Rus in urbe. Signs of the countryside in town. We spent a lot of our time in Andalucia, particularly in Córdoba and Málaga, hanging over river bridges staring at bird life, or gawping into trees to see what we could see. Here’s a bit of a rogues’ gallery….
Cormorants on the river Guadalquivir…
Egrets, ditto.
Herons – or perhaps always just the same heron? Fishing, always fishing.
A poor swallow (Was it a swallow? Help me, someone) trapped in the synagogue in Córdoba, endlessly flying impotently towards the light, the incontestably glazed windows.
Then it was parakeets. We’ve moved to Málaga now. We could hear them all the time, squawking in the palm trees. But this pair had time to bill, coo and preen.
La Concepción Botanical Gardens were at the edge of town. But still definitively Málaga. I offer you turtles…..
…. toads…
and – not from the Botanical Gardens – the inevitable herring gull.
And if it’s red squirrels you’re after, you’ll just have to read my last post.
As usual, click on any photo to view full size. This is my entry for today’s Ragtag Challenge: rus in urbe.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
You can’t have missed much in the way of birds in Malaga and elsewhere.
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Oh, one or two are bound to have got away!
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Well. First I’ve just learned a new phrase and am quietly celebrating the concept it describes. Second, I’ve just realised that the link takes me to your introductory post which obviously happens each week and I’d never thought to look. (Not sure if that is very clear; I’m rushing!) And thirdly – what wonderful shots. Now to find opportunities to drop rus-in-urbe into conversation…
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Oh, it will definitely bring a little je ne sais quoi to your musings!
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a brilliant collection! Love it!
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A nice selection of birds and beasts, though mainly birds. Your swallow certainly looks like a swallow to me; poor thing!
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I know. We all felt so helpless. I hope he’s not still there.
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A sad thought.
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I hate seeing birds caught inside. We had hummingbird in our garage one summer and I was frantic until it got out! All the other critters seem to be doing well in their urban setting.
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Everybody but the swallow was perfectly happy. I hope, like your hummingbird, he’s free at last.
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I also had not heard that phrase before. Your photos show lots of riches of the countryside in the city. I also hope the swallow was able to find a way out. We saw a similarly trapped bird at a high window at a hotel once, and the staff said that such birds generally find their way out through the door at dusk when the window is not so bright.
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Great pictures. I find both herons and cormorants offer interesting, flowing shapes for my work, added to which there’s all their spiky feathers for contrast. Poor swallow.
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Poor swallow indeed. But how interesting that you’re a cormorant and heron fan. I particularly like herons, and we have a lot here – or a few doing a lot of work, not sure which. Theyre terribly photogenic.
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