Among the common breeding birds of southeast Arizona that have not yet made it onto our modest yard list are some that enjoy a virtually worldwide distribution.

Of the birds that are still MIA, Barn Owl isn’t so much of a surprise, I guess: our neighborhood is pretty densely vegetated by Sonoran desert standards, and the nearest open area for feeding is five or six miles away on the Santa Cruz, where the species does occur in banks and under bridges. Eventually one will fly over, snoring, late one night.

Another barn bird is a much less expected listing lacuna. Diurnal, abundant, and strongly migratory, a Barn Swallow or two should have passed over the yard at some point in these past nearly six years. We came close this morning, with three stub-tailed individuals half a mile away over Oracle Road–the vanguard of hirundinid migration, and right on time with Fourth of July coming up in just hours.

Alison reminded me that the most recent Barn Swallows we’d seen were on another continent entirely, a small flock (probably a family) perching on wires

and dramatically drinking from a Tuscan swimming pool.

It’s nice to think that those rondine are on their way south to Africa just as ours are moving to South America.

Pretty beautiful–and very common in the Apuan Alps a couple of weeks ago.

The photo gallery for next year’s Birds and Art in Tuscany tour is up now.

http://wingsbirds.com/galleries/gallery/167

Makes me wish I were back there already!

A thousand thanks to Tom for passing on his list of butterflies observed on our Provence tour earlier this month!

Les Baux, June 2009.

La Caume, June 2009.

La Caume, June 2009.

Remember the passage in Wild America where James Fisher admits to missing one thing about England? It’s the corvids: America, he mused, was lacking in great noisy social crows.

Fisher was talking about Rooks, of course, but whenever I’m in Europe admiring that continent’s diversity of crows and jays and magpies, I always think of that line. Tuscany earlier this month gave us lots of occasion to appreciate one crow I don’t see very often: Hooded Crow, the pied nominate race of the species that also includes the Carrion Crow.

Unlike their basic black cousins–decided country birds over most of their range–Hooded Crows in central Italy appear to be quite tolerant, pacing around in towns and on beaches, high in the mountains and in lowland villages. I can guarantee (rare word and carefully used in a birder’s vocabulary!) that this appealing species will be among the first to greet us in Rome next May–and may well be the last to wave goodbye when we fly out from Pisa.