are harmless to humans as they do not bite or sting but they can damage crops, trees and shrubs.

The noise of the cicada is made by means of a pair of organs known as timbals which are found on the side of the abdomen. These consist of regions of the exoskeleton that are modified to form a complex membrane with thin membranous portions and thickened ribs. By contracting the internal muscles attached to the timbals these are buckled inwards making a clicking sound. As the muscles are relaxed the timbals go back to their original position and make another click. This movement is repeated rapidly to make a continuous sound which is amplified in enlarged chambers derived from the tracheae which serve as resonance chambers. Every species of cicada has a particular song by which it can be identified.

Cicadas normally live in hot environments and are often most active during the hottest times of the day.

Only males can sing but both males and females have organs to enable them to detect sound. In some species the male can disable this organ while singing.  Some cicadas are able to produce very loud sounds which are considered to be amongst the loudest of all insect-produced sounds while some small species have songs which are so high pitched that they are inaudible to humans.

In addition to the mating song, many species including the species found in the Maltese islands, have a distress call which is usually a somewhat broken and erratic sound emitted when the individual is seized.

A number of species also have a courtship song which is produced after a female has been attracted to a male by its calling song.

This article was published in The Times on 16 September 2009.