Get to Know the Collared Flycatcher!

The Collared Flycatcher

The U.S. Embassy in Prague will contribute to annual celebrations of the Earth Day by, among other things, hanging 15 bird houses in a park located on a sunny hill above the Vltava River near the Prague’s Tocna neighborhood. In cooperation with the Czech Society for Ornithology (CSO) and the Prague’s School of Nature (Prirodni skola) the project will focus on protecting the Collared Flycatcher, a rare bird species which inhabits some parts of Prague and needs cavities or boxes for nesting. 

Watch the pictures of the bird houses installation. And stay tuned for more exciting videos and pictures!
 
Protection of the environment and sustainable development belong to the Embassy’s long-term goals. In previous years, the Embassy engaged in planting trees in Sumava; Prague’s Stromovka Park; helped renovate flower beds in Prague 6; and has supported numerous green non-governmental initiatives throughout the Czech Republic. 

About the Collared Flycatcher

The Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in southeast Europe (isolated populations in the islands of Gotland and Oland in the Baltic Sea, Sweden) and southwest Asia and is migratory, wintering in sub Sahara Africa. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe.

This is a 12-13.5 cm long bird. The breeding male is mainly black above and white below, with a white collar, large white wing patch, black tail (although some males have white tail sides) and a large white forehead patch. It has a pale rump. The bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. As well as taking insects in flight, this species hunts caterpillars amongst the oak foliage, and will take berries.

They are birds of deciduous woodlands, parks and gardens, with a preference for old trees with cavities in which it nests. They build an open nest in a tree hole, or man-made nest-boxes. Normally 5-7 eggs are laid. (Source: Wikipedia)

Earth Day

Earth Day, celebrated on April 22nd, marks the 1970 birth of the modern environmental movement in the United States. The first Earth Day helped bring about the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts. "Earth Day has been global since its inception but became truly global on its 20th anniversary in 1990," explains Earth Day Network President Kathleen Roger. Today more than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.