French Birds
By Gabrielle Toutin
Staff Writer
There are a wide variety of French birds. Here are a few usual and unusual ones.
House sparrows are considered pests by many people. They take over Purple Martin nestboxes, contributing to the decline of the Purple Martins. They are the most common birds in the world, appearing in Africa, Asia, Europe, and America. They are called Moineau Domestique in France.
Barn swallows breed in France and America. They are fairly common in America and their breeding range is the entirety of France. They are called Hirondelle rustique in French.
European starlings (or common starlings) are non-native species to the Americas, hence their name European starling. They are now common in North America as well as France. They are called Étourneau sansonnet.
The only bird only found in France is not on the mainland, but on the French island of Corsica. It is an endangered species and the only nuthatch on Corsica. It is the Corsican nuthatch (Sitelle corse).
Surprisingly, flamingoes are found in France. And they’re called the flamant rose. Flamingoes live in the south of France, in a region called Camargue. They also live in Florida, South and Central America, and Asia and Europe. This species of flamingo is the Greater Flamingo.
Another interesting-looking bird lives in France. The Eurasian Hoopoe (Huppe fasciée) lives in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and is very rarely found in America. It is not a normal resident of America, hence the name Eurasian Hoopoe.
Sources:
Dunn, Rob. "History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian, 2 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-story-of-the-most-common-bird-in-the-world-113046500/?page=1&no-ist>. "Flamant Rose - Phoenicopterus Roseus - Greater Flamingo." Oiseaux.net. Oiseaux.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/flamant.rose.html>. "Hirondelle Rustique - Hirundo Rustica - Barn Swallow." Oiseaux.net. Oiseaux.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/hirondelle.rustique.html>. "Huppe Fasciée - Upupa Epops - Eurasian Hoopoe." Oiseaux.net. Oiseaux.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/huppe.fasciee.html>. "Moineau Domestique - Passer Domesticus - House Sparrow." Oiseaux.net. Oiseau.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/moineau.domestique.html>. "Sittelle Corse - Sitta Whiteheadi - Corsican Nuthatch." Oiseaux.net. Oiseaux.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/sittelle.corse.html>. "Étourneau Sansonnet - Sturnus Vulgaris - Common Starling." Oiseaux.net. Oiseaux.net. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/etourneau.sansonnet.html>.