Whilst birding Deffi Park recently I came
across a Pied Wheatear eating a Mole Cricket. The insect is from the family
Gryllotalpidae measuring 3-5 cm long and as it is nocturnal, so they are seldom
seen. This one was found by the Wheatear in the very early morning on a grass
field. The scientific name derives from the Latin 'gryllus' meaning cricket and
'talpa', mole, and refers to its similarity to a mole in both looks and
subterranean habits. The body is brown in colour and covered with fine velvety
hairs, and the forelegs are greatly modified for digging with hands like a
mole. Adults and nymphs can be found throughout the year in extensive tunnel
systems that may reach a depth of over one metre. They occur throughout Europe,
except Norway and Finland, through the Middle East to western Asia and North
Africa. Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka is a common spring
migrant that is less common in autumn. Most years birds are recorded in spring
between early February and Mid-May, peaking in March and in autumn from late
August to mid-November commonest in second half of September.
