While the island is an important stop-off point for migrant birds, we also several of our own species
THE position of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, with Turkey to the north, Syria to the east and Egypt to the south, places it on one of the major migration routes in the Mediterranean and makes it a stop off point for many species of bird that pass each year from Europe/Asia to Africa via the Nile Delta. This tends to mean that migration is seen as one of the most prominent features of Cypriot ornithology. The birds that occur regularly on passage form a large percentage of the ‘Cyprus list’ that currently stands at over 370 species. Of these only around 50 are resident, while another 40 are migrant species whthato regularly or occasionally breed.
Taking into account this large migrant proportion of the species recorded here and the fact that, while an island, Cyprus is in fact close to the mainland, it is somewhat surprising to discover that the degree of endemism among its birds is relatively high. Isolation from land masses is one of the factors that produces endemism and a species that is defined as endemic is native to and confined to a certain country or region (of whatever size). A count of the number of endemic species an area contains is probably the single most useful measure of an area’s uniqueness. Mediterranean islands – including Cyprus – have high rates of plant endemism.
Cyprus has two recognised endemic bird species and at least four endemic sub-species, meaning that these are either found or breed only in Cyprus and nowhere else in the world. The first of these, the Cyprus warbler (Sylvia melanothorax) will be familiar to most as it is the bird featured on the current ten pound note. It is a smallish warbler with greyish upperparts. The male has a black cap and is heavily dark spotted below. He also has a white moustache-like stripe and a red eye ring. This is paler in the female, who also has a grey head and is generally a lighter grey and less strikingly spotted below.
The Cyprus warbler is a mainly resident bird which breeds only in Cyprus. However, some birds do leave Cyprus in the autumn and have been recorded in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt during the winter. Scientists are divided as to whether it could be the Cypriot ‘version’ of the Sardinian warbler (Sylvia melanocephala) or the Ruppell’s warbler (Sylvia rueppelli). Ruppell’s warbler occurs in Cyprus on migration while until recently the Sardinian was a regular winter visitor. Now it also breeds here and it appears that on the north west of the island, its expansion has caused a decline in the Cyprus warbler population. For the same reason, it seems that the Cyprus warbler is now uncommon over much of the Akamas area.
The Cyprus (pied) wheatear (Oenanthe cypriaca) was, until recently, seen as a race of the pied wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka) but is now recognised as a full species. It too is an endemic breeder, which, while it winters in Ethiopia and the Sudan, breeds only in Cyprus. From March to October it is common throughout the island from Troodos to the coast. Its black and white plumage makes this sparrow-sized bird very distinctive as does the male’s habit of singing (or more correctly ‘churring’) from a high post for hours on end, especially between April and June. It can even be seen in the suburbs of Nicosia calling from satellite dishes or telegraph poles.
Cyprus also has its own races – or sub-species – of at least four other birds: the scops owl (Otus scops cyprius), jay (Garrulus glandarius glaszneri), coal tit (Parus ater cypriotes) and short-toed treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla dorotheae). The last three are all frequently encountered in the more mountainous areas of the island, especially Troodos. The coal tit is considerably darker than the race occurring elsewhere in Europe and some feel that this bird may actually be a separate species. The jay differs by having a reddish forehead as opposed to a whitish one, while the short-toed treecreeper has only very slightly different colouring. The Cypriot sub-species of the scops owl is noted as darker and greyer with more distinctive white spotting on its back. The main race can also be found in Cyprus during migration.
Some scientists also feel that the crossbill found here should be treated as endemic and in the past the case has also been put forward for both the chaffinch and great tit. The island features of Cyprus not only give it its important position as a migration stopover but have also ensured that some of its breeding birds are unique to the island. Some birds truly can be described as ‘birds of Cyprus’.
n If you want to know more about Cyprus’ birds or are interested in joining BirdLife Cyprus please contact PO Box 28076, 2090 Nicosia, Tel: 22 455072 or email [email protected]
