news

Thanks to a project by the organizations newTree and tiipaalga, which is supported by the Swiss Ornithological Institute, migratory birds in Africa are finding suitable habitats - and people are also benefiting.

Even though the summer is still in progress - for many birds the migration to the African winter quarters has already begun. Among them is the wheatear, which breeds in mountainous areas. On its 4500-kilometer journey, which takes about 30 days, the small bird can climb to an altitude of more than 5000 meters.

Switzerland has a new breeding bird: the cattle egret has nested on Swiss soil for the first time, the culmination of a long evolutionary process.

The woodcock's habits are discreet and nocturnal. A true ghost of the forest, it is rarely seen. We now know that its tail feathers are the purest white in the bird world. Sempach. The woodcock is active at night and lives secluded in damp forests. A veritable ghost of the forest, it is usually discovered by scaring it off on a hiking trail: a brown-spotted bird the size of a pigeon.

Not so long ago, seeing a griffon vulture in Switzerland was an extraordinary sight. For the past ten years, the species has been regularly crossing our skies.

People in love like to be called turtle doves. But the love symbol is hunted massively: In the Mediterranean region alone, 2-3 million turtle doves are shot annually.