Photographs of Greek Fauna and Wildlife

Various Critters

"Animals differ from one another in their modes of subsistence, in their actions, in their habits, and in their parts."

Aristotle, "The History of Animals"

This photo gallery contains some pictures of birds, mammals, and a few odd arthropods. It will, of course, be broken up in due time, when I have more pictures at my disposal.

Unfortunately, I don't have a descent zoom lens at the moment, so the bird images are particularly poor. But don't be fooled; Pelion hosts an impressive avifauna and I have seen scores of beautiful and, quite probably, rare birds that I was unable to capture on film.

By the way, I've placed the scorpions and spiders here and not in any of the insect categories, because, technically speaking, they aren't really insects, they're arachnids, although they are commonly mistaken for insects. Arachnids differ from insects in their anatomy and development from immature to mature stages. While arachnids have eight legs, insects have six. Arachnids lack the wings and antennae that insects possess. Arachnids do not undergo transformation, whereas insects metamorphose through stages - larval, pupal, and adult. Finally, the eyes of arachnids are simple while those of the Insects are compound.


		Erinaceus concolor View images of the Eastern European Hedgehog, a sweet little animal with an interesting... nightlife.
		Lanius collurio Look at a picture of the Red-backed Shrike, an impressive predatory bird that stores its prey by pinning it to thorns!
		Muscicapa striata Enjoy a nice photograph of the Spotted Flycatcher, a long-distance migrant that spends the winter in sub-Saharan Africa.
		Saxicola torquata Check out a photo of the Stonechat, a smallish bird that looks for insects and other invertebrates from a suitable high perch, to which it often returns, after capturing its prey.
		Thomisus onustus Have a look at the tiny Heather Spider, a small crab spider that comes in various colors, such as white, pink and yellow, depending on the color of the flower on which it is found!
		Mesobuthus gibbosus Scorpions in Pelion? You bet! In fact, this one can deliver a painful sting, which can be dangerous to infants.
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