Hunting is a passion that is handed down from generation to generation…

When hunting season arrives, the forests and hills all over the countryside are filled with hunters and the sounds of gunfire and barking dogs fill the air…

Cyprus supports an approximate number of 7% hunters of the population of the island. Traditionally, hunting has been an important part of the people and the culture of Cyprus. About 25% of adult males in the island are hunters.

Hunting license:

 All persons over 17 years of age, who have not been convicted of any offence, have the right to apply for a hunting license. This is in keeping with the provisions concerning Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Preys of Law No. (152 (I)/2003).

The hunting license in Cyprus is CY 35 pounds (60 EURO) per year.

Quotas (bag limits).

November – December season: 2 hares, 5 partridges per hunter per hunting day or 2 hares, 4 partridges and one francolin per hunter / per hunting day.

 

 

With bird hunting being such an entrenched part of Mediterranean culture,  legal open season in Cyprus is as follows:

August.
Season usually opens around 20th of August every Wednesday and Sunday (4-6 hunting days).

September – October
Daily at limited coastal areas. (35-40 hunting days).

November – December
Every Wednesday and Sunday. The season opens between 1st and 7th November (16-19 hunting days).

January – February
Open season starts at the beginning of January every Wednesday and Sunday (16-19 hunting days). Some areas are open daily.

Hunting Species

 

Black Francolin (Francolinus Francolinus)

Fragkoline constitutes one of the more important traditional hunting birds of Cyprus. Identification: Size 34 cm. The male is black with white patch on the cheek, a chestnut collar and white spots on the flanks. The back and wings are scalloped with shades of golden brown with sub-terminal tawny-buff bands and pale edges. Tail is black with narrow white bars. Legs are reddish-brown to red. Female similar to the male, but is paler, with wider brown bars on the lower back, the white cheek patch is missing and the chestnut collar replaced by a nuchal patch.

This bird is found in scrubby habitats with plenty of low cover and cultivation. It nests in a bare ground scrape laying 8-18 white-spotted pale brown/greenish eggs. Black Francolin take a wide variety of plant and insect food.

Coturnix – Coturnix

The Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, is from the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds.

Upon attaining an age of 6-8 weeks, this quail breeds on open arable farmland and grassland across most of Europe and Asia, laying 6-18 eggs in a ground nest. The eggs take from 16-18 days to hatch. It is a strongly migratory bird, unlike most of the gamebirds.

It is a small (17 cm) rotund bird, essentially streaked brown with a white eyestripe, and, in the male, a black chin. As befits its migratory nature, it has long wings, unlike most typically short-winged gamebirds.

This is a terrestrial species, feeding on seeds and insects on the ground. It is notoriously difficult to see, keeping hidden in crops, and reluctant to fly, preferring to creep away instead.

Gallinago – Gallinago

The Common Snipe or Fantail Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a small, stocky shorebird.

Adults are 23-28 cm in length with a 39-45 cm wingspan. They have short greenish-grey legs and a very long straight dark bill. The body is mottled brown on top and pale underneath. They have a dark stripe through the eye, with light stripes above and below it. The wings are pointed.

These birds forage in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and earthworms, also plant material.

This well camouflaged bird is usually shy and conceals itself close to ground vegetation and flushes only when approached closely. They fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators.

Hare (Lepus europaeus)

The European Hare or Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) is a species of hare native to northern, central, and western Europe and western Asia.It is a mammal adapted to temperate open country. It is related to the similarly appearing rabbit, which is in the same family but a different genus. It breeds on the ground rather than in a burrow and relies on speed to escape.

It is larger, longer-eared, and longer-legged than a rabbit. It has a body size of 50-70 cm and a tail length of 7-11 cm. The weight for a full-grown adult ranges from 2.5 to 6.5 kg. It can run at speeds of up to 70 km/h (45 mi/h). It is strictly herbivorous. It eats grasses and herbs during the summer months but changes to feeding on twigs, bark, and the buds of young trees in winter, making it a pest to orchard farmers.

Normally shy animals, hares change their behaviour in spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around meadows; this appears to be competition between males to attain dominance (and hence more access to breeding females).

Partridge (Alectoris chukar)

The chukar is a resident breeder in dry, open, and often hilly country. In the wild, chukar travel in groups of 5 to 40 birds called coveys. It nests in a scantily lined ground scrape laying 8 to 20 eggs. Chukars will take a wide variety of seeds and some insects as food; however, Downy Brome (Cheatgrass) is this species’ strong food preference. When in captivity, they will lay one egg per day throughout the breeding season if the eggs are collected daily.

Many knowlegable hunters consider chukar the most challenging of all the gamebirds. Its quick flight, steep habitat, and tendency to run make it a challenge suitable for only the most dedicated and physically fit bird hunters.

The Chukar is a rotund 32-35 cm long bird, with a light brown back, grey breast, and buff belly. The face is white with a black gorget. It has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance on rounded wings.

True thrushes

The true thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Turdus of the thrush family Turdidae.Most, but not all, are Old World species; several of the New World species are called Robins rather than Thrushes:

The Thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly but not exclusively in the Old World.They are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. They range in size from the Forest Rock Thrush (Monticola sharpei), at 21 grams and 14.5 cm (5.8 inches), to the Blue Whistling Thrush (Myophonus caeruleus), at 178 grams (6.3 oz) and 33 cm (13 inches). The songs of some species, including members of the genera Catharus, Myadestes, and Turdus, are considered to be among the most beautiful in the avian world.

Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)

The Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) is the largest member of the family Columbidae, doves and pigeons. Τhe Wood Pigeon may be identified at once by its larger size at 38–43 cm, and the white on its neck and wing. It is otherwise a basically grey bird, with a pinkish breast.

Juvenile birds do not have the white patches on either side of the neck. When they are about 6 months old (about 3 months out of the nest) they gain a small white patch on both sides of the neck, which gradually enlarge until they are fully formed when the bird is about 6–8 months old (approx. ages only). Juvenile birds also have a greyer beak and an overall lighter grey appearance than adult birds.

It breeds in trees in woods, parks and gardens, laying two white eggs in a simple stick nest which hatch after 17 to 19 days. Wood pigeons seem to have a preference for trees near roadways and rivers. The nests are vulnerable to attack, particularly by crows, the more so early in the year when the leaf cover is not fully formed. The young usually fly at 33 to 34 days; however if the nest is disturbed some young may be able to survive having left the nest as early as 20 days from hatching.

The Wood Pigeon is gregarious, often forming very large flocks outside the breeding season. Most of its food is vegetable, taken from open fields or gardens and lawns; young shoots and seedlings are favoured, and it will take grain.

Woodcock ( Scolopax rusticola)

The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola is a medium-small wader. This species is the woodcock found through most of temperate and subarctic Eurasia. Northern and Asian populations migrate to southern Europe or south Asia respectively. Birds in milder western European countries are resident.

Adults are 33-38 cm in length, including the 6-7 cm long straight bill, and have a 55-65 cm wingspan. The Woodcock’s body is patterned cinnamon on top and grey underneath. It has large eyes located high in the head. The wings are rounded and the legs are short and pinkish. This bird does not show the obvious mantle stripes of its American relative in flight.

Their breeding habitat is damp wooded areas. They nest on the ground in an open wooded location. These birds forage by probing in soft soil in thickets, usually well hidden from sight. They mainly eat earthworms and insects, also plant material. They are crepuscular, being most active at dawn and dusk. This species is generally solitary.

BASIC CHECK LIST FOR HUNTING

 

Hunting License

Shotgun

Shotgun shells (patterned)

Rifle for varmint

Upland vest

Game strap

Water bottle

Sunglasses/shooting glasses

Dog whistles

Pocket knife

First aid kit

Dog water