The finch is a migratory bird. The finches are flying in early, in the middle of April, and settle in light forests and groves, in ravines overgrown with trees and shrubs, and in dense gardens. But the finches avoid the coastal bushes that so attract nightingales. About your arrival finches announce by singing loudly. Here they are sitting on a still leafless tree branch and calmly singing. Only the swelling throat betrays the tension the singers feel. Having finished his short song, he moves from branch to branch and, after a pause, sings again.

Description of the finch bird

Almost every resident of Russia has at least once in his life met a small sparrow-like bird - the finch. Despite the resemblance to a sparrow, it is not difficult to distinguish between these two representatives of the passerine order. Finches have brighter colors, especially males. They boast a red chest, a blue head and a brown back with a green tint over their motley counterparts.

Nature has endowed females with a less remarkable color; their plumage is not surprising in the brightness of its colors; it looks faded in comparison with males. Under natural conditions, these birds rarely live to the age of three, while in captivity they can live for more than ten years.

It is worth taking a closer look at the appearance of these birds. Many note their resemblance to sparrows, but the color of finches is their distinctive feature. The males of this species stand out especially:

1. Finches are small birds. Their body length rarely reaches twenty centimeters, and their weight is thirty grams.
2. The beak is small and sharp, colored gray.
3. The plumage on the head and neck is bluish or dark blue.
4. The throat, cheeks and chest have rusty, dark red or even burgundy feathers.
5. The forehead is painted black, and the tail is black with a dark green tint.
6. The back has brick or reddish-brown plumage.
7. Each wing has two bright stripes.

In autumn, birds begin their molting period and the new plumage of males becomes as faded as that of females. Then the colors become more saturated and become brighter and more provocative during the mating season.

The beak color of finches changes depending on the time of year.. In winter it takes on a brown tint, and in spring and summer it turns bluish.

The color of the females is not surprising with its riot of colors. Their plumage is painted in more faded colors. This is necessary in order to make the bird less noticeable to predators. This color is especially helpful during the egg hatching period. The female blends into the surrounding landscape and does not attract the attention of unwanted persons. Female finches have brown feathers on their backs, and their chests are colored the same as those of males. In general, their color is more subdued and has a dark green tint.

Grown-up chicks are covered with the same plumage as that of females, but then, at the first molt as adult birds, their feathers acquire the desired color, depending on the sex

Habitat of the common finch

Common finches inhabit the entire territory of Russia, as well as Europe. You can also find them in northern Africa and Asia. Ornithologists consider finches to be truly unique creatures, and this opinion is completely justified. Despite their small size, these birds are able to easily fly long distances, seas and oceans. Finches prefer to settle in forests, but thanks to the large number of cities, these birds can be found in city parks, gardens and squares. People are treated calmly and have long learned to benefit and benefit from such a neighborhood.

Migratory season

Although finches are considered migratory birds, some flocks prefer to stay indoors for the winter and cope well with the cold winter climate. The remaining birds at the end of summer begin to gather in groups of fifty to one hundred individuals and in September fly to Central Europe, Asia, Crimea and Kazakhstan. There they wait out the harsh Russian winter and return to their homeland in the spring.

Not all flocks make long flights; some individuals prefer to simply move to neighboring, more southern regions and stop there for the winter. When flying to the South, finches develop a speed of about fifty-five kilometers per hour. Periodically, the birds stop for several days, where they rest and feed.

Finches that remain to spend the winter in their native region also gather in groups and move from forests to meadows, fields and other open areas for the winter. Finches or sparrows often flock to them, and finches graciously accept them into their flocks.

The name of the finch bird comes from words such as chill and freeze, since they fly to warm regions only with the onset of cold weather, and return home at the very beginning of spring. Our ancestors had many signs associated with these wonderful birds, for example, they believed that the finch sings when there is frost, and if it is seen in winter or early spring, it means warming. In Latin, the name of this bird is Fringilla, which means cold.

Ornithologists divide finches into:

• Sedentary.
• Nomadic.
• Migratory.

The lifestyle of these birds directly depends on the geography of their habitat.

Lifestyle and character

Finches fly very quickly and move along the ground by jumping. These birds are virtuoso singers. They have a pleasant, ringing and loud voice, similar to a lark, but with varying personality.

Finches' songs consist of three-second melodies. Between them the bird makes short pauses. Young individuals are easy to perform, but gradually learn from more mature individuals, gain experience and improve their skills.

Ornithologists note that finches of different regions differ from each other in their sound. If a finch is a nomad and periodically changes its place of residence, then some time after the migration, its songs become similar to the songs of its new neighbors. Each finch has its own repertoire, which includes a maximum of ten compositions, and the bird performs them in turn.

With the help of finches you can predict the weather. Experts have identified a pattern - if a bird sings a song reminiscent of the sounds of “ryu-ryu”, then it will rain in the near future. Finches begin singing immediately after returning from wintering, and finish in July.

Before leaving for warmer climes birds sing quietly and very rarely or not at all. Finches that are kept at home begin their songs in the middle of winter.

Recently, many songbird lovers have been trying to get a finch. But these creatures not intended for keeping at home. Finches are wild birds, they feel very uncomfortable in a cage, they experience stress and do not stop trying to get out. In such cramped conditions, finches may develop eye problems or obesity. And choosing food for such birds is quite problematic.

Diet

Finches eat plants and various insects. These birds have a strong beak, strong facial muscles and a special structure of the palate, which allows them to easily crack through the hard shells and shells of bugs.

The diet includes:

• Weed seeds, cones.
• Young buds and leaves from bushes and trees.
• Flowers and berries.
• Various insects.

Agricultural workers often blame finches for damaging crops, but these birds can confidently be called helpers. They destroy weed seeds in large quantities, which provides significant benefits to fields with cultivated plantings and forests.

Reproduction

Flocks of females and males return from wintering separately. Male birds arrive earlier to occupy a territory for future nesting. Then the males begin to sing songs similar to the chirping of chicks, thus luring the females into their possessions.

The breeding season for finches begins at the very beginning of spring. When choosing a territory, males choose separate areas that have their own boundaries and differ in area. Adults choose the same places every year. The finches carefully monitor the boundaries of their possessions and any wandering competitor is immediately expelled. Often young animals start fights with more mature males in order to recapture their territory or narrow the boundaries.

During the mating season, male finches behave like real bullies. They swear and fight among themselves, sing songs vying with each other. The female chooses the male she likes and flies closer to him. Then she starts dating. In order to meet the gentleman they like, chaffinch girls do this:

1. They bend their paws.
2. Raise the wings and tail.
3. They throw their heads up.

All these actions are accompanied by a quiet squeaking sound, like “zi-zi”. Birds can meet in this way directly on the ground or on tree branches.

After about a month, the birds begin building a nest. The main one in this matter is the female, while the male appears as an assistant. Ornithologists have found that to create a home, the female has to fly for materials no less than one thousand three hundred times. Finches build nests almost everywhere, but most often they can be seen at a height of four meters, among the branches of a tree.

The construction of the nest lasts approximately one week; the finished structure resembles a bowl with a diameter of up to one hundred centimeters. To build a home, birds use:

• Grass.
• Thin roots.
• Twigs and twigs.

All materials are fastened together with cobwebs.

The walls of the nest are very strong, their thickness can reach two and a half centimeters. The outer part of the bird's home is decorated with moss and tree bark. Inside the nest there is a feather duster consisting of down, feathers and animal hairs. This creates a warm and well-camouflaged shelter.

Females lay three to six greenish eggs with red speckles. While she is incubating the chicks, the male takes responsibility for caring and feeding the mother. About two weeks after laying, the chicks appear. At first they have bare red skin and a little dark fuzz on their head and back.

At first, the babies are absolutely helpless, and the parents independently obtain food for them and put it directly into the chicks’ beaks. At this time, under no circumstances should you approach the nests of these birds, as they may fly away and never return. In this case, the chicks are doomed to starvation or death from predators.

Towards mid-June, the chicks will already be covered with their first plumage, gain strength and begin to attempt to fly out of the nest. Parents will accompany and help them on flights for about a month.

Finches most often die from inattention and carelessness, from the paws of predators or people.

The finch is a songbird of the passerine order, the finch family. The bird's size is similar to that of a sparrow.

The distribution range of the species is Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. Finches are one of the most numerous birds living in our country. They live in forests, but are also found in city parks and gardens in close proximity to human habitation.

In order to survive the cold winter, birds migrate to the forests of the foothills of the Caucasus and the Mediterranean.

Appearance of a finch

Birds of this species are small, not exceeding 15 cm in length. Weight can be from 20 to 40 grams. The wingspan ranges from 24 to 28 cm.

In adult males, the feathers on the head and neck are gray-blue in color, and there is a black mark on the frontal part. The upper part of the body is light brown with a greenish tint. The breast is red-brown, the wings are dark in color with white spots. The rump has a gray tint. The lower part of the bird's body is light brick color. In normal times the beak is gray, but during the mating season it becomes bluish.

Males are brighter colored than females, indicating sexual dimorphism. Females have a pale brown back, the lower part of the body and breast are grayish-brown. During the entire time the beak is gray. Chick finches are colored the same as females, but duller. All chicks have a light spot on the back of their heads.

Finch behavior and nutrition

The finch feeds on both plant and animal foods. It eats weed seeds and harmful insects, protecting vegetable gardens and orchards from pests, which benefits people. For the most part, the bird feeds on the ground. The finch picks up seeds, nibbles sprouts, and eats beetles and caterpillars.

Listen to the voice of the finch

People keep the finch in captivity and put it in cages for its excellent vocal abilities. However, this bird does not become completely tame and does not begin to sing immediately, but after quite a long period of getting used to it. But the life expectancy of a bird at home increases many times.

The population in Europe is 100 million pairs of birds. There are also many finches in Asia, although their exact numbers are not known.

Reproduction and lifespan

Finches arrive at nesting sites at the very beginning of April. Males try to attract females. When a pair is created, the female begins to look for a place for a nest. In most cases, the nest is located in the branches of a tree at a height of 2 to 5 meters above the ground. The male brings material for the nest, and the female does the construction. The place for masonry is a bowl woven from thin twigs and twigs and insulated with grass, moss, hairs and cobwebs. Outside, the female covers the nest with plant fluff, pieces of bark, birch bark and lichen, which makes it completely invisible from the outside.

A finch's nest usually contains 4-6 eggs that are bluish-green or reddish-green in color. The embryos develop within 12-14 days. The chicks that are born are dressed in gray fluff and are fed by both parents. At first, the chicks feed on insects and then move on to seeds. At 3 weeks of life they begin to fly. After this, the female can lay eggs a second time. The last brood begins to fly in August.

- an interesting and beautiful bird of the order Passeriformes (Passeriformes) family Finches (Fringillidae). His singing is sometimes mistaken for everyone’s favorite song of the nightingale, surprising at the absence of characteristic trills. Finches give the impression of being unafraid birds. However, this opinion is refuted by the owners and sellers of finches.

What does a finch look like?

Common finch (Fringilla coelebs) is a slender bird the size of a sparrow. Its length is about 14 - 16 cm. Other types may have different sizes. For example, the mountain finch is about 20 cm. Males of the common finch look very elegant during the mating season. They have a bright bluish-gray head and neck, and on the chestnut back the gray tint is almost invisible. To the portrait of a male finch, it is worth adding two bright stripes on each wing; burgundy throat, crop, cheeks and lower body; a greenish-yellow loin and a black-brown tail. In autumn (after molting), the colors of the plumage fade, acquiring calmer ocher-brown tones. The female finch has a brownish-gray color, darker in the upper part of the body and head. The outfit of the grown chicks is more reminiscent of the coloration of female finch.

finch singing

Ornithologists describe the beautiful song of the finch in a language that only they understand: “few-few-few-la-la-la-di-di-di-vi-chiu.” They call it a loud, rolling trill. The call sounds like “pink-pink”, “rrryu”. This is part of the melody before the ringing, perky trill. Each "verse" usually ends with short sharp notes, i.e. with a flourish. The finch sings (“rumps” or “kicks”) more readily at sunrise and during the day in sunny weather. In cloudy weather, the melodies are not so expressive. A frightened finch may make “hew-hew”, “hee-hee”, or “hew-hew” sounds.

By the end of July, the songs of finches are heard less and less often. The birds sing no longer as loudly, not at all as much as before.

Where do finches live, where do they fly, and what do they eat?

The chaffinch is known not only here, but also in many other European, Asian and American countries. This migratory (in the middle zone) bird is found in forests, forest-steppes, city squares, parks and courtyards planted with trees. She also sings in Moscow parks and forest parks, for example, in Timiryazevsky Park. Finches are absolutely devoid of caution; they often move along the ground in search of food and often find themselves “under the feet” of passers-by or in the claws of animals. The finch's flight is fast and undulating.

Finches nest in pairs, raising 4 to 7 chicks in cup-shaped nests. Nests are built in trees in the forks of branches or on branches (at a height of 2 - 18 m, usually up to 4 m). Both parents feed the chicks by bringing them insects. By mid-June, the first chicks fled in the middle zone; the finches are preparing for the second clutch in July.

Adult birds not only feed on insects, but also enjoy finding recently sown seeds, causing displeasure to people. Finches also eat weed seeds, small bugs, especially weevils, and caterpillars. Less common than ants and bedbugs.

In the middle zone, the common finch flies to warm countries for the winter. It rarely remains to spend the winter in the same place; sometimes it wanders towards neighboring, warmer regions. Some finches (from the southern regions of Russia) have adapted to roam, and sometimes stay for the winter in the places where they lived in the summer. Flocks of 40 - 50 birds fly away from September to the end of October. Mainly to Southern Europe. The bird often spends the winter in the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. It flies fast, flight speed is up to 55 km per hour. In the spring (from late March to April), finches appear again in our area.

Finches do not live long. They often die due to their carelessness. Especially when singing, when the finch throws back its head and completely forgets about all the dangers. The only thing that saves him is that the bird sings its songs more often while on a tree branch.

This is how A.N. describes his meeting with the finch. Formozov in the book “Six Days in the Forests”:

Male finches occupied every corner of the forest and now thundered with ringing trills towards the rising sun. One of them - clean, slender with wide white bandages on his wings - sang, jumping along the road, looking for food and did not want to fly off when the boys appeared. When he was finally scared away, another finch, the owner of this corner of the spruce forest, rushed to the fluttering bird, which had landed ten steps from the road. The host finch and the trespassing finch started such a fight that they curled up into a fluffy ball with two splayed tails and four wings. In this form, they fell to the ground with a squeak from the branch where the first skirmish took place. “What, it’s terrible!” - Grisha laughed, watching as the plucked finch guiltily hurried to its plot. He was accompanied by the fervent song of the winner, who expelled the newcomer from where he himself intended to nest and where he was waiting for the female (male finches arrive several days earlier than females).

Finch in a cage

Finches are sold to live in cages and sing beautifully. However, this is not the most suitable bird for captivity. Here is what Konrad Z. Lorenz, an excellent expert on bird behavior, wrote about this:

One of the most debilitating tortures you can endure in your room is the constant fluttering of the wings of a bird struggling out of timidity in its cage. You have purchased a finch - it is cute and sings beautifully. Since you want not only to hear the singing, but also to see the singer himself, then, without hesitation, you remove the linen blanket with which the previous owner, an experienced expert on finches, prudently draped the cage. The bird takes the change for granted and sings as before, but only as long as you don't move. You can only dare to make the slowest and most careful movements, otherwise the distraught bird will frantically throw its body onto the bars of the cage, so that you begin to fear for its head and plumage. At first you think that the captive will get used to it and become tame, but here you are deeply mistaken. So far I have only seen a few finches that have become accustomed to a person walking blithely around the cage itself.

There is one more important “detail” that Konrad Z. Lorenz warns about. This is the nightly disturbance of caged birds. It coincides with the period of migration of migratory birds. The finch can be protected by keeping a tiny electric light on at night, the dim light of which allows it to see the twigs and perch.

The bird storms the bars of its prison not because it wants to fly somewhere. She just wakes up, can’t sleep and starts fluttering around on the perches. She cannot see anything in the dark, so again and again she blindly stumbles into the walls of the cage.

And one more note from this knowledgeable person:

The songs of our various warblers and most finches do not sound too loud in the room - perhaps with the exception of the finch, which can irritate you with the constant repetition of its ringing trill.

Nowadays, finches are rarely kept in a cage. Previously, this vocal bird was often found in captivity, although it was very expensive. Surprisingly, finches live much longer in captivity than in the wild. Despite the fact that they often suffer from obesity, eye diseases and blindness. As a rule, these birds are kept one at a time in a cage, with curtains to prevent the finch from injuring itself by being frightened by a person. There are many problems with diet. Hearing a bird but not seeing it is not appealing to all songbird lovers. Most likely, this is the main reason why finches cease to be vocal recluses.

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