Discover the animals of the Danube Delta

On the quiet canals of the Delta you’ll definitely catch sight of a colorful little bird, plunging bravely into the water. The kingfisher is only 17 – 19.5 cm in length, has a wingspan is about 24 – 28 cm and weighs around 34 – 46 g. This small acrobat has vividly...

Maybe you’ve already spotted this tall, majestic bird, walking around proudly, at about 1 m tall, they easily stand out in their environments. Adults weigh around 1-2 kg and have a wingspan of 155 to 195 cm. Unlike storks that extend their bodies in flight, herons fly...

A migratory guest that makes its way from the distant, tropical shores of Africa, the purple heron arrives in the Danube Delta during spring for the mating season. It stays from March to the beginning of September. This bird is slender, weighing between 0.5 and 1.3...

This migratory bird spends the cold season in regions of Africa and moves further north, to the European and Asian continents for mating season. The birds arrive in the Danube Delta around April and leave in late September. Unlike its other hereon relatives, it’s a...

The male bird has plumage of rich warm tones, mostly dark red colored on its head, breast and flanks with a contrasting pure white under-tail. In flight its white belly and under-wing patch are visible. The females are duller and darker in color than the males. A more...

The red-breasted goose is the smallest of the European goose species and has an elegant plumage of black combined with red-chestnut and highlighted by white stripes. In flight you can see the short neck and the completely black coloring under the wings. The body...

The European goldfinch is a brightly colored bird, with a light brown back and chest, a whitish abdomen and black tipped wings with bits of intense yellow. They have black coloring on their heads, their cheeks are white and around the beak, the goldfinch has a red...

This spectacular bird has a medium build and it could hardly be confused for any other local species due to its vivid coloring and size. It’s mainly a bright, vivid blue, with an orange-brown back, and parts of its wings of an almost indigo colour. It measures around...

For a long time Carp has been domesticated for food and ornamental purposes in both Europe and Asia (famously the colorful japanese koi carp). The most important element in the history of European carp was the Danube river. The first clear encounter with the carp...

The wild Letea horses are also called the Danube Delta Mustang by many people. The history of their presence in the area is debated, most sources say their presence goes back to the 1980s, when a local animal farm released a number of horses in the wild to save them...

The fish has a relatively thick, cylindrical and elongated body, having a usual length of 30 - 40 cm, and weighing 0.500 g - 1 kg. But Pike can also grow to a relatively large size, with maximum recorded lengths of up to 150 cm and a weight of 25 kg. These fish live...

Gobies are members of one of the largest existing fish families, the order Gobiiformes, hosting more than 2,000 species - a very big family! There is a large number of goby species in Romania, of which the 'stronghillii' (Neogobius melanostomus) are the most numerous....

The white-tailed eagle is one of the largest living birds of prey. It is the largest of the dozen species of eagle found in Europe, and one of the most spectacular birds of prey in the Danube Region. The adult white-tailed eagle has body plumage of a warm brown colour...

Sturgeons are an ancient family of fish, dating back around 200 million years. Comparatively, modern humans have only been around for about 300,000 years. Six species of sturgeon used to migrate along the Danube for spawning, of which only 4 remain today as sturgeon...

Few birds blend in with their habitat quite as well as the little bittern. With their yellow, cream, white and brown plumage, vertically stripped neck, and greenish-yellow beak and legs, this bird can be quite difficult to spot among the reeds where it usually lives....

The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily, it is found in the waterways and coasts of Europe, many parts of Asia, and parts of northern Africa.The presence of the otter is closely related to the existence of food resources. In Romania, the otter is...

The bee-eater is probably the most colorful bird in Romania. As if a creator set out to bring a little extra color to the local fauna, the bee-eater’s plumage boasts shades of yellow, red, green, blue, brown and even a dash of black. It arrives in the country, all the...

A distinguished swimmer among the local birds, the pygmy cormorant is a common sight in the Danube Delta, as well as in other low wetlands in southern Romania. Most of the population stays here throughout the year. Small numbers leave further south- east to countries...

This animal is part of the Canidae family, along with dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, etc. The length of the body is 60-90 cm, the tail is 15-25 cm and it can reach up to 10 kg. It is an omnivorous animal, being able to feed on fruits and aquatic plants,...

Present in the Danube Delta from may throughout summer, these birds migrate during winter to central and southern Africa. The male has striking black and yellow plumage, but the female is more common looking with gray and yellowish-green feathers. Its beak is reddish,...

A prickly yet colorful local fish, the local perch is greenish, with dark stripes and red fins. They have five to eight dark vertical bars on their sides. When the perch grows larger, it develops a hump between its head and dorsal fin. Its dorsal fin consists of...

This distinctive looking migratory bird is tall and slender of medium built, at about 48–66cm long, and a wingspan of 80–105cm. From a distance it can look like a boring black-maroon colour, but if you’re lucky to spot it up close, you will discover it’s feathers...

This fish is a very distant relative of the Common Carp. The common rudd lives in groups, in fresh waters, such as lakes, ponds, or slow flowing waters. It prefers shallow places rich in aquatic plants. Adults generally feed on algae, or other aquatic plants, as well...

Another colorful species of duck, these birds are usually found in wetlands as well as artificial lakes, riverbeds and coastal areas. They have a body length of 55-65 cm, a wingspan of 100-120 cm, and a body weight of 1000 -1200 g. They have a distinctive look, with...

While its body shape may resemble that of a common pigeon, there are a lot of interesting things about the lapwing. It nests in most of Romania, in lowlands, fields and marshes, needing dry land to nest and feed. It’s among the small sized birds, with a body length of...