The crag martin has been recently spotted in Slovakia. (source: SOS/BirdLife Slovensko)
A trip to the Slovak mountains turned into a sensation for a hiker who, by chance, discovered a rare bird species nesting in a rock wall in Malá Fatra National Park.
The crag martin, a short-tailed brown-and-white species of the swallow family, usually nests in a warm climate, like the Mediterranean region or the Middle East. In Central Europe few crag martins have been spotted to date, and never in Slovakia.
Štefan Matis, the hiker and Slovenský Kras National Park worker, was on holiday in Malá Fatra when he found the nest. He immediately knew that the bird would be an "exceptional discovery".
The rarity also surprised zoologist Tomáš Flajs of Malá Fatra National Park. He called Matis' achievement a "small miracle" given the small size of the species. The zoologist helped Matis document one nesting pair and three other adult crag martins after the hiker reported his discovery.
Secret location
The bird has thus become Slovakia's 231st nesting species. Last year ornithologists found the alpine swift and the cattle egret nesting in Slovakia for the first time.
The precise location of the nest of the crag martin has not been revealed to protect the birds.
"We'll check the location with the crag martins in Malá Fatra in the next few days, as we are interested in the result of the nesting," the zoologist concluded.
