Sofia chooses bird symbol

published on 3/26/12 11:35 AM

Photo: Svetoslav Spassov

Some 200 bird species fly over Bulgaria’s capital city

The Great Tit /Parus Major/ was chosen for a bird – symbol of the capital city of Sofia. Some 9,000 people voted online in the period January 28 – March 15, invited by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds /BSPB/. Three bird species out of the 12 most common ones in Sofia – the Great Tit, the Eurasian Collared Dove and the House Sparrow reached the final of the contest. 24 percent of the citizens voted for the Great Tit. “It was a really tough competition, Head of BSPB Look for a First Time: Flying Wealth of Bulgaria Project Teya Ivanova told a Radio Bulgaria reporter. “We are happy that the citizens of Sofia picked that motley and vital species that will symbolize the capital city from now on,” the expert commented and added.

“Few people know that over 40 kinds of sounds exist in the repertoire of the Great Tit, used by the males for attraction of females. Those are the sounds that the birds communicate with, perhaps expressing different emotions. The Great Tit doesn’t migrate and now one can already hear its song in the parks. The picking of a bird symbol of Sofia is only the beginning of a longer dialogue with its citizens on the bird species that live with us – who are they, what they do for us and what we do for them.”

The main goal of the project is to attract public interest to bird species around us and also to provide better knowledge about them, since several really interesting species dropped the competition.

“I am really sorry about Eurasian Nuthatch that remained last,” Teya said. “It is a really nice bird that can be found across the entire city. However, it turned out that few people had noticed it or paid any attention to it. We can say the same about Alpine Swift – it is usually related to high cliffs, but those birds have obviously found their analogue in tall buildings, as they can be recently spotted in Sofia. Alpine Swifts do everything in the air – they, eat, sleep, or make love there. They even manage to sleep in the air, while migrating, without stopping. They are really noisy and easy to be spotted, but despite this fact few people do that. The Common Kestrel is another bird species that also opts for tall buildings, since it nests on cliffs or tall trees in wild nature.”

The capital city of Bulgaria continues to be among the “greenest” ones, considering the number of birds that can be seen in the sky. Some one half of a total of 409 bird species that live in this country can be seen here.

“Some 60 – 70 bird species nest here. A part of those migrates in the Mediterranean areas or Africa in the winter,” Teya further explains. “Others spend the whole year in Bulgaria. A large group of birds makes so-called spring and autumn “movements”. Some 200 species can be observed in the sky of Sofia and thus our capital city continues to be one of the greenest in Europe – a fact that can make us proud. For instance, the population of House Sparrow reduces worldwide and capital cities, such as Paris and London have lost its presence.”

The next step within the frameworks of the project will be the placing of a sculpture of Great Tit in the Southern Park in Sofia. It is likely one of the best contemporary sculptors in this country – Georgi Chapkanov – Chapa, to be in charge of its creation. The figure is expected to be ready in the beginning of June.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev

По публикацията работи: Maria Dimitrova

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!

Share

Sofia chooses bird symbol

More from category

Bulgarians from all over the world gather in Palma de Mallorca for the In the Town Square of the Other Bulgaria festival to dance the horo

Bulgarian Sunday school Saints Cyril and Methodius in Athens celebrates 20th anniversary

How to obtain Bulgarian citizenship - procedure explained