They just live here

In the time that we’ve been in Spain it has been interesting to see the familiar and unfamiliar animals that have come to our attention.

Yesterday was a very notable example when we were exploring the Palacio de las Dueñas and it was impossible not to hear the screams of Parakeets. I had previously downloaded the Iberian peninsula bird ID pack to my bird identification app. I quickly turned on the app to see what the bird was and the result was not very surprising but there were two other birds I wasn’t expecting:

The parakeet and the dove are pretty common but the sparrow wasn’t expected. It wasn’t just passerines though!

As we went to the play at the Real Alcázar yesterday there was a cat just taking a stroll in some of the most renowned rooms of the royal palace. It is unclear if the cat knew where it was or lived far in the gardens, but it seemed to show an adequate amount of respect for the palace.

As we strolled through Cordoba this morning, our tour guide showed us a new project the city had been working on that intended to protect feral cats in the area:

At corners like this all over the city they a making an effort to protect the lives of the cats! And like the tour guide said look for the cats to find the most temperate and comfortable place.

On the night we arrived in Sevilla it was impossible to not notice the distinct sound of horse’s hooves striking the brick of the street around the cathedral and Alcázar. I am sure there is more of a story to these horses but as far as I know they just move guests around the plaza in fancy carriages.