This extremely rare picture for Albania, has been sent to us from an AOS friend circa more than one month ago. At last, we decided to publish it despite the internal debates on the image considering that the following information is very important and it could not be neglected. This is the first ever published evidence in the last 25 years on the existence of the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) in Albania. The species has the size of a pheasant and it usually occurs in habitats with low grass plants, often in dry and salted lands. Males and females differ in their plumage. The global population of the Little Bustard is estimated at 100,000-499,000 individuals (BirdLife International, 2018. Species factsheet: Tetrax tetrax). The species is composed by two breeding widely separated populations, the eastern one concentrated in Russia and Kazakhstan, the western in Spain and Portugal. Despite its widespread distribution and its high number of individuals, the species is considered as Nearly Threatened (NT) due to the strong decline in many countries and particularly in Europe. In the Balkan Peninsula, the species is reported either extinct or in very strong decline. Its presence in Albania, reintroduces the country in the distribution map of the species, gives credits to the dry and salted lands, lowland dry terrains and agricultural plots with low vegetation as important habitats for this species and other ground nesting birds, raises the awareness for more ornithological surveys such understudied areas and demands stronger cooperation with farmers, hunters and other interested citizens.
Upcoming Events
There are no upcoming events at this time.
Recent Posts
Archives
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- August 2015