Bullfinch belongs to the songbirds of the genus Bullfinches, which in turn belongs to the family of finches. The bullfinch is considered a well-known and widespread bird; it is a very noticeable and attractive bird. Photos of bullfinches very often decorated with various New Year cards, calendars, magazines and more.

Bullfinch bird belongs to the small ones, it is slightly larger in size than a sparrow. The weight of the bullfinch is approximately 30-35 grams, but at the same time its physique is quite dense and strong. The body length of an ordinary bullfinch is about 18 centimeters, and the wingspan reaches 30 centimeters.

The genus of bullfinches is characterized by sexual dimorphism in coloration. The most prominent part of the bird - the breast of females is pink-gray in color, but males have carmine-red feathers on the chest. This is the main characteristic of bullfinches, which are very easy to recognize among the bullfinches by their bright plumage on the chest. huge amount representatives of birds.

The photo shows a male and female bullfinch

The rest of the coloring is basically identical. The bullfinches' head seems to be covered on top with a black cap, which smoothly turns into a small black spot on the chin.

The back of the bird is bluish-gray in color. The wings of bullfinches are quite bright, as they represent a classic combination of colors: black and white, which alternate with stripes along the entire wing.

The undertail and rump are painted white. The bullfinch's beak is wide and thick, it is painted black. The legs of this bird are strong and strong, three-toed with small but sharp and tenacious claws. Like the beak, the legs of the bullfinch are also painted black.

The cheeks, neck, sides and belly are colored in gray-brown tones, the intensity of which depends on the subspecies. The plumage color of chicks and young bullfinches is different; it is more modest and closer to the color of the female than the male.

In addition to the bright special color, this one has another distinctive property - it is the song of the bullfinch. Its voice cannot be confused with the voice of another bird, although it is quite difficult to describe the sounds produced in verbal form. A more appropriate comparison is a metal creaking or whistling noise.

It is not immediately clear that this sound is made by bullfinches, but they really have such a unique voice and are able to surprise the listener with their special song. Most often, such a trill can be heard during the mating season. It is also surprising that both males and females perform it. That's how talented they turn out to be bullfinches birds.

In the photo there are bullfinches in winter

The character and lifestyle of the bullfinch

Bullfinches are considered exclusively forest animals. Bullfinches' favorite places to settle are coniferous and mixed forests. The bullfinch is very widespread; it inhabits the entire strip of taiga coniferous forests and Asia, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

However, it is not uncommon for bullfinches to be seen in parks, in ordinary courtyards of residential buildings, on playgrounds, and even sometimes they are guests in small feeders on the windows of multi-storey buildings. It turns out that bullfinches are not forest birds at all, and neither are city birds. No, that's not true. Bullfinches just fly in to eat and eat.

Bullfinches in winter very often they are forced to fly into the city limits to get food for themselves. In summer, seeing bullfinches is not an easy task, but in winter, on frosty days, they fluff up their feathers and turn into bright balls that flutter from branch to branch.

In winter against a background of white snow bullfinches on the branches look most impressive and elegant, as if festive balls decorated the trees. Winter bullfinch this is a kind of symbol of snow, frost, snow-covered trees, Have a good mood and holidays.

Bullfinches love rowan berries very much. Usually they fly up to the tree in a flock, and the males, like real gentlemen and experts in good manners, let their ladies choose the juiciest and most delicious bunches of berries.

Bullfinches on a rowan tree spend a few minutes until they are satisfied with the seeds in the berries, because they do not consume the juicy pulp itself. Then the flock will flap its wings again, lightly shake the snow from the tree and fly on.

This unusual behavior is best observed during the migrations that they make to the south - to the Amur basin, Transbaikalia, Central Asia, and North Africa.

Birds usually return back at the end of March - beginning of April. But this does not mean that these birds are migratory, bullfinches wintering birds, they just sometimes move to other habitats.

Rowan is the bullfinch's favorite delicacy.

About the bullfinch we can say that they are quite calm, balanced and unhurried. But at the same time they are quite careful and careful. In the presence of people, bullfinches do not behave very actively, and in most cases they are very wary and cautious; this is mainly due to the females.

But if a person leaves a treat for the birds, they will be very grateful to him and will gladly eat. If buy a bullfinch as a pet, you must definitely keep it in a cool place so that it feels comfortable, since the bird cannot tolerate high temperatures.

However, in response to good conditions, the bullfinch can quickly get used to you and become almost tame; it can learn simple melodies and imitate onomatopoeia.

Among our own, in the pack, there are almost never disagreements or open confrontations with each other. Bullfinches live peacefully and quite amicably. If aggression occurs, it is mainly in females. At the same time, they characteristically knock their beaks and rotate their heads. But this happens quite rarely and only if there is a justified reason.

Reproduction and lifespan of bullfinches

The mating season among bullfinches makes the male more melodic and sounding more pleasant than usual. They dedicate their songs to their lovely females, who in turn respond with quiet whistling. But pairs in the flock are formed only by March. In any family of these bright birds, complete matriarchy reigns; here the main role falls exclusively on the lady.

To create their nests, birds often choose spruce forests, while the nest itself is located at a fairly large distance from the ground, no less than 1.5-2 meters and away from the trunk.

Nest weaving is given Special attention, thin branches and dry grass are skillfully woven together with their beak and paws. The bottom of the nest is lined with lichen, dry leaves and animal hair.

With the onset of May, the female lays 4-6 eggs. The eggs are colored blue and have a pattern of brown specks. The offspring are incubated for about 15 days, then the chicks are born.

They are small in size, but at the same time have a heightened sense of hunger. To suppress their appetite, parents work continuously. Every now and then they bring berries, seeds and other food to the nest.

After two weeks, the chicks begin to learn to fly and escape from the parent's nest. But parents still feed their babies. Only one month old new bullfinches ready for independent life and food.

The photo shows a nest of bullfinches

In the wild, the lifespan of bullfinches can reach 15 years, but birds often do not live to this age. They are very vulnerable to temperature, so due to lack of food in snowy, cold winters they often die.

Bullfinch feeding

The main diet of bullfinches is plant food. The animal part of their diet is insignificant; they can eat small insects, but this happens very rarely. They mainly eat the seeds of various coniferous and deciduous trees, for the extraction of which they use their strong, specially shaped beak.

In addition, they feed on buds, young shoots of plants and the first greenery. In summer, flowers can also be eaten. I don’t mind eating berries, especially bird cherry and rowan. Pictures of bullfinches on the branches of rowan can be considered a traditional image.

Winter quietly entered the falling forest, hugged the trees with cold hands and covered them with a snowy shroud. And as if from the folds of her white clothes the most winter birds- bullfinches.

Why is the bullfinch called that?

Winter is reliably involved even in the name of these birds - bullfinches, snowbirds. And, as if in contrast to this, the Latin “name” of the bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula is translated as “fiery”! It is not difficult for anyone who is familiar with bullfinches to guess that the reason for this is the bright coloring of male bullfinches. There is another version of the origin of the name “bullfinch” - from the Turkic word “snig” - “red-breasted”, which determined the Old Russian spelling “snigir”.

Types of bullfinches

Except common bullfinch On the territory of Russia there are two more species - gray bullfinch(inhabits mountain forests of Siberia and the Far East) and Ussuri bullfinch(Far East, Sakhalin and Kuril Islands).

WHAT DOES A BUFFIN LOOK LIKE?

Bright red balls with thick beaks and black caps, strewn with branches and so contrasting with the dazzling snow winter forest, - this image of a bullfinch is, without a doubt, familiar to everyone from childhood. He wanders from one book page to another, flies from postcard to postcard...

It’s as if the February snowstorm added a little snow to its color, made it soft, pastel, and slightly dimmed the red fire. Only male bullfinches have such plumage - with a chest burning with fire. The females are painted in soft gray tones, as if mixed with the same snow.

The wings of bullfinches are black with a metallic tint, the lower back and undertail are white, clearly visible in a flying bird.

The plumage of young bullfinches - without the characteristic black cap, is ocher-brown - as if winter has not yet touched their feathers with pastel snowy colors. But already at the end of summer, young bullfinches molt, gradually acquiring soft pink or ash-gray tones.

Where do bullfinches live?

Bullfinches inhabit all European forests and are found in Western and Central Asia, in Japan. These birds do not fly outside the forest and forest-steppe zones, preferring to live in coniferous and mixed forests with dense undergrowth.

Bullfinches They live predominantly sedentary, while in the cold season the birds unite in flocks, becoming clearly visible. Bullfinches from the northern parts of their range migrate to the south with the arrival of cold weather, “bringing winter with them.”

In late autumn and winter, bullfinches can often be seen in city parks and squares. With the onset of spring, the colors of bullfinches fade, and the birds themselves become secretive and unnoticeable, revealing their presence only with bewitching quiet creaks.

What do bullfinches eat?

Massive beak bullfinch it just seems powerful and can easily crack even a nut. This beak is often stained with the juice and pulp of rowan berries, from which bullfinches eat the seeds with appetite.

Bullfinches also feast on other plant foods - linden, bird cherry and larch buds, ash and maple lionfish, lilac and weed seeds.

Adult bullfinches- almost exclusively herbivorous, but parents add small insects and spiders to the chicks’ diet.

Reproduction of bullfinches

A pair of bullfinches is found during winter migrations, starting nesting itself in April. To build a nest, bullfinches, as a rule, choose dense coniferous undergrowth (spruce, fir, juniper), usually placing the nest low above the ground, in the forks of branches near the trunk.

Bullfinches work throughout the week, constructing a cozy structure of thin twigs, softly lined with lichens and mosses, sometimes with feathers and wool. Clutch - 3-7 light, bluish eggs with small spots on the shell. In the north, bullfinches breed once a year; in the south they have repeated clutches.

Not only males, but also females can sing among bullfinches.

Nesting bullfinches are not aggressive towards each other, but prefer to settle at a distance.

Males do not take part in the construction of the nest; only females are involved in the construction of bullfinches. Males guard the area and feed their spouse during incubation.

Thanks to repeated captures of ringed bullfinches, it became known that they can live in the wild for up to 17 years.

According to one legend, the bullfinch is similar to Prometheus, and its red coloration of the chest arose due to the burn that the bird received after bringing fire to people from heaven to earth. According to another legend, the red color arose from the blood of the crucified Christ, whom the bullfinch tried to free by pulling the nails out of his hands. In fact, the red color of feathers is associated with the content of red pigments in their cells - carotenoids.

On the territory of Russia, the common bullfinch is distinguished three subspecies, differing in size and color of plumage.

The Russian Bird Conservation Union (SOPR) declared the bullfinch Bird of the Year 2008.

- Where do the bullfinches go? IN last years Many residents of the Northwestern region of Russia complain that fewer and fewer red-breasted birds can be found in the city limits with the arrival of cold weather. Scientists suggest that this situation may be associated with an increase in numbers natural enemy bullfinches - a sparrowhawk that often stays for the winter in the vicinity of cities. To avoid being attacked by a predator, bullfinches are forced to avoid open landscapes, where they are most often seen by city dwellers (https://elementy.ru/email/5021767/Kuda_ischezli_sn... .)

- Bullfinch - mockingbird. The bullfinch has long been one of the most popular birds in Rus' for home care, while his ability to imitate different sounds was highly valued. For such talents, bullfinches were even called “Russian parrots.” Remember! Now catching wild bullfinches is illegal! If you want to get to know this magnificent bird better, do not deny yourself the pleasure of watching bullfinches in their natural habitat - in the forest! No amount of cage keeping will allow you to discover the true beauty of a forest bird. Feed the bullfinches at the feeders and admire the free bullfinches!

In the article about the bullfinch, photos were used: (Yandex.Photos) nat-volga, Kalina.

It's better to see once than to hear a hundred times;) How a bullfinch eats a rowan. Rare footage

In winter, most of us notice the appearance of beautiful red-breasted birds - bullfinches - in the city. They are mainly visible on leafless tree branches and snow-covered ground. The appearance of a large number of bullfinches is due to the lack of sufficient food for survival in forest areas, which brings them to urban areas, where people, hearing their sonorous singing, feed them seeds.

By nature, bullfinches are trusting and unpretentious, so they feel comfortable among people. If you wish, you can get such a bird to keep it on your balcony or garden plot, having previously tamed it or caught it on the street. Keeping seemingly freedom-loving birds will not affect their overall condition at all. But you shouldn’t go against nature and specially catch bullfinches for yourself; it’s better to feed them sometimes in a hungry winter.

Appearance

The bullfinch is slightly larger in size than a sparrow. The feather color of the birds is quite bright and memorable:

• the head, except for the cheeks, is black;
• the tail and wings are also covered with black feathers;
• the undertail and loin are white;
• the cheeks, lower neck, abdomen and sides are painted bright red. Males have a distinctive gray coloration on the back, neck and neck.

Depending on the species and region of habitat, bullfinches have slight differences in color. The shoulders on the back of the neck, in the female, may have gray plumage, while the back is colored brownish-brown. Sometimes females experience a change in red plumage to gray-brown.

Chicks, regardless of gender, are colored buffy-brownish, without highlighting individual parts of the body as in adult birds.

Habitats

Bullfinches are distributed throughout Europe, except for the southern and upper parts of Asia. In terms of altitudinal level of settlement, they are not picky and calmly build nests in low-lying areas and mountainous areas, selecting for themselves places with a sufficient number of trees and forests. These birds do not settle in places with no or few trees. The northern part of the forest is rarely inhabited by bullfinches due to cold winters.

Bullfinches choose to inhabit places with a clean environment, so in winter residents of cities with minimal or no industry can admire them. Birds feel quite comfortable around people, so they calmly settle within the city limits near residential buildings.

The summer forest does not allow you to see the birds, even despite their distinctive colors. In winter, trees empty of foliage and a white background of snow reveal all the beauty of their plumage.

Birds live in nests made in trees (fir trees) at a height of no more than 5 meters. They build the nests themselves from improvised materials. natural material: twigs, leaves, dry grass and live in them, leaving only for feeding.

To create nests and lay eggs, bullfinches choose spruce trees located near water bodies. The general behavior of the birds is calm and poorly oriented in a new area, which allows both humans and domestic cats to catch even an adult.

It is worth noting that in a region with harsh winters, bullfinches may not be noticed. Although they are frost-hardy, the difficulty of wintering in open nests and the reduction in food lead to migration to warmer regions. Unlike migratory birds, bullfinches do not fly south and respond well to the changing seasons, provided the winters are mild.

What does a bullfinch eat in summer?

In summer, bullfinches spend most of their time in fields and meadows. A sufficient amount of meadow grass seeds ensures a well-fed summer. In winter, fallen seeds are hidden under a layer of snow and it is difficult for birds to feed themselves, forcing them to fly to places populated by people for the winter.

In addition to a sufficient number of seeds donated by nature, bullfinches love orchards and bushes with berries. Birds peck at juicy berries in summer or drying out in autumn, regardless of where they grow.

Fields sown with sunflowers attract, perhaps, all birds with juicy and satisfying seeds. Unlike other birds, bullfinches very rarely catch midges and other seasonal insects as food, but they do not completely refuse.

What does a bullfinch eat in winter?

In winter, most often bullfinches can be seen on the branches of rowan and viburnum. Bright red berries not only successfully highlight the red breast of birds, rowan is also their favorite delicacy.

The remaining seeds on maple, ash, and alder trees support birds until suitable seeds appear on meadow grasses or buds on trees. In parks, bullfinches do not refuse to visit feeders built by people; they only linger in them if there are sunflower and pumpkin seeds, oats and millet.

All these delicacies keep bullfinches until the onset of spring, which gives a lot of leaf buds. But often the winter is hungry and with little food available, which has a strong impact on the decline in bird populations.

What does the bullfinch feed its chicks?

In the first half of May, female bullfinch lay eggs, from which chicks hatch a few weeks later. For the first few weeks, the chicks are next to the female and are fully fed by her. Over the next 10-15 days, the chicks learn to fly and get their own food. For young individuals, the diet must include midges, small spiders and bugs; in addition, the females begin to accustom them to collecting seeds from grasses.

The bullfinch is no larger than a sparrow, but looks much larger due to its dense build. This bird belongs to the finch family.

A distinctive feature of males is their red belly, as well as their cheeks, neck and sides have a scarlet tint. In females, this area has an even brown-gray tone.

The male and female are easy to distinguish from each other. In addition to the color of the chest, they also have differences in plumage. The male has a white wing stripe, but the maquis does not. Young birds, before the first autumn molt, also differ from adults. Young birds do not have a black cap; they have a dark brown color throughout the entire plumage, except for the tail and wings. They are black.

If you observe a brood of bullfinches in the forest, the differences between male and female, as well as the younger generation, are very striking.

There are also slight differences in the color of birds, depending on the region where they live. Birds that live closer to the south of our Motherland have a bright red chest and cheek color. And the closer to Far East, the lighter this area is. On the Kuril Islands you can find a bird with a pale pink breast. And again, this only applies to males.

Habitat

The bullfinch bird lives throughout Russia. It is generally accepted that he comes to us in winter. However, this is fundamentally wrong. It’s just that in summer, among the foliage, this bird is difficult to spot. But in winter, against the background of white snow, red-breasted bullfinches are very noticeable.

This bird lives in forests where there is dense undergrowth. Avoids pure pine forests. He is a frequent visitor to city parks and
squares. It prefers not only dense undergrowth, but also mature dense forests, preferably deciduous.

Like other birds, it flies south in winter and flies back to its nesting site in March. And by mid-April they almost completely disappear from the southern and middle latitudes of Russia. The main nesting area of ​​this bird is northern latitudes up to the Arctic Circle.

These birds inhabit all of Europe, Siberia, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. The boundaries of their habitat in the south lie approximately at the latitude of the Apennine Peninsula, and in the north they are limited to the Arctic Circle.

Bullfinches are sedentary birds, so they return to the same nesting site every April. Bullfinch families are matriarchal. The snowflake gets food here, and she also decides conflict situations" The male takes care of the offspring.

Bullfinches food

These birds have an unusual beak - it is black in color, thick, wide and blunt at the end, with a flat and hard palate. This beak is very convenient for removing seeds from rowan berries, hop cones and juniper. However, the favorite food of these birds is the seeds of ash, maple, and alder.

Males are quite phlegmatic and lazy by nature. That's why there are feeders that people hang. These birds are very popular. Then the male (and the female too) will not disdain both millet and buckwheat.

These birds build nests in a “standard”, cup-shaped shape. The diameter of the nest can reach 20 cm and the height - 8 cm. The female can lay about 6 eggs. This usually happens by mid-April. Bullfinches prefer to build their nests on spruce trees.

The female incubates the eggs only for the first 10 days, then after the chicks hatch, she flies off to get food for the family, and the male remains in the nest. The female feeds the chicks with plant food and brings insects only by chance. In total, the chicks stay in the nest for about 2 weeks. After which they begin to learn to fly.

In September, the first molt of the younger generation occurs, after which they fly to southern latitudes.