European Badger - Serbia

Serbian is the only European language classified as digraphia, a term describing a language actively uses two scripted alphabets. Serbian can be written in the Latin alphabet and the Cyrillic script. The use of the Latin alphabet began about 50 years ago and most Serbians can easily read and write both scripts.

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Meles meles - European badgers construct and maintain a complex systems of burrows. Their dens, called setts, are extensive, clean, and used for decades as they are passed to succeeding generations. A typical sett will house several families and have multiply openings with each family having its own entries and sleeping quarters within the communal system. The sleeping areas are lined with material made of dried moss, grass, and leaves. Large setts are known to have 300 meters of tunnels and enough room to shelter 15 animals.

Long-eared Owl - Serbia

Asio otus - The long-eared owl can be found across most of the northern hemisphere stretching from the Americas through Europe and into Asia. It is a medium-sized owl, attaining lengths of 31 to 40 centimeters with an 86 to 100 centimeter wingspan; females are larger and darker in color. The owl is migratory in its northern range, but residential elsewhere. The erect tufts protruding from the head of the long-eared owl are not ears; they serve as a means of making the owl appear larger.

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The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was organized in 1918 as a means of unifying the Balkans into one stable political entity. The region had been the source of a series of international crises; it had served as the spark igniting World War I. The kingdom was ruled by the Karađorđević Dynasty until 1941 when Germany invaded Yugoslavia. The exiled king acknowledged the end of the kingdom and accepted the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia as the legitimate standing government of Yugoslavia in 1944.

Historical Flags of Europe

The area of present day Moldovia had been part of the Roman province of Dacia. It was proclaimed The Principality of Moldavia when Dragoş became the first Voivode or ruler of the country in 1346. Bosnia-Herzegovina obtained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1992. The new flag, based on the design of the former Bosnian Kingdom, was replaced in 1998 with the current flag. The Andorran flag used from 1806 until 1866 reflected the country’s close association with Spain. A third stripe was added to acknowledged the bond with France. Yugoslavia was created after World War I by the Treaty of Rapallo. When Yugoslavia declared itself a socialist republic in 1943, a red star was installed as the flag’s centerpiece. The constitute republics making up Yugoslavia began to separate in 1980’s. Serbia retained the flag it had used since 1835, but removed the star in favor of the national coat of arms.