This miraculous ability to fly allowed them to inhabit and exploit a larger range of habitats than any other living creature, including man. Even the open sea, an insurmountable obstacle for other terrestrial organisms, is for most birds a largely accessible region and for some it is their home range.
Birds are simply everywhere and are, probably, the most successful inhabitants of Earth.
S imilarly, in the Aegean, birds are the only living beings that have managed to gain access to sea, sky and land, so they can best depict the unique character of the archipelago. Cory's Shearwater, Eleonora's Falcon and Audouin's Gull respectively, portray the sea, the coast and the islets more vividly than tourist guides can. M igration is an adaptation that enables birds to utilise the favourable but, nevertheless, temporary conditions of the Temperate Zone, in order to ensure successful breeding. Winter conditions worsen as we move further north in Europe and a greater proportion of birds that nest there, migrates in autumn. T he wonder that migration as a phenomenon raises in the human mind makes us forget the risks and perils of such an enterprise.