Birds in Chukotka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main purpose of this trip was to count breeding birds in specific areas, which Jens had been monitoring for several years to detect, whether bird populations here were stable. Many Siberian bird species are declining drastically these years, mainly because many of their roosting and feeding sites in eastern Asia have been drained and converted into shrimp farms, salt pans, or rice fields.

Initially, we stayed some days in Anadyr Airport City before venturing into Zolotoi Khrebet (’Golden Ridge’). This area has almost no roads, so transportation took place in a caterpillar, driven by Sasha, who is Russian. Towards the end of the trip we visited two long sand spits, Kosa Ruskaya Koshka (‘Russian cat’s sand spit’) and Kosa Nikolaya.

Our trip is related in depth on the page Travel episodes – Siberia 2011: Caterpillar trip in Chukotka.

 

In case you encounter any errors on this page, I would be grateful to hear about it. You can use the address at the bottom of the page.

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for geese.

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin albus (‘white’) and frons (‘forehead’), like the common name referring to the white feathers at the base of its bill. The salt-and-pepper markings on the breast of adult birds are distinctive of this species as well. These markings have given rise to a popular American name, specklebelly.

Pictures, depicting this species, are shown on the pages Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada, and Silhouettes.

 

 

 

 

 

The specific name refers to its type locality, Kanaga Island, one of the Aleutian Islands.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek aithyia, an unidentified seabird, mentioned by Greek grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria (5th or 6th Century A.D.), and also by Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle (384-322 B.C.).

 

The specific name is Ancient Greek, meaning ‘charcoal embers’ or ‘coal dust’, alluding to the dark, iridescent green and black head of the drake.

 

 

 

 

 

It is the only member of the genus.

The generic name is a diminutive of the Latin clangere (‘to resound’), referring to the loud call of the bird. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘related to winter’. Presumably, Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when he named the bird Anas hyemalis in 1758, referred to the fact that this bird was only present in Sweden in winter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized form of the classical Greek word for swan, kyknos.

The name swan is derived from Indo-European swen (‘to sound’ or ‘to sing’), referring to the whooper swan (C. cygnus), which is very vocal.

 

If you regard these birds as a single species, it breeds in Arctic areas of Alaska and Canada, and in the northernmost parts of Siberia. The wintering areas of the whistling swan include several separate areas in western Canada, United States, and Mexico, and the central part of the Atlantic coast. Eastern populations of Bewick’s swan spend the winter in eastern China, Korea, and Japan, whereas western populations migrate to western Europe.

The total population of the whistling swan is around 200,000, and is slightly increasing. The population of Bewick’s swan is much smaller, less than 50,000, but is probably stable.

In 1803, American President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) ordered two army captains, Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and William Clark (1770-1838), to undertake an expedition across the western part of the North American continent, from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. During their 3-year long expedition, Lewis described countless plants and animals, many of which were new to science, including the tundra swan. The whistle-like call of the bird prompted Lewis to name it whistling swan.

The specific name refers to the Columbia River, the type locality of the whistling swan.

Bewick’s swan was named in 1830 by English naturalist William Yarrell (1784-1856) in honour of English engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), who specialized in illustrations of birds and other animals. He is best known for the work A History of British Birds, which contains many fine wood engravings. He also illustrated several editions of Aesop’s Fables.

A picture, depicting the tundra swan, is shown on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

The winter is spent in coastal waters near the breeding areas, extending southwards to Korea, Japan, northern California, and Virginia.

The breeding plumage of the male is very colourful and variegated, giving rise to the generic as well as the common name. The former is derived from the Latin histrio (‘actor’), whereas the common name refers to an Italian Middle Age comic figure, Arlecchino (in English Harlequin), who is characterized by his chequered costume.

The female is brownish, with white spots on the head.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from a Brazilian-Portuguese word, marréco, meaning ‘small duck’.

 

It breeds in Temperate Eurasia, from Iceland and Scotland eastwards to the Pacific, whereas the wintering quarters encompass the major part of Europe and the Middle East, northern and eastern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines. It is a common winter visitor in Taiwan.

In North America, it is a regular winter visitor to the Pacific lowlands, from Canada southwards to California. Small numbers are also seen elsewhere in the continent.

This species was named Anas penelope by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) in 1758. He may have referred to Penelope, who, in Homer’s Odyssey, was the wife of Odysseus. She was known for her fidelity to him, while he was away on his journeys. However, as most ducks are certainly not known for their fidelity, this connection is hard to discover.

Another possible explanation may be the Proto-Greek word penelops, mentioned as ‘some kind of bird’ by Greek grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria, who, probably in the 5th or 6th century A.D., compiled a lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words. (Source: R. Beekes 2009. Etymological dictionary of Greek. Brill)

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek soma (‘body’) and erion (‘wool’), alluding to the soft down feathers of these birds. The name eider is a corruption of æðarfugl, the Icelandic name of the common eider, derived from the Old Norse æðr.

 

The nest of this species is built near the seashore, lined with down, which the female plucks from her own breast. This soft down has been harvested by people for hundreds of years, used as filling in pillows, quilts, and jackets. This harvesting was done with no harm to the birds, as it took place when the ducklings had left the nest.

In Northumberland, southern Scotland, the eider duck is known as the cuddy duck, named after Saint Cuthbert (c. 634-687), a monk, bishop, and hermit of the early Northumbrian Celtic church. While on the Farne Islands, he instigated special laws to protect the ducks and other seabirds, nesting on these islands.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘very soft indeed’, which like the generic name refers to the soft down feathers of the bird.

 

 

 

 

 

These birds are restricted to Eurasia and North America, living in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, tundra, mountains, and along coasts. They are migratory, some species spending the winter as far south as Mexico, central Europe, and Central Asia.

 

In winter, it migrates as far south as southern Canada, northern United States, the British Isles, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and from Ukraine eastwards to Central Asia.

The only other species in the genus is the closely related McKay’s bunting (P. hyperboreus), which is restricted to the islands St. Matthew and Hall in the Bering Sea. Hybrids between the two have been recorded, and some authorities consider them conspecific.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek plektron (‘spur’) and phenax (‘deceiver’), thus ‘pretending to have a (cock’s) spur’, alluding to the long hind claw of these birds. The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘relating to snow’, thus ‘snow-white’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for a yellowish bird, mentioned in Biblia Vulgata, a Latin translation of the Bible from the late 4th Century. The name was derived from the classical Greek term for a bird living in river valleys, kharadrios, derived from kharadra (‘ravine’).

 

Subspecies tundrae is common from northern Scandinavia eastwards along the Siberian coast to Chukotka, on Novaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands, and sometimes a few on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.

The third subspecies, psammodromus, is distributed on Ellesmere and Baffin Islands, and in Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Svalbard. Some suthorities do not accept this subspecies.

The vast majority of the populations winter in Africa, with some birds in Madagascar, Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Part of the populations in the British Isles, France, Belgium, and Holland are sedentary.

The specific name is an old Latin term for a plover.

Further south in North America, the common ringed plover is replaced by the very similar semipalmated plover (C. semipalmatus). In the old days, the two species were regarded as being conspecific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only other member of the genus, the grey plover (P. squatarola), is presented on the page Animals – Birds: Birds in Africa.

The generic name is derived from the Latin pluvia (‘rain’). According to an old belief it would mean imminent rain, when golden plovers flocked.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘tawny’ or ‘yellowish-brown’, referring to the winter plumage.

Pictures, depicting the Pacific golden plover, are shown on the pages Animals – Birds: Birds in Taiwan, Birds in Africa, and Birds in the Indian Subcontinent.

 

 

 

 

 

Numerous members of the family are presented on the page Animals – Birds: Corvids.

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the common raven (below).

 

Due to its intelligent behaviour, this bird appears in several mythologies across Eurasia. In Norse mythology, two ravens, Hugin (‘thought’) and Munin (‘memory’), were the servants of the supreme god Odin, bringing news to him from all over the world.

The specific name is the classical Greek word for the common raven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from the Old German word for these birds, Embritz.

 

Almost the entire population winters from eastern Nepal and north-eastern India eastwards to southern China and northern Indochina. Some birds from the Scandinavian and western Russian populations stray to western Europe. In the British Isles it has been observed more than a thousand times.

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was used by Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) for some unidentified seabird, which he called sea mew (‘sea gull’). Hopefully, Pliny was able to separate a diver from a gull, so the identity of the bird that he mentions remains unknown.

 

It has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in lakes in Arctic, subarctic, and northern temperate regions, southwards to western and south-eastern Canada, southern Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, southern Sweden, southern Siberia, Sakhalin Island, and Kamchatka. The major part of the population spend the winter in coastal waters and lakes further south, to Baja California, Florida, Portugal, the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas, Japan, Korea, eastern China, and Taiwan.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘set with stars’, referring to the white dots on the back of the bird in the winter plumage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Greek mythology, Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father Laius, king of Thebes, and married the widow, his mother Jocasta. When Jocasta learned the truth of their relationship, she hanged herself, and Oedipus, according to one version of the story, went into exile after blinding himself, accompanied by his daughters Antigone and Ismene.

 

Today, five subspecies are recognized: canadensis, which breeds in eastern Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada. It is the most abundant of the subspecies, comprising about 500,000 birds; tabida, which breeds in southern Canada, and northern and western U.S.; pratensis, which is found in Florida and the southernmost part of Georgia; pulla, which is restricted to the south-eastern corner of the state of Mississippi; and, finally, nesiotes, which is only found on Cuba. A sixth subspecies, rowani, is no longer accepted, and some authorities only acknowledge two subspecies, canadensis and tabida. The populations in Mississippi and on Cuba are very small and threatened with extinction.

Northern populations, including the Siberian breeding birds, spend the winter in south-western U.S. and Mexico, whereas the southern populations are resident.

The sandhill crane has spread considerably in Siberia in later years and is now a threat to many bird species by eating their eggs and young. This issue is described on the page Animals – Birds: Sandhill cranes – a threat to breeding birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is a Latinized version of Ancient Greek laros, the classical name for a kind of seabird.

 

The specific name is derived from Ancient Greek hyperboreos, composed of hyper (‘over’) and boreios (‘northern’), in Greek mythology referring to a race of people living in the extreme north. The common name is derived from Ancient Greek glaukos (‘blue-grey’), alluding to the colour of the wings of some subspecies of the bird.

 

 

 

 

 

It was first collected during the Vega Expedition 1878-80, carried out by the Swedish ship SS Vega, and was named after this expedition. Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek onyx (‘claw’ or ‘nail’) and prion (‘saw’). Presumably, these birds have sharp claws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sterna Typical terns

This genus, comprising 11-13 species, occurs almost worldwide, mainly in coastal regions. Previously, 4 other terns were included in the genus, but have now been transferred to the genus Onychoprion.

The generic name is derived from Old English stearn, which appears in the poem The Seafarer, from the 10th Century. A similar word was used for these birds by the Frisians, whereas the Scandinavians used, and still use, the word terne (Danish and Norwegian) or tärna (Swedish).

 

It is famous for its long-distance migration, flying from the northern breeding areas to Antarctica and back again every year, the shortest distance between these areas being 19,000 km. This means that it experiences two summers per year. One speculates if the bird doesn’t like dark nights.

A Dutch tracking study from 2013 has concluded that the average annual migration is about 48,700 km. An Arctic tern may live up to 30 years, and during its lifetime it may travel up to 2.4 million km.

Some examples of its long-distance migration: An adult bird, which was ringed on the island of Saltholm, Denmark, in May 1958, was shot along the pack ice close to the Antarctic coast south of Australia, in February 1959 – a distance of about 15,700 km. A chick, which was ringed in summer 1982 on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, England, reached Melbourne, Australia, in October, just 3 months after fledging – a journey of more than 22,000 km. A third example is a chick ringed in Labrador, Canada, in July 1928, which was found in South Africa 4 months later – a distance of about 12,600 km.

The specific name probably refers to the beauty and elegance of this bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems that the generic name was taken out of the blue. It has been labelled “a fancy word, apparently devoid of meaning.” The specific and common names honour Irish astronomer, physicist, and Arctic explorer Edward Sabine (1783-1883), who collected a specimen in 1819, when he participated in an expedition, led by Captain John Ross (1777-1856), the aim of which was to search for the Northwest Passage. Later, Sabine became the 30th President of the Royal Society 1861-1871.

Some authorities include this bird in the genus Larus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin name of the white wagtail (below). It is derived from motare (‘to move’ or ‘to shake’), and the diminutive suffix illa, thus ‘the little shaker’, alluding to the tail of the white wagtail always bobbing up and down. However, some time during the Middle Ages the erroneous belief arose that cilla meant ‘tail’.

 

Subspecies ocularis, which is distributed in eastern Siberia and western Alaska, breeds here and there in Chukotka. It winters from north-eastern India eastwards to southern China and Taiwan, and thence southwards to the Malay Peninsula and Borneo.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘white’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four subspecies are presently recognized, the nominate tschutschensis, found from southern Siberia and Mongolia eastwards to Alaska, plexa, which breeds in northern Siberia, macronyx, breeding from eastern Mongolia eastwards to Manchuria and south-eastern Siberia (Ussuriland), and taivana, which is found from Ussuriland southwards to northern China and northern Japan.

It spends the winter from Indochina, southern China, and southern Japan southwards to Indonesia and northern Australia.

The specific name means ‘found in Chukotka’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family name is derived from the Latin musca (‘a fly’) and capere (‘to catch’).

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for nightingales, probably derived from luscus (‘half-blind’), presumably in the meaning ‘well hidden’, alluding to the crepuscular habits of these birds, and cano (‘to sing’). Thus, it could be translated as ‘the little-seen songster’.

 

Northern populations are migratory, spending the winter further south, mainly in northern Africa and the Indian Subcontinent.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘Swedish’. Olof Rudbeck the Younger (1660-1740), Swedish naturalist and linguist, professor of medicine, and principal of the university of Uppsala, was a pioneer of botany and ornithology. He collected the bluethroat in Lapland in 1695. To him, the colours of the male resembled those of the Swedish flag (which is today blue with a yellow cross, but in those days the yellow had a more orange hue), and he named it Avis Carolina in honour of the Swedish king Carl XI.

However, by 1758, when Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) renamed the bird, the absolute power of the monarchy had been abolished, and Linnaeus, who normally followed his mentor Rudbeck closely, had strong links with the political party Hattarna (so named due to the hats the members wore). For this reason, he probably considered Svecica to be more politically correct than Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for sparrows.

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘belonging to houses’, from domus (‘house’).

 

 

 

 

 

According to the latest genetic research, guineafowl and New World quails are treated as separate families, Numididae and Odontophoridae, respectively.

 

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (‘hare’) and pous (‘foot’), referring to the feathered legs of these birds.

The word ptarmigan stems from the Gaelic tarmachan, meaning ‘croaker’. The silent initial p was added in 1684, inspired by Ancient Greek, in which an initial p is often silent, for instance in pteron (‘feather’).

 

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘mute’, which is erroneous, as the male does have a simple croaking song.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The major part of these birds breed in Arctic areas, a few also in sub-Arctic and northern temperate regions. They spend the winter on shores and in inland wetlands in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions around the world.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek kalidris, a term used by Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) for some grey-coloured water bird. The English term for the smallest members of the genus is stint, of unknown origin. It may stem from the call of the little stint (C. minuta), a sharp stit.

 

It winters in western and southern Europe, northern Africa, Arabia, northern India, northern Indochina, southern China, Korea, and Japan. It may be seen year-round in the British Isles, Norway, and Denmark.

In later years, most European populations have declined drastically due to draining or other changes of suitable habitats.

The specific name refers to mountains of Lapland, from where Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), when he described the bird in 1758, had obtained a specimen. The common name stems from Old English dunling, first recorded around 1530. It is derived from dun (‘dull brown’), with the suffix ling, meaning a person or another being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In autumn, it migrates to the Pacific and Atlantic shores, from extreme south-western Canada and New Jersey southwards through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America to northern and western South America.

The specific name was given in honour of Italian botanist Ernesto Mauri (1791-1836), director of the botanical garden in Rome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the breeding season, it is restricted to Arctic and sub-Arctic tundra along coasts of north-eastern Siberia, from Chukotka southwards to the northern part of Kamchatka. It has declined alarmingly in later years, mainly due to destruction of many of its feeding areas in China, on which it is dependent on its way to the wintering areas in southern China, Indochina, and to some degree eastern India. These feeding areas have been converted into salt pans, shrimp farms, and rice fields.

Today, the world population numbers maybe fewer than 100 breeding pairs, and it is feared that it will become extinct in the wild within a few decades. A captive population exists in Slimbridge Wetland Wildlife Reserve, Gloucestershire, England.

 

 

 

 

 

It spends the winter in a vast area, from north-eastern India and Bangladesh eastwards to southern China, and thence southwards through Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea to Australia and New Zealand.

The specific name is derived from the Latin rufus (‘reddish’) and collum (‘neck’), alluding to the breeding plumage. In winter, the underside is almost pure white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It spends the winter around the Mediterranean, in the sahel zone of Africa, and in Arabia, the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Borneo.

In his book Arktisk sommer, Danish artist Jens Gregersen says: “When I arrived at Tobseda near the delta of the Pechora River in June 2003, I was well received by Dutch zoologist Rudolf Drent (1937-2008). “Look at the small helicopter!” he exclaimed. What he referred to was a Temminck’s stint, which stood motionless in the air, sounding like some distinct grasshopper.”

What he referred to was the remarkable courtship display of the male Temminck’s stint, in which he partly stays motionless in the air with swirling wings, partly runs after the female with lifted wings.

The specific and common names commemorate Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858), who was the first director of the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, from 1820 until his death. He described this stint in 1815.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The population of this bird has decreased alarmingly, mainly due to destruction of many of its feeding areas in China, on which it is dependent on its way to the wintering areas in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Australia. These feeding areas have been converted into salt pans, shrimp farms, and rice fields. Today, the bird is listed as endangered by IUCN.

The specific name is derived from the Latin tenuis (‘slender’) and rostrum (‘bill’).

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name is the classical Latin word for snipe, derived from gallina (‘small hen’) and the suffix ago (‘resembling’).

 

There are two subspecies, faeroeensis in Iceland, the Faroes, and the Shetland and Orkney Islands, and the nominate gallinago in the rest of the distribution area. Previously, the North American Wilson’s snipe (G. delicata) was also regarded as a subspecies of the common snipe.

 

 

 

 

 

The red-necked phalarope (below) and the grey phalarope (P. fulicarius) are circumpolar breeders in Arctic and subarctic regions, whereas Wilson’s phalarope (P. tricolor) breeds in western North America.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek phalaris (‘coot’) and pous (‘foot’), alluding to their lobed feet, which are somewhat similar to those of the coots (Fulica). These lobes are an adaptation to their swimming habit.

 

It spends the winter in tropical waters off western Africa, Arabia, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘lobed’, like the generic name referring to its lobed feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The generic name was applied to the green sandpiper (T. ochropus) by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1599), who was the founder of the botanical garden of Bologna – one of the first of its kind. The name is derived from trungas, the classical Greek term for a thrush-sized, tail-bobbing wading bird, mentioned by Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.).

 

The specific name is derived from the Latin brevis (‘short’) and pes (‘foot’), whereas the popular name tattler was given in allusion to its call.

It was previously named Heteroscelus brevipes, but genetic research has shown that it is closely related to Tringa sandpipers.

 

 

 

 

 

It differs from the similar green sandpiper (T. ochropus) by having longer, greenish legs, and the back is heavily mottled. In flight, it sometimes emits a loud yif-if-if.

The specific name is a diminutive of the Latin glarea (‘gravel’), thus ‘the one found in small gravel’ (= sand?).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The name skua stems from the Faroese word skúgvur, for the great skua (S. skua), so named due to a colony of this bird on the island of Skúvoy. Other species of skuas are called kjógvi in Faroese, an imitation of the call of the Arctic skua (below). The name jaeger stems from Jäger, which means ‘hunter’ in German, alluding to these birds hunting other seabirds to make them disgorge their food, which the skuas then eat. This habit is also reflected in the genus name, which means ‘of dung’ in Latin. It was once thought that the food disgorged were excreta.

They also eat eggs and young of other birds, and the great skua is known to hunt and kill adult birds of various species. Some skuas also catch fish, and others are known to scavenge dead seals and penguins. Lemmings constitute an important food item of the 3 smaller species in their breeding areas.

 

It has a circumpolar breeding distribution in Arctic and subarctic regions, extending into temperate mountains in Scandinavia. In Chukotka, it occurs here and there. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in the southern seas.

 

 

 

 

 

The breeding area is about the same as the long-tailed skua, but it also occurs in Iceland, the Faroes, Scotland, and southern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is rather common in Chukotka.

The winter is spent in the seas around southern South America, southern Africa, New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand.