2025-12

8th December 2025

Painted Ladies, Unpainted Ladies, Naked Ladies and Sickly Men

One of the joys for a birdwatcher walking on Mount Arbel is seeing blue rock thrushes (Monticola solitarius). Although they bear the name thrush, they’re not closely related to the mistle thrush and song thrush we used to see in England. And although they bear the name blue, some blue rock thrushes are blue (the males) and some are brown (the females).  As soon as they see me and my camera, they hop down a few feet to a ledge on the cliff below, leaving a rather frustrated photographer behind. But last week I managed to keep a low profile and got closer to the edge than I should have, before the click of my camera’s shutter release scared them away. These birds often stay here all year, though blue rock thrushes may sometimes take part in the annual migration and pass through Israel on their long journey to warmer climes.

A day or two later, in the Switzerland Forest, we saw painted ladies (Vanessa cardui)- many of them. They are among the most populous of all butterflies in the world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. These ladies (and the gentlemen that accompany them) are not seen year-round in Israel; they pass through on the long haul from Africa to Europe during the spring. In the autumn, they head in the opposite direction, usually at high altitude, so they’re not often seen on or near the ground. But the butterflies we saw obviously took a liking to the pleasant Tiberias November climate and the spectacular views over the lake. A painted lady’s lifespan is just 2 to 4 weeks, which isn’t always long enough to complete the journey. So, the route begun by a butterfly might very well be completed by its offspring.

While we were at Mount Arbel, we saw autumn crocuses, also known as meadow saffron or “naked ladies.” They’re called naked ladies because their flowers appear well ahead of their leaves, which may not be visible for another few weeks. This gives them two advantages: insects can see the flowers easily without leaves hiding them, and the leaves need rain, which isn’t yet in plentiful supply.

The cyclamens are out now too (Cyclamen persicum) - there are many flowering in the Switzerland Forest. And just as with the crocuses (naked ladies), most cyclamen leaves have yet to appear. Despite the flowers usually appearing ahead of the leaves, they’re not generally known as naked ladies but rather as “sowbread,” because their roots were once considered a desirable food for pigs. I call them by a different name - “sickly men” - but that’s a name you won’t find in any botanical encyclopaedia.