Una serie di cache dedicata alle specie di uccelli che più frequentemente si possono osservare nella Riserva Naturale Pian di Spagna-Lago di Mezzola.
La Riserva, istituita nel 1985, è sito di interesse comunitario (SIC) ed è una delle zone di sosta degli uccelli migratori più importanti d'Europa; a sud dell’arco alpino ne sono rimaste soltanto quattro (le altre tre sono le Bolle di Magadino in Canton Ticino, le torbiere del Lago d’Iseo e i Laghi della Brianza).
Essa si trova lungo uno dei corridoi più brevi per l’attraversamento delle Alpi, quello che passa dallo Spluga.
Il lago di Como circa 2000 anni fa si estendeva verso la Valchiavenna fino a Samolaco; a seguito dei depositi dell’Adda e delle alluvioni del 1600 si formò un’area paludosa che divise il lago in due parti formando a nord il lago di Mezzola; l’aspetto attuale è quello che deriva dall’opera di canalizzazione dell’Adda da parte degli austriaci nel 1858.
Per qualsiasi informazione sulla Riserva Naturale consultate il sito www.piandispagna.it
Forse non tutti sanno che nella Riserva, oltre all’osservazione degli uccelli si possono effettuare bellissime pedalate e passeggiate lungo i percorsi segnalati. Questa serie di cache è stata approntata proprio per suggerire una visita a questi luoghi magnifici.
Le cache sono posizionate in zone liberamente accessibili senza il bisogno di uscire dai percorsi segnalati. Alcune di esse sono al di fuori del perimetro vero e proprio della Riserva.
Il Cardellino (Carduelis carduelis Linnaeus, 1758) è un uccello appartenente alla famiglia dei Fringillidi. Il nome deriva dalla pianta cardo dei cui semi (specialmente di quelli del cardo rosso) questi uccelli sono ghiotti.
Descrizione
Il cardellino è facilmente riconoscibile per la mascherina rossa sulla faccia e per l'ampia barra alare gialla. Il resto del piumaggio va dal bianco delle guance, al nero della nuca, della coda e della parte esterna delle ali, al marrone scuro del dorso. Il dimorfismo sessuale non è molto evidente ma qualche differenza fra maschio e femmina c'è, annche se possono capitare delle eccezioni: la mascherina rossa nel maschio supera completamente l'occhio, mentre nella femmina arriva a stento fino alla metà dell'occhio; i colori del maschio sono più accentuati, soprattutto su nuca e ali (la nuca ha un nero più intenso, le ali un giallo e un nero più intenso).
Biologia
Nel periodo della migrazione (ottobre/novembre) si trova in numerosi gruppetti nei pressi dei campi coltivati, dove si ferma fino a metà febbraio. Già da febbraio iniziano a formarsi le coppie, che si spostano isolate nelle campagne dove costruiranno i nidi; finite le cove, si riuniscono in numerosi gruppetti e si fermano fino ai primi di settembre.
Canto
Il canto del cardellino, o trillo, è molto bello ed è uno dei motivi per cui viene allevato, oltre che per la bellezza, e l'ibridazione con il canarino.
Alimentazione
Si nutre prevalentemente di semi di cardo, cardo dei lanaioli e girasole, ma anche di semi di acetosa, agrimonia, cicoria, romice, senecio, tarassaco, crespigno.
Riproduzione
La riproduzione inizia nella tarda primavera; generalmente una coppia porta a termine tre covate. L'incubazione dura circa 12 giorni nelle sottospecie meridionali, qualche giorno in più nelle settentrionali. Il nido è costruito generalmente su una conifera o su alberi da frutto a qualche metro dal suolo. Le uova variano da un minimo di due ad un massimo di sette. I piccoli sono svezzati intorno al trentacinquesimo giorno e alimentati con semi immaturi e afidi.
Tassonomia e distribuzione
Attualmente (2013) sono considerate valide le seguenti sottospecie:
- Carduelis carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758)- sottospecie nominale che vive nell'Europa continentale dai Pirenei sono agli Urali; a sud est è distribuito fino alle coste del Mar Nero a nord si trova fino alla penisola scandinava fino al 64º parallelo.
- Carduelis carduelis britannica (Hartert, 1903) - diffusa in Gran Bretagna, Francia settentrionale e Paesi Bassi.
- Carduelis carduelis parva Tschusi, 1901 - diffusa nella penisola Iberica a sud dei Pirenei, nelle isole Baleari, nel Nord Africa e nelle isole atlantiche delle Azzorre e delle Canarie.
- Carduelis carduelis tschusii Arrigoni degli Oddi, 1902 - diffusa in Corsica, Sardegna e Sicilia.
- Carduelis carduelis balcanica Sachtleben, 1919 - distribuita in tutta la penisola Balcanica fino alla Romania, alla Turchia e a Creta.
- Carduelis carduelis niediecki Reichenow, 1907 - diffusa in Medio Oriente
- Carduelis carduelis brevirostris Zarudny, 1889 - vive in Crimea e sui monti del Caucaso fino al nord della Turchia orientale ed Iran occidentale.
- Carduelis carduelis colchica Koudashev, 1915 - presente nel Caucaso e in Crimea
- Carduelis carduelis volgensis Buturlin, 1906 - diffuso in Ucraina, Russia e Kazakistan
- Carduelis carduelis major Taczanowski, 1880 - vive in Siberia ad est dei monti Urali fino ai monti Altai ed a sud fino alla città kazaka di Semipalatinsk.
- Carduelis carduelis paropanisi Kollibay, 1910 - diffuso dal Turkmenistan e dall'Iran sino alla Cina nord-occidentale.
- Carduelis carduelis subulata (Gloger, 1833) - presente in Kazakistan, Siberia e Mongolia
- Carduelis carduelis caniceps Vigors, 1831 - Pakistan, Himalaya, Tibet e Nepal.
- Carduelis carduelis ultima Koelz, 1949 - endemica dell'Iran
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Fonte: "Carduelis carduelis." Wikipedia, L'enciclopedia libera. 31 dic 2016, 18:38 UTC. 1 mar 2017, 13:34 <//it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carduelis_carduelis&oldid=85039818>.
A series of caches dedicated to the species of birds that can be observed more frequently in the Natural Reserve of Pian di Spagna-Lake Mezzola.
The Reserve was established in 1985. It's a Site of Community Interest and is one of the most important stopover areas for migratory birds of Europe; in the south of the Alps there are only four left (the other three are: the Bolle di Magadino in Canton Ticino; the peat bogs of Lake Iseo; the Brianza lakes).
It is located along one of the shorter corridors for crossing of the Alps, the one that passes through Splugen Pass.
Lake Como, about 2,000 years ago stretched towards Chiavenna to Samolaco; as a result of deposits of the Adda and the floods of XVII century it was formed a marshy area that divided the lake into two parts, forming the northern Lake Mezzola; the current appearance is what comes from the work of channeling Adda by the Austrians in 1858.
For any further information please visit the Natural Reserve website www.piandispagna.it
Perhaps not everybody knows that in the Reserve, in addition to the observation of birds it is possible to make beautiful bike and walk trails. This series of caches was prepared precisely to suggest a visit to these magnificent places.
The caches are placed in areas freely accessible. It is recommended not to leave the marked trails. Some caches are hidden outside of the Reserve area.
The European goldfinch or goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced to other areas including Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay.
The goldfinch has a red face and a black-and-white head. The back and flanks are buff or chestnut brown. The black wings have a broad yellow bar. The tail is black and the rump is white. The female is very similar to the male but has a slightly smaller red area on the face.
The goldfinch is often depicted in Italian renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child.
Taxonomy
The goldfinch was described and illustrated by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner in his Historiae animalium of 1555. In 1758 Linnaeus included the species in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name, Carduelis carduelis. Carduelis is the classical Latin word for a goldfinch. Modern molecular genetic studies have shown that the European goldfinch is most closely related to the citril finch, (Carduelis citrinella) and the Corsican finch, (Carduelis corsicana).
The English word 'goldfinch' was used in the second half of the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer in his unfinished The Cook's Tale: "Gaillard he was as goldfynch in the shawe (Gaily dressed he was as is a goldfinch in the woods)".
Subspecies
The subspecies are divided into two major groups. These intergrade at their boundary so the groups are not recognised as distinct species despite their readily distinguishable plumage. Subspecies in the carduelis group occupy the western part of the range and have black crowns; subspecies in the caniceps group occupy the eastern part of the range and have grey heads.
carduelis group
- C. c. balcanica Sachtleben, 1919 – southeastern European
- C. c. brevirostris Zarudny, 1890 – Crimea, north Caucasus
- C. c. britannica (Hartert, 1903) – British Isles
- C. c. carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) – most of European mainland, Scandinavia
- C. c. colchica Koudashev, 1915 – Crimea and northern Caucasus
- C. c. frigoris Wolters, 1953 – western Siberia
- C. c. niediecki Reichenow, 1907 – southwest Asia, northeast Africa
- C. c. parva Tschusi, 1901 – Atlantic Macaronesic Islands (Canary I., Madeira), Iberia, northwest Africa.
- C. c. tschusii Arrigoni degli Oddi, 1902 – Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily
- C. c. volgensis Buturlin, 1906 – southern Ukraine, southwestern Russia and northwestern Kazakhstan
caniceps group
- C. c. caniceps Vigors, 1831 – southern central Asia.
- C. c. paropanisi Kollibay, 1910 – Afghanistan to western Himalaya and Tien Shan.
- C. c. subulata (Gloger, 1833) – south-central Siberia.
- C. c. ultima Koelz, 1949 – southern Iran
Description
The average goldfinch is 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) long with a wingspan of 21–25 cm (8.3–9.8 in) and a weight of 14 to 19 g (0.49 to 0.67 oz). The sexes are broadly similar, with a red face, black and white head, warm brown upperparts, white underparts with buff flanks and breast patches, and black and yellow wings.
On closer inspection male goldfinches can often be distinguished by a larger, darker red mask that extends just behind the eye. In females, the red face does not extend past the eye. The ivory-coloured bill is long and pointed, and the tail is forked. Goldfinches in breeding condition have a white bill, with a greyish or blackish mark at the tip for the rest of the year. Juveniles have a plain head and a greyer back but are unmistakable due to the yellow wing stripe. Birds in central Asia (caniceps group) have a plain grey head behind the red face, lacking the black and white head pattern of European and western Asian birds. Adults moult after the breeding season with some individuals beginning in July and others not completing their moult until November. After moult birds appear less colourful, until the tips of the newly grown feathers wear away.
The song is a pleasant silvery twittering. The call is a melodic tickeLIT, and the song is a pleasant tinkling medley of trills and twitters, but always including the trisyllabic call phrase or a teLLIT-teLLIT-teLLIT.
Distribution and habitat
The goldfinch is native to Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia. It is found in open, partially wooded lowlands and is a resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions. It will also make local movements, even in the west, to escape bad weather. It has been introduced to many areas of the world. It was introduced to Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, in the 19th century, and their populations quickly increased and their range expanded greatly. They now occur from Brisbane to the Eyre Peninsula in Australia, and throughout New Zealand.
Behaviour and ecology
Breeding
The nest is built entirely by the female and is generally completed within a week. The male accompanies the female but does not contribute. The nest is neat and compact and is generally located several meters above the ground, hidden by leaves in the twigs at the end of a swaying branch. It is constructed of mosses and lichens and lined with plant down such as that from thistles. It is attached to the twigs of the tree with spider silk. A deep cup prevents the loss of eggs in windy weather. Beginning within a couple of days after the completion of the nest, the eggs are laid in early morning at daily intervals. The clutch is typically 4-6 eggs which are whitish with reddish-brown speckles. They have a smooth surface and are slightly glossy. The average size is 17.3 mm × 13.0 mm (0.68 in × 0.51 in) with a calculated weight of 1.53 g (0.054 oz). The eggs are incubated for 11–13 days by the female who is fed by the male. The chicks are fed by both parents. Initially they receive a mixture of seeds and insects but as they grow the proportion of insect material decreases. For the first 7–9 days the young are brooded by the female. The nestlings fledge 13–18 days after hatching. The young birds are fed by both parents for a further 7–9 days. The parents typically raise two brood each year and occasionally three.
Feeding
The goldfinch's preferred food is small seeds such as those from thistles (the Latin name is from Carduus, a genus of thistles) and teasels, but insects are also taken when feeding young. It also regularly visits bird feeders in winter. In the winter goldfinches group together to form flocks of up to forty, occasionally more. Goldfinches are attracted to back gardens in Europe and North America by birdfeeders containing niger (commercially described as nyjer) seed. This seed of an annual from South Asia is small, and high in oils. Special polycarbonate feeders with small oval slits at which the goldfinches feed are sometimes used.
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Source: Wikipedia contributors. "European goldfinch." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Feb. 2017. Web. 1 Mar. 2017.
