Fauna Of The Faroe Islands
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Fauna Of The Faroe Islands
The fauna of the Faroe Islands is characterized by the remote location of the islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. There are few terrestrial species, but an abundance of breeding seabirds and marine animals. Some subspecies and breeds are endemic. All land mammals were introduced by humans. Birds The avian fauna of the Faroes is dominated by seabirds and birds attracted to open land like heather, probably due to the lack of woodland and other suited habitats. There are species of eider, starling, wren, guillemot, and black guillemot which are endemic to the islands. Puffins (''Fratercula arctica''), razorbills (''Alca torda''), and guillemots (''Uria aalge''), are very common seabirds in Faroe. Gannets (''Sula sula'') are common around the islands, but only breed on Mykines. Black guillemots (''Cepphus grylle''), eiders (''Somateria mollissima'') and shag (''Phalacrocorax aristotelis'') are common around the coast and the fulmars (''Fulmarus glacialis'') which immigrated ...
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Sturnus Vulgaris Faroensis
The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts and other gregarious situations, with an unmusical but varied song. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the ''Mabinogion'' and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare. The common starling has about 12 subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to western Mongolia, and it has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and Fiji. This bird is ...
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European Shag
The European shag or common shag (''Gulosus aristotelis'') is a species of cormorant. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Gulosus''. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern Europe, southwest Asia and north Africa, mainly wintering in its breeding range except for the northernmost birds. In Britain this seabird is usually referred to as simply the shag. The scientific genus name derives from the Latin for glutton. The species name ''aristotelis'' commemorates the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Taxonomy The European shag was formerly classified within the genus ''Phalacrocorax'', but a 2014 study found it to be significantly more diverged than the clade containing ''Phalacrocorax'' and ''Urile'', but basal to the clade containing ''Nannopterum'' and ''Leucocarbo'', and thus classified it in its own genus, ''Gulosus''. The IOC followed this classification in 2021. ''Gulosus'' is thought to have split from the ''Nannopterum''-''Leucocarbo'' clade betwe ...
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Common Raven
The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages in length and in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory. Common ravens have coexisted with humans for thousands of years and in some areas have been so numerous that people have regarded them as pests. Part of their success as a species is due ...
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Hooded Crow
The hooded crow (''Corvus cornix''), also called the scald-crow or hoodie, is a Eurasian bird species in the genus ''Corvus''. Widely distributed, it is found across Northern, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East. It is an ashy grey bird with black head, throat, wings, tail, and thigh feathers, as well as a black bill, eyes, and feet. Like other corvids, it is an omnivorous and opportunistic forager and feeder. The hooded crow is so similar in morphology and habits to the carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') that for many years they were considered by most authorities to be geographical races of one species. Hybridization observed where their ranges overlapped added weight to this view. However, since 2002, the hooded crow has been elevated to full species status after closer observation; the hybridisation was less than expected and hybrids had decreased vigour. Within the hooded crow species, four subspecies are recognized, with one, the Mesopotamia ...
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Common Blackbird
The common blackbird (''Turdus merula'') is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a local species. It breeds in Europe, Asiatic Russia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It has a number of subspecies across its large range; a few of the Asian subspecies are sometimes considered to be full species. Depending on latitude, the common blackbird may be resident, partially migratory, or fully migratory. The adult male of the common blackbird (''Turdus merula merula'', the nominate subspecies), which is found throughout most of Europe, is all black except for a yellow eye-ring and bill and has a rich, melodious song; the adult female and juvenile have mainly dark brown plumage. This species breeds in woods and gardens, building a neat, cup-shaped nest, bound toge ...
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House Sparrow
The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of about 25 species in the genus ''Passer'', the house sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and a large part of Asia. Its intentional or accidental introductions to many regions, including parts of Australasia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most widely distributed wild bird. The house sparrow is strongly associated with human habitation, and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it typically avoids extensive woodlands, grasslands, and deserts away from human development. It feeds mostly on the seeds of grains and weeds, but it is an opportunistic eater and commonly eats insects and many o ...
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Common Starling
The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts and other gregarious situations, with an unmusical but varied song. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the ''Mabinogion'' and the works of Pliny the Elder and William Shakespeare. The common starling has about 12 subspecies breeding in open habitats across its native range in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to western Mongolia, and it has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa and Fiji. This bird i ...
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Arctic Tern
The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south as Massachusetts). The species is strongly migratory, seeing two summers each year as it migrates along a convoluted route from its northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again about six months later. Recent studies have shown average annual round-trip lengths of about for birds nesting in Iceland and Greenland and about for birds nesting in the Netherlands. These are by far the longest migrations known in the animal kingdom. The Arctic tern nests once every one to three years (depending on its mating cycle). Arctic terns are medium-sized birds. They have a length of and a wingspan of . They are mainly grey and white plumaged, with a red/orange beak and feet, white forehead, a black nape and ...
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Common Snipe
The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland over the north of the British Isles and northern Fennoscandia, where it occurs at around 70°N, as well as through European Russia and Siberia. Here it is mostly on the northern edge of the Taiga zone at 71°N, but reaches 74°N on the east coast of the Taymyr Peninsula. In the east it extends to Anadyr, Kamchatka, Bering Island and the Kuril Islands, The southern boundary of the distribution area in Europe runs through northern Portugal, central France, northern Italy, Bulgaria, and Ukraine, with populations in the west being only very scattered. In Asia, the distribution extends south to northern Turkestan, locally to Afghanistan and the Middle East, through the Altai and further to Manchuria and Ussuri. It is migratory, with Europea ...
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Hudsonian Whimbrel
The Hudsonian whimbrel (''Numenius hudsonicus'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America. This species and the Eurasian whimbrel have recently been split, although some taxonomic authorities still consider them to be conspecific. The whimbrel is a migratory bird, wintering on coasts in southern North America and South America. It is also a coastal bird during migration. It is fairly gregarious outside the breeding season. In the mangroves of Colombia, whimbrel roost sites are located in close proximity to feeding territories and away from potential sources of mainland predators, but not away from areas of human disturbance. Description This is a fairly large wader, though mid-sized as a member of the curlew genus. The English name is imitative of the bird's call. The genus name ''Numenius'' is from Ancient Greek ''noumenios'', a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associat ...
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Oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The exceptions to this are the Eurasian oystercatcher, the South Island oystercatcher, and the Magellanic oystercatcher, which also breed inland, far inland in some cases. In the past there has been a great deal of confusion as to the species limits, with discrete populations of all black oystercatchers being afforded specific status but pied oystercatchers being considered one single species.Hockey, P (1996). "Family Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors). '' Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Volume 3: ''Hoatzin to Auks''. Lynx Edicions. . Taxonomy The genus ''Haematopus'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his '' Systema Naturae'' ...
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Nólsoy
Nólsoy (previously also ''Nölsoy''; da, Nolsø; non, Norsey) is an island and village in central Faroe Islands, 4 km east of the capital Tórshavn in Streymoy. Description Nólsoy is the lowest of the Faroes; the highest point is Eggjarklettur (372 m) on the mountain ''Høgoyggj''. The southern coast contains two capes, each with a lighthouse (Øknastangi on the south-east, Borðan on the south). The lighthouses were built in the late 18th century to aid smugglers working against the unpopular trading monopoly imposed by Denmark. In 2005, the National Bank of Denmark issued a 20 DKK commemorative coin for the lighthouse. There is only one settlement on the island, also called Nólsoy, on the north-west coast on the Stongin peninsula which is attached to the rest of the island by a metres-wide isthmus. The small coastal village is made up of colourful homes and buildings, placed extremely close to each other to help shelter each other from storms. The island is accessib ...
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