City birds?

[paul m]

Travelling around Europe I've noticed that different towns seem to have different bird fauna. Fair enough, you wouldn't expect the same things in Scandinavia as the Mediterranean but there seem to be differences on a closer level. I've not studied this at all but recall numbers of crows in Berlin. Most European towns still have lots of house sparrows, unlike London, and few seemt to have feral pigeons (perhaps exterminated or given contraceptives?).
Reminded of this by the following picture - collared doves seem to be very common in Athens. Did they arrive from that part of the world?
http://www.wildabouttheworld.com/gal...to/325/cat/502

[Imaginos]

One of the things I found fascinating in Thailand is that the sparrows hopping around the cities are Tree Sparrows, rather than the familiar (to me) House Sparrows. I read somewhere that Chairman Mao tried to exterminate the Tree Sparrow in China (to little effect) because they were deemed as vermin they are so common.

[Imaginos]

Originally Posted by paul m

Reminded of this by the following picture - collared doves seem to be very common in Athens. Did they arrive from that part of the world?
http://www.wildabouttheworld.com/gal...to/325/cat/502

I think the Collared Dove came originally from Africa and swept across Europe from it's first landfalls in Greece & Italy.
There's some recent research that suggests the recent decline of the House Sparrow in the UK may be related to the urban spread of the Collared Dove and the subsequent competition for food.

[paul m]

Originally Posted by Imaginos

I think the Collared Dove came originally from Africa and swept across Europe from it's first landfalls in Greece & Italy.
There's some recent research that suggests the recent decline of the House Sparrow in the UK may be related to the urban spread of the Collared Dove and the subsequent competition for food.

Something similar with parakeets or are they escapes? They're reaching large numbers in London - competing with what? The only city where I've seen them in abundance was Barcelona. I put this down to the large numbers of leguminous trees providing a good source of seed?
The London sparrow has been declining for decades and the collared dove isn't that numerous so I have my doubts about that research ....

[Tanny]

When I returned to England a couple of years ago I was amazed to see the Magpie in the center of Liverpool, It's nest was situated in trees of the little memorial park opposite the Art Gallery. Birkenhead also had a pair of Magpies in the park at Hamilton Square, right in the heart of the town. Magpies were everywhere, their large nests unmistakably seen in street trees in almost every town on the Wirral. These birds were one of the most wary of creatures in the 1960s when I emigrated to Australia. Collard Doves had not reached England then and the Red Kite was close to extinction in Britain. Sparrows and Starlings were the most frequently bird seen, now I get excited when I see these birds visit my feeding station. The Goldfinch is the most frequent visitor now. So many changes in the 37 years I was away.

[MeadowMouse]

Crewe and Nantwich are about 5 miles apart yet the town centre birds are different. Lots of Jackdaws in Nantwich, none in Crewe. Carrion Crows and Rooks in Crewe, few in Nantwich. Lots more Feral Pigeons in Crewe than in Nantwich.

[Guy F]

When I went to northern Spain I was surprised at how many redstarts there were around. There were loads of them and they were in the park and all around town. On that trip I only saw one robin!