Meet The Blackbird, A Diving Bird
The waterbird is a little known water bird due to its shyness and agility. She is a species of bird that lives in our rivers and is unmistakable thanks to her incredible abilities.
Know the types of Blackbird
Certainly many know a much more common bird, as is the case of the blackbird, more urban and popular, which can be found in parks throughout Spain. Its black color and orange beak make it very well recognized.
However, there are other species of blackbirds in Spain, such as the white-breasted blackbird and the aquatic blackbird. Although the truth is that the blackbird is not familiar with these other species.
The white-breasted blackbird is a black bird with a white breast and a yellow beak found in areas such as the Pyrenees, where winter is milder than in northern European countries.
Meet the Blackbird
However, today we will talk about the water bird, a fast bird with an almost electric behavior that can be found in rivers and lakes. However, you must know that it does not adapt to any area of water.
It needs especially clean rivers without much human activity. Therefore, their presence is an indicator of the health of these ecosystems.
Normally, we can find these water birds in the highest areas of rivers, in clear waters, where it is possible to obtain a lot of food.
The waterbird is a water bird very similar to the rest of the blackbirds, with a white bib and a black body.
However, in this case, its beak is black and the head is more brown, almost chocolate. It is a medium-sized bird that reaches 30 centimeters in length.
The Waterbird, a natural diver
The waterbird has this name because it doesn’t mind diving for its food. He usually makes dives of about three seconds, but can spend up to 30 seconds underwater; therefore, it is common to see him diving deeper.
Thanks to the increase in red blood cells in your blood, it can carry more oxygen than other birds. This allows it to feed on worms and insects that hide in rocks in the river.
It is relatively easy to find them in rivers in suitable conditions, although it is difficult to photograph them due to their hyperactivity. The waterbird moves freely among pebbles and stones, from which it launches to dive.
It’s such a restless bird that, even when it’s standing on the ground, it doesn’t stop blinking, lifting its tail and doing push-ups with its legs.
These animals are able to cross small waterfalls, which is why they nest very close to the water.
Cracks, trees or bridges are natural and artificial structures that are used to build their nests. In addition, they usually lay between four and six eggs, which are incubated by the female and hatch after two weeks.
The blackbird and its return to Spain
Although the European variety does not leave our continent, the truth is that it can be found all over Asia and even in North Africa. In Spain it is especially common in the north.
Due to river pollution and the presence of plastic, the species is thought to be disappearing across Europe.
However, in Spain, new populations have emerged in the south, contrary to the current trend of disappearing throughout the country.
That’s why, the day this beautiful bird disappears from our rivers, it’s likely to be too late for many other species, such as the kingfisher. This will be a final warning of the demise of our river ecosystems.
