Turdus pilaris, fieldfare, gråtrost

The fieldfare is commonly seen in parks, where it walks the lawn, tilting it's head slightly while listening for insects and earthworms:



Lumix GH3 camera with Lumix G 100-300mm f/4-5.6 at ISO 320, 1/500s, 300mm, f/7.1.

In the autumn, their diet consists mostly of berries. If they found a lot of berries, they some times stay during the winter, but mostly they migrate to Southern Europe during October-November.



When alarmed, they make a harsh "tsak tsak tsak" sound to warn other birds, usually while flying away.



Up in Northern Europe, the breeding season starts quite late, perhaps as late as July. The female builds the nest, often on the ground, and with little concealment. The adults will defend the nests aggressively. Each clutch usually has five to six eggs, and the female does most of the incubation.

Columba livia var. domestica, feral pigeon, bydue

By far the most frequently seen bird in the centre of Oslo, and most cities, is the feral pigeon.



Lumix GH3 camera with Lumix G 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 at ISO 200, 1/500s, 140mm, f/7.1.



The pigeons typically live for 3-4 years. They are monogamous, and the male watches over the female and the nest. The female usually lay eggs three-four times per year, with one-two eggs at a time.

In the city, the number of pigeons is often seen as a problem, and there are efforts to reduce their numbers. One is these towers, where the birds lay eggs. The eggs are then destroyed and replaced by porcelain dummies, hence avoiding that the number of pigeons accelerates too much:



The pigeons mostly rely on food from humans to survive. Feeding pigeons is generally discouraged, suggesting that rats, an even worse pest, end up eating the food:



The pigeons often dwell under bridges and on building facades.




To avoid having the pigeons living on a building, you often see metal rods mounted to flat, horizontal surfaces:

Corvus cornix, crow, kråke

This crow is teaching an infant to find food. In this case, the food is a partially eaten, run-over snickers.



Lumix GH3 camera with Lumix X PZ 45-175mm f/4-5.6 at ISO 640, 1/400s, 175mm, f/7.1.



The crows are typically monogamous, one couple can stay together for twenty years. Both genders contribute to the nest building, and bringing up the infants.

They can dominate other species of smaller birds in their nesting area, and are often seen as pests for that reason.

Some crows like junk food. This parent is teaching infants to eat chips for breakfast: