The wingspan is 21–22 mm for males and 24–25 mm for females.
The larvae are polyphagous and have been recorded feeding on various herbaceous plants.[2]
Subspecies
Idaea eugeniata eugeniata.
Idaea eugeniata algeriaca (Culot, 1917).
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The wingspan is 21–22 mm for males and 24–25 mm for females.
The larvae are polyphagous and have been recorded feeding on various herbaceous plants.[2]
Subspecies
Idaea eugeniata eugeniata.
Idaea eugeniata algeriaca (Culot, 1917).
It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Western cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands and rice paddies. They often accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. Some populations of the cattle egret are migratory and others show post-breeding dispersal.
It is a migratory insectivorous species breeding in wet birch wood or bushy swamp in Europe and across the Palearctic with a foothold in western Alaska. It nests in tussocks or low in dense bushes. It winters in the Iberian Peninsular, the northern half of Africa, and in southern Asia (among others including the Indian subcontinent).
The bluethroat bird is similar in size to the European robin at 13–14 cm. It is plain brown above except for the distinctive black tail with red side patches. It has a strong white supercilium. Despite the distinctive appearance of the males, recent genetic studies show only limited variation between the forms, and confirm that this is a single species. Moults begins in July after breeding and are completed in 40–45 days, before the birds migrate.
The male has a varied and very imitative song. Its call is a typical chat chack noise.
Females of all subspecies usually have just a blackish crescent on an otherwise cream throat and breast. Newly fledged juveniles are freckled and spotted dark brown above.
The genus name Luscinia is Latin for the common nightingale. The specific epithet svecica is from Neo-Latin Suecicus meaning "Swedish". The colours of the male's breast were thought to evoke the Swedish flag, the yellow in the flag being more orange hued.
This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America. It has colonized a few oceanic islands, but vagrant individuals are generally rare; in the whole of Micronesia for example, the species was only recorded twice each on Guam and Saipan in the Marianas.
To identify the male chaffinch, look for the black forehead, blue-grey crown, and rust-red breast, which fades to a pale creamy-pink on the belly. The wings feature a white panel on the coverts and a buff-white bar on the secondaries and inner primaries. Females and juveniles are more muted with grey-brown shades above and paler below, but retain the distinctive wing markings.
Chaffinches favor wooded environments, thriving in areas where the July isotherm ranges from 12 to 30°C. They are adaptable, however, and can be found in a variety of forested landscapes across their range.