In a country as densely populated as the Maltese islands, it is to be expected that bird-life will be under severe pressure. But beyond a seemingly never-ending complex of honey-coloured towns and villages there are contrasting spots of natural beauty, especially when one visits the west and north of Malta, and particularly Gozo and Comino, Malta's sister islands. Here the landscape changes dramatically with steep rocky ridges topped with garigue areas and some fertile valleys choked with vegetation.

In the first days of March the widespread Sardinian warbler is already quite busy, singing and building its nest. The Cetti's warbler's outbursts of song is frequently heard along the thickly-vegetated valleys, while the blue rock thrush, Malta's national bird, indulges in display song-flights along the limestone sea-cliffs, its colour matching that of the sea below.