Page 30 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

INTRODUCTION

WESTERN PALEARCTIC

urope, North Africa, and Asia (north of the
EHimalayas) form one large entity, called the
Palearctic. It is identified by a characteristic set of
plants and animals, which adhere to natural rather
than political boundaries.This book focuses on
the western part of this region – west of the Ural
Mountains – giving an overview of the birdlife in
BEWICK’SSWAN
an area extending slightly beyond Europe. A number of species breed widely around the Arctic
and move to western Europe in winter to escape severe
weather conditions. The Bewick’s Swan is typical of these.
SONG THRUSH
Thrushes are found almost
worldwide, but form a
distinctive part of Western ROBIN
Palearctic birdlife. They Robins are related to
include some of the best thrushes and evolved in
known songbirds in Europe, Western Palearctic forests.
such as the Blackbird, and They adapted to forest life,
widely travelled migrants, finding worms and insects
such as this Song Thrush. in earth turned up by
moles and foraging wild
boars. More recently
they have turned to
DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS garden habitats.
“Palearctic” refers to the arctic conditions endured by
much of the region in the Ice Ages; the legacy of this
remains, with several species still moving back to areas from
which they were driven by the ice.The Western Palearctic is
claearly delimited by the sea in the west and the Sahara in the south,
but its eastern boundary is harder to draw.Within this region, the
habitats available to birds are amazingly varied.Arctic and Siberian
habitats provide tundra and a belt of dense forest.There are also
grasslands and steppes and a mixed European zone with
temperate forests, wetlands, and mountains.The
Mediterranean has distinctive hot, dry summers
and cooler winters,while North Africa and the
Middle East are hot and arid but also have
snow-capped mountain peaks.Birds have
adapted in many ways to this great range
of challenges and opportunities. DARTFORD WARBLER
Warblers include many typical
WHEATEAR Palearctic forms. The Dartford
The Wheatear is an exceptionally widespread representative of its Warbler is one of several centred
family, breeding from Africa to the Arctic. Other wheatears prefer to on Mediterranean heathland.
stay in more southerly regions, in hot, often semi-arid, habitats.

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