Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1382687
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JUNE 2021 9 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 766. Zitting Cisticola THE name may be a mouthful but the subject itself is hardly a mor- sel. Weighing less than 10g – that's a little more than a €2 coin – the zitting cisticola is our smallest breeding bird. But for all its diminu- tive dimensions, it is a consummate Don Juan, entertaining up to five ladies simultaneously in a single nesting season! The zitting cisticola (M. bufula tal-imrewħa) is a bird of open country, building its bot- tle-shaped nest mostly in tall grasses and rushes. While the females do most of the nest building and all the incubating and rearing, the fiercely territorial males patrol their patch, going tsipp-tsipp-tsipp- tsipp incessantly as they perform their curious undulating flight. Be- ing one of our very few breeding birds, the zitting cisiticola enjoys a special status with naturalists. Victor Falzon, Photo by Aron Tanti www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 658: Find out more about Maltese nature on our blog: www.foemalta.org/plantofthemonth June Flower of the Month: Mediterranean Thyme THE Mediterranean Thyme (MT: Sagħtar) Thymbra capitata is a har- dy low growing and aromatic shrub protected by law but not from the relentless winds and long droughts which dominate its preferred habi- tat. The expanses of garigue have by now dried up and most plants have withered, shed their leaves for summer or commenced their dormant period but the habitat still presents us with a marvellous start of sum- mer spectacle of flowering mats ranging in hues of purple, lilac, pink and the occasional pale/whitish varieties and with a great buzzing of bees and other pollinators. Wild thyme seems to prefer sites with shal- low Terrarossa soils on coralline limestone outcrops but is conspicu- ously absent in the southern parts of Malta where Globigerina Lime- stone is predominant. VISIT Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www.foemalta.org/donate Appster Smartphone fun and smarter work Lastpass password manager Free Apple, Andriod A password manager is a tool that does the work of creating, remembering and filling in passwords. Simply log into an online account for the first time and LastPass will store your username and password so every time you go back your credentials will be filled in automatically. TECH RETAILERS contact afarrugia@ mediatoday.com.mt A GOOD WEEK FOR Good Week/Bad Week Don't miss this A BAD WEEK FOR Malta Artisan Markets anniversary edition Couvre Porte, Birgu 13 June 10-6pm Malta Artisan Markets returns to its very first venue in Birgu for its 10th anniversary edition. The next market will be held on today at Couvre Porte between 10.00am and 6.00pm. Entrance is free, while the venue is reduced mobility friendly and four-legged friends are welcome. Over 45 stallholders will be present at the first market of the year. For fans of conductor Grant Llewellyn. Six months after having a stroke Grant has been back working with his orchestra in France, L'Orchestre National de Bretagne. He recently conducted an hour and a half concert - including technically difficult pieces like Beethoven's Symphony No 5. For fans of the Kardashian's. Kim revealed she failed the bar exam again during the emotional KUWTK series finale. In the Kardashians' last episode of their famed reality show, the star appeared upset and blamed being diagnosed with Covid for not passing her second attempt at the difficult legal exam. Conductor Grant Llewellyn siffered a stroke six months ago Three times lucky? Will Kim take the bar exam a third time? Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member