This exhibit features birds characteristic of shallow water habitats, such as Lake Hula and fish ponds. Many of them are migratory birds that arrive here from Europe in the autumn on their way to Africa for the winter season. Some of them, like the white stork and the great white pelican, stop by for just a few days, while others, like the common crane and various ducks, stay in large flocks in northern Israel for the entire winter. Some of them are very bothersome to the farmers. A good example of a migratory heron who comes here for winter is the great egret, which can be spotted in all of the aquatic regions in Israel.

The great white pelican, with its yellow sack, yellow legs, and webbed feet, arrives every year in the autumn from Europe, from Romania and the Danube area, where it nests in tens of thousands. On their way to Africa in the autumn, about 40,000 pelicans fly over us every year. Only a few hundreds of them stay in Israel for the winter, to the dismay of fish breeders, since they eat vast quantities of fish from their fish ponds. About 20 years ago, following research that was done, an intentional supply of small fish was placed in Agamon Hula in order to prevent them from “robbing” the farmers’ fish ponds.

In contrast with the migratory birds, the black-crowned night heron is an example of a resident bird that remains in Israel all year round and nests near water and swamps. It is identifiable by its long white plumes that stand erect on its black head. It hunts its food while walking through the thicket of plants on the banks of the swamp or lake. When it discovers a fish, it shoots its head forward like a harpoon and pulls it out of the water.

In the center of the display is the mallard duck, which nests in Europe and only comes to us for the winter season. Like most ducks, mallards do not eat fish, rather they filter plankton out of the water or eat plants found in the water or the field. The male has a green, shiny head, while the female has camouflage colors in brown shades suitable for nesting in the thicket of the swamp.

This phenomenon, when the male and female have different colors, is called sexual dimorphism and is characteristic of only some animals in nature. Regarding birds such as the pelican, stork, and crane, the male and female look exactly the same, and only differ in their body size. Being personally familiar with the pelicans, I can clearly identify when it is a female because its bill is relatively short. The male’s bill is about 10 cm longer. It is very difficult to differentiate between male and female birds when their colors are identical.

The shape of the birds’ bill often indicates the type of food that it eats. Birds that eat fish, such as the stork and the large egret on the right, the night heron on the left, and the great white pelican, have a sharp, long bill like a harpoon, in order to catch fish in the water. In contrast, ducks have a broad bill that is used to filter tiny organisms called plankton out of the water.

In the center of the display is the western marsh harrier, a predatory bird.