The class of birds includes animals whose bodies are covered with feathers. They reproduce by laying eggs. The entire evolution of birds from the ancient reptiles that lived at the very beginning of the Mesozoic, more than 100 million years ago, to our time has followed the path of better mastery of the air environment, improving flight and making full use of the food available in nature. The forelimbs of birds are transformed into wings with very well-developed flight feathers, which significantly increase the working surface of the wing and ensure soaring in the air, which is also facilitated by the tail feathers, which determine the high maneuverability of birds in flight. The tubular bones of our birds are devoid of bone marrow; the bones of the skull have fused into a single, lightest structure. If the skeleton of mammals weighs about 20% of the total body weight, then in birds it ranges from 8 to 15%. The shape of the bones and the distribution of bone tissue in certain bones of the skeleton, from the point of view of modern technology, gives the greatest strength with the least amount of material.

Very important functions are performed by the air sacs located between the internal organs of the bird. When you exhale, when the used air is pushed out, clean, oxygen-rich air enters the lungs from the air sacs. This ensures a “second wind”, which is typical only for birds. In addition, the air bags serve as pneumatic cushions for internal organs when landing and jumping, promotes egg laying and defecation; some birds, when their abdominal air sacs quickly fill, are able to throw excrement over a distance of several meters; birds do not have a bladder. The stomach of most birds is divided into two sections - glandular, which represents the chemical laboratory with a number of pepsinogenic fields, and muscular - (with a well-defined cuticle and usually stones, sand or hard seeds present in it. The muscular stomach is capable of developing forces several times greater than body weight. Such energetic work of the digestive organs is associated with the high body temperature of birds, reaching 45°, their great mobility and significant energy expenditure, which require rapid replenishment. Birds have well-developed vision. Their eyes are relatively larger than those of mammals, and have a special comb inside that provides heating to the large eye and intraocular pressure. A small falcon - The kestrel sees a vole at a distance of several hundred meters. Hearing is also relatively well developed in birds, especially in owls, but the sense of smell and touch is very poorly developed.

The diversity in the structure of beaks and greater mobility allowed birds to obtain a wide variety of food. Thus, the chisel-shaped beak of a woodpecker is adapted for pulling out insects living in bark and wood; crossbill beak - for picking seeds from pine, spruce and larch cones; the long beak of the woodcock - for extracting earthworms and other inhabitants of the soil layer from the soil; eagle beak - for holding and tearing food. All this indicates the high specialization of birds in obtaining food.

Indeed, among birds there is a large group of insectivores; finches, chickens, pigeons and others have mastered various plant foods; a number of species lead a predatory lifestyle, feeding mainly on warm-blooded animals; others have adapted to catching fish, etc. Among birds there is a wide variety of life forms. Some species live only in forests; others - in fields and steppes; still others inhabit the coasts of rivers and lakes and are closely connected with the aquatic environment; fourths have adapted to life around humans, etc.

The importance of birds in the life of biogeocenoses and in national economy. Ducks, pochards, geese, black grouse, hazel grouse, pigeons, coots, and many waders produce tasty meat rich in vitamins. The role of birds in the destruction of harmful insects is great. Suffice it to say that a pair of starlings during the period of raising chicks destroys about 6 kg of insects, among which a significant place is occupied by such pests as May beetles, caterpillars of cabbage butterflies, moths, cutworms and others. Many birds of prey eat harmful rodents in large quantities, providing significant assistance to our agriculture and forestry.

However, speaking of positive role birds in the human economy, a number of negative features should be noted. Some bird species are involved in the maintenance and spread of dangerous vector-borne diseases and, during migration, are apparently capable of carrying them over long distances. Finally, sparrows, gathering in large autumn flocks, sometimes cause damage to field crops.

All this indicates that the study of birds and clarification of their role in the life of biogeocenoses and in the human economy is a big and very important matter. The bird fauna of Tatarstan is rich and diverse; studies show that 274 species can be found on the territory of Tatarstan. Most birds belong to migratory birds, appearing here in the spring and flying away in the fall;

some come to us only for the winter. The table below characterizes the structure of the bird fauna of our republic and other regions of the central zone of the European part of the Union. It should also be noted that not every year and often in single specimens such rare vagrant birds as the white partridge, bustard, skua, shelduck, eider, cormorant, pelican, flamingo, etc. appear in Tatarstan. Let us dwell on the characteristics of the most interesting in the economic or biological relation of bird species.

Chicken squad

This order includes 6 species. Four of them - black grouse, wood grouse, hazel grouse and gray partridge - live with us throughout the year, quail flies to tropical Africa for the winter, and white partridge only occasionally appears in Tatary during its winter migrations. So, according to Prof. , in the winter of 1944, several white partridges were killed near the city of Chistopol. All chickens, having good meat, are objects of hunting.

It is found everywhere in Tatarstan, sticking to trees and bushes, but often feeding in fields. This is one of the most beautiful birds. The male, black with a bluish tint, has bright red eyebrows and a lyre-shaped tail. The female wears a more modest outfit, with black and brown speckles scattered across the reddish background. This coloration perfectly mimics the litter, makes the bird less noticeable and saves it from numerous enemies during incubation and the brood period. From February, as soon as the sun begins to warm up, flocks of grouse break up. Separated from the females, the killer whales sit for a long time on the tops of trees, as if absorbing the first warmth of the sun. With the appearance of thawed patches on hillocks and clearings, almost simultaneously with the arrival of rooks, black grouse begin their current song. Their muttering, reminiscent of the murmur of a spring stream, can be heard 2-3 km away on quiet, clear mornings. Having chosen a meadow, a clearing, or a forest edge for mating, orcas, if they are not disturbed by humans, mating in the same place for decades.

As soon as the east turns pale, the most adventurous scythes begin to flock to the current. Spreading their wings, raising their lyre-shaped tail with a bright white undertail and lowering their heads slightly with swollen coral eyebrows, chuffing and muttering, the males enter into fights with each other. Somewhat later, the black grouse arrive, and their clucking excites the males even more.

Mating sometimes occurs on the lek, but more often the black grouse and the chosen one fly off into the forest or bush thicket. Large leks are now rare; usually there are 2-5 blackheads, very rarely 10 or more.

The black grouse, like all our chickens, makes its nest on the ground, covering it with moss, grass and its own down. The clutch, consisting of 6-9 eggs, usually ends by mid-May. On the 21st day of incubation, the grouse hatch, partially already feathered, and after 10 days they are already flying well. The young have a mimicking female coloration.

The grouse jealously guards the brood and, at risk to itself, leads the enemy away, pretending to be wounded, hobbling and fluttering, and when it has led a person, dog, fox or wolf 100-200 meters away, it rises to the bank, makes a wide circle and returns to the hidden brood. The young grow quickly, and in August the males begin to develop black feathers.

Kosachs do not take any part in the incubation and raising of young animals. After the end of the current, usually in early June, they climb into deep supports, where they spend the entire molting period. Often in the fall, mowers, as if preparing for spring current, trying to talk. In September, black grouse gather in flocks and at this time often fly to the fields to feed.

Four periods can be distinguished in the diet of black grouse. The first is the period of raising the young, when the main food is insects - caterpillars, beetles, and orthoptera. The second feeding period - summer - is characterized by a predominance of berries. In autumn, grass seeds, winter crops and grain grains are of great importance. In winter, they feed on birch and alder catkins, rose hips, euonymus and juniper. Presence of birch and alder forests - necessary condition for winter habitat of black grouse. In severe frosts, you can watch how black grouse rush from a tree into the loose snow, make a trench, and spend cold and long winter nights in such snow shelters, where it is warm and calm. In winter, black grouse, hazel grouse and wood grouse grow horny bristles on their toes, significantly increasing the surface of their paws. This makes it easier for birds to move through the snow and especially along icy, slippery tree branches, where they get their main winter food.

In winter, they hunt grouse with stuffed animals, which are placed on single trees so that they can be seen from afar. A hut is made nearby, where a hunter hides and shoots birds flying towards the stuffed animals. In the fall, they shoot grouse with a gun dog or simply from the approach.

Squad of seagulls

In the fauna of Tatarstan, 12 species belong to this order, of which 8 nest, and 4 species are found only on migration and during the summer migrations of immature birds.

Representatives of the gull order are quite clearly divided into four groups:

1) the gulls themselves, with their characteristic silver-white color and rounded black-billed tail, gulls: silver, gray, common and small;

2) common terns, differing from the previous group by a strongly notched tail, sharper wings and a black cap on the head - common tern and small tern; 3) marsh terns - the smallest representatives of the order, usually weighing less than 70 g, whose body color is predominantly black - black tern, white-winged and white-cheeked; 4) skuas, which rarely come to us - medium and short-tailed, easily distinguished by dark plumage and elongated medium tail feathers extending beyond the tail in the form of a spire. In July 1948, I observed a pair of skuas near Yelabuga for five days; Later, we met skuas several times in the mouth of the Kama River in 1969.

All gulls belong to brood birds and lay three fairly large eggs of a brownish-green color with scattered dark spots. They are monogamous and both parents are involved. in incubating eggs and feeding chicks.

In connection with the formation of the reservoir, the number of large gulls - herring and glaucous gulls, which are now regularly encountered throughout the growing season, has noticeably increased. These are mostly young immature birds aged one to two years, but there are also nesting specimens.

Common gull, lake gull

In the first days of April, when the edges of the lakes appear and small steppe rivers open up, steamboat gulls, or, as the Volgarians also call them, “martyns,” fly to us. These seagulls often accompany steamships and perfectly catch pieces of bread thrown by them in flight. Undoubtedly, the Volga without seagulls would lose some of its beauty.

The first gulls can be seen on the distant Kaban, where the warm waters of KazGRES flow and where the ice melts first. By the end of May or beginning of June, gulls gather in large groups and begin nesting.

With the formation of the reservoir and the flooding of most of the lakes and swamps where river gulls used to nest, their numbers decreased. Apparently, this is also due to the fact that now the nesting places of gulls are located on the reservoirs of the continental terrace, they are more often visited and are often destroyed by humans. During autumn census work, we quite often counted only 5-6% of young in flocks, easily distinguished from adults by their motley outfit and the absence of a black helmet on their heads, although based on theoretical calculations there should be more than 50% of young in the autumn herd.

In the spring, fish, frogs and mouse-like rodents that died in the winter, which the seagulls obtain from flooded manes and during their spring migrations, are of great importance in the gull’s diet. Often in the spring, seagulls feed “behind the plow” and destroy large numbers of “wireworms” and other insects. In summer, gulls feed mainly on aquatic and terrestrial insects, as well as fish. During the haymaking period, they eat a huge number of Orthoptera. At the end of summer and autumn, the importance of fish in the diet of gulls increases. There is no doubt that in our conditions the common gull is a useful bird and needs protection. Seagulls fly away in October. Many of them winter in the Caspian and Black Seas, but some fly to the Mediterranean Sea. The little gull, distinguished by its smaller size and black head plumage, is found much less frequently in Tatarstan.

Common tern

The common tern is a typical inhabitant of large rivers, where it nests in noisy colonies on sandy islands, spits and shallows. It arrives to us late, in mid-May, and begins nesting in June, when the sands appear. In years when the spring waters did not recede for a long time, terns nested on high manes, making their nests on sediments, apparently reminding them of sandbanks. Currently, small colonies of 10-15 nests are common.

Terns feed on a variety of small aquatic animals, including small fish. During haymaking they switch to feeding on ground insects. At the beginning of September, they already migrate south for wintering in the Mediterranean Sea.

Very similar in weight to the Common Tern. only about 50 g - more than two times lighter than common tern. It appears here in late May - early June, and flies away in August.

Bird order Anseriformes

The vast order of Anseriformes includes birds ranging in size from teal to swan, with a stocky body, short legs, the three front toes of which are connected by swimming membranes, with a relatively long neck and a wide, relatively soft (except for mergansers) beak. Its edges are covered with denticles or thin plates, for which Anseriformes are also called lamellar-billed. All Anseriformes are closely associated with water and belong to the group of waterfowl.

Most of them belong to polygynous species, do not form permanent families, and males mate with different females. In these species, males are much brighter colored than females; for example, mallard, shoveler, pintail, etc. In species that pair up and belong to monogamous species, the coloring is the same in both males and females - for example, swans and geese. All Anseriformes are brood birds. Most species feed on plant foods and have a powerful muscular stomach, in which pebbles, sand or hard pondweed seeds are always found, which contribute to the grinding of food, very aptly named by Prof. "millstones". Molting in all species occurs rapidly, and birds cannot fly for some time.

All Anseriformes have very tasty meat and are important hunting objects. In Tatarstan, the fauna of Anseriformes is very richly represented: 30 species have been recorded here, which is more than half of all species found in the vast territory of the CIS. 12 species constantly nest here, two species - the whooper swan and the white-eyed pochard - do not nest annually, 9 are found on migration, and 7 belong to rare species.

Our Anseriformes are divided into 5 groups: swans, geese, true ducks, pochards and mergansers.

Whooper swan

About 30-35 years ago, the whooper nested in separate pairs in the Kama floodplain. Then, as man developed the floodplain, he stopped staying with us to nest, and in 1965, a pair of nesting swans was again discovered in the Rybnaya Sloboda area. The mute swan visits us very rarely during spring migrations.

Gray goose

The Volga is still covered with ice, patches of browned snow still lie in the fields, and in the forest the breath of spring and snow are very faintly felt everywhere, when the first shoals of noisy geese appear. According to long-term data, the arrival of geese usually begins around April 14, when the first temporary reservoirs - “snowballs” - appear in the fields. Many folk signs are associated with the arrival of geese: “if geese fly high, spring geese will be high, if they fly low, spring geese will be low,” “geese scream a lot - for the harvest,” etc.

The bulk of geese just fly through our republic: numerous bean gooses with a black beak with a yellow or orange belt, white-fronted goose, white-fronted goose and different kinds Geese, distinguished by a completely black small beak and black legs. Only a very small part of the gray geese flying through Tataria remain to nest on the reservoir and in the floodplains of our large rivers on hard-to-reach lakes and swamps. Geese begin nesting in May. The female, together with the male, makes a cozy nest somewhere on the shore, which is lined with feathers and down, and lays 5-8 eggs. It is mainly the goose that incubates for 28 days; The male sits on the nest only when the female is feeding. Geese feed on various aquatic vegetation, love to pluck winter crops, and in the fall they regularly fly to the fields to feed on cereal grains and peas. Due to the massive autumn plowing, geese now land on the fields less and less often, and the autumn migration takes place in a shorter period of time.

We hunt few geese: hunting with decoy goose and profiles, although successfully carried out, has not yet found widespread use. Geese fly away for the winter mainly to the Southern Caspian Sea.

Birds of prey squad

As the name itself shows, this order unites birds leading a predatory lifestyle. All of them have a powerful beak, curved at the end, the base of which is covered with bare skin - the “cere”; strong paws, equipped with sharp and curved claws, and rather dense plumage.

Due to the fact that birds of prey feed on animal food, they have a poorly developed muscular stomach and have developed the ability to regurgitate undigested food remains through the mouth - bones and fur of mammals, bird feathers, fish scales and chitinous parts of insects, which are called pellets. Collection and analysis of pellets makes it possible to find out the food items of birds of prey and establish their role and importance in our economy. Most predator species have a crop, which allows them to simultaneously eat a significant amount of food, and then, slowly digesting it, “do without food” for some time. Birds of prey live in monogamy, forming pairs that often last for a number of years. Large species of predators lay 1-2 eggs and incubate them for about 50 days; medium and small ones lay up to 9 eggs and incubate for less than a month. Incubation begins immediately after the first egg is laid, so the chicks do not hatch at the same time. This is of great biological importance, as it makes it easier for parents to feed the chicks, which lasts about 25 days in small species, and up to three months in large species. In a number of species of birds of prey, females are much larger than males.

Birds of prey have amazing visual acuity. Prof. writes that a peregrine falcon sees a turtle dove sitting on. at a distance of 1000 meters, the importance of birds of prey in the human economy is significant. Many of them, destroying a lot of harmful rodents and insects, bring great benefits to agriculture and forestry - these are almost all harriers, small falcons and buzzards. Large predators - golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, greater spotted eagle and imperial eagle, as well as goshawk and marsh harrier - although they eat a certain amount of game animals - hares, chickens and waterfowl, their harm is negligible, since First of all, they catch sick and weakened animals.

The fauna of birds of prey in Tatarstan is very rich. We have recorded 28 species, of which 21 species nest on the territory of Tatarstan, one species, the rough-footed buzzard, or rough-legged buzzard, is found annually and in fairly large quantities on migration, and 6 species belong to rare vagrants - the tuvik, the red kite, the griffon vulture, the vulture black, steppe eagle and dwarf eagle. Most diurnal birds of prey are migratory, and only four species are sedentary: both species of hawks, the peregrine falcon and the golden eagle. According to data, a pair of white-tailed eagles have been wintering in the Saralovsky section of the Volzhsko-Kama Nature Reserve for four years now. This is apparently due to the widespread development of ice fishing, when fishermen throw infected white bream and other fish on the ice and thus provide food for the eagles.

For a number of years, employees of the Volga-Kama branch of the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute conducted bird of prey censuses during summer field work. Systematically, the birds of prey of Tataria are grouped into two families; falcons and hawks. The first includes six species that have a tooth on the upper beak and a corresponding notch in the lower beak; All other predators belong to the second family - they are characterized by the absence of a tooth on the beak.

Falcon-Sapsan

This is one of the largest falcons found here, and the only one that sometimes stays for the winter. The falcon “takes” birds exclusively on the fly: having risen above the pursued prey, the peregrine falcon hits the bird with enormous speed, reaching 75 meters per second, with the claws of its hind toes, folded and pressed tightly to the body. The blow is made tangentially and is very strong. Prof. writes that if a duck is hit on the neck, then “its head often flies off.” Sometimes the peregrine falcon does not have time to grab the downed bird, and it falls to the ground, where the predator also falls after it. The peregrine falcon's usual prey is ducks, but in cities it feeds on pigeons and jackdaws, often causing devastation in pigeon flocks and greatly annoying pigeon breeders.

In the center of Kazan, on the bell tower of the Church of the Epiphany, a pair of peregrine falcons lived for a number of years and successfully hatched chicks; but about 10 years ago the birds apparently left this area. due to the fact that in some years it was occupied by a pair of ravens. More or less constantly, peregrine falcons nest in the Raifa forest, where a number of interesting observations were made on the lifestyle of this relatively rare falcon. Another large falcon, the saker falcon, has been living in the Saralovsky section of the Volzhsko-Kama Nature Reserve for several years now and successfully breeding its chicks.

The goshawk nests in tall forests. Both nests we found were located on tall spruce trees 10-12 m from the ground on thick side branches. The female usually lays 3-4 greenish-white eggs, which she incubates for about 35 days. At the end of July, the young finally abandon the nest and begin an independent life.

The coloration of the goshawk is very characteristic of hawks: it is smoky-gray above, with transverse black stripes running below on a white background. Short wide wings and a long tail provide the hawk with good maneuverability in the forest. The male usually weighs about 800 g, and the female up to 1700 g. Juveniles are clearly distinguishable from adults by a reddish tint in the plumage and clear longitudinal intermittent stripes on the underside of the body.

The sparrowhawk is extremely close to the goshawk in its lifestyle and coloration. The food of this small jackdaw-sized predator is dominated by smaller birds, mainly passerines; it regularly eats mouse-like rodents and large insects. As a number of special studies have shown, in natural conditions The hawk, by selecting sick and weakened animals, “cleanses” the livestock and helps maintain its high numbers. Only in poultry farms can it cause some damage, and there it is permissible to shoot them.

Marsh Harrier

Low above the thickets of above-water vegetation, over lakes and swamps, the marsh harrier, which appears from a distance to be almost black, flies. It feeds on eggs and chicks, and also attacks adult birds. Ducks and coots suffer especially badly from it. We had under observation one nest of a marsh harrier, located on a raft, among impassable reed thickets, with four chicks. Over the course of eight days, the parents brought them 9 coots, 2 gray voles, 3 water voles and many small rodents and birds. says that he observed an attack by a marsh harrier on a muskrat.

The number of marsh harriers is now small, and the loss they cause is insignificant compared to the positive role they play in improving the health of the population.

This is the most common bird of prey in our republic. The carved tail of the kite serves as an excellent sign of the species, by which it is easy to distinguish it from all other predators, which is helped a lot by its characteristic cry, vaguely reminiscent of the neighing of a stallion.

Kites appear here in mid- or early April and almost immediately concentrate near their nesting sites. They often nest in colonies of 3-6 nests on an area of ​​200-500 hectares - on some forest island, in a forest patch near a large lake, or choose the forest edge along the Volga and Kama slopes. It should be noted that they live in groups in a relatively small area only in years rich in food. More often, we found single nests, which were located in trees and lined with a wide variety of materials; sponge, rags, pieces of paper, cotton wool, etc. In one nest, located not far from the camp of our expedition, we found our own notes, lost during one of our trips around the island.

There are usually 2-3 eggs in a nest. Incubation and feeding of the chicks takes about two and a half months. By August, the young are difficult to distinguish from adults and are already leading an independent life. At this time, kites are especially common near populated areas and marinas.

Kites feed on a wide variety of foods: large insects, mollusks, mouse-like rodents, fish, frogs and lizards, small birds and carrion. Occasionally they attack chickens, flying into villages and even larger settlements. In the second half of summer and autumn, two to three dozen birds accumulate near cattle burial grounds and in other areas rich in food.

Owl Squad

This order unites birds that are nocturnal, have large, forward-facing eyes, from which small feathers diverge in all directions, forming a facial disc characteristic of the order. The head is large and seems to be fused with the body, but despite this, it is very mobile - owls can turn their heads 180°. Although owls are typical nocturnal birds, they can see quite well during the day. During the period of feeding the young, short-eared owls sometimes hunt even during the day. The plumage of owls is loose, soft and contributes to the silent flight of these predators. Their hearing is well developed. The ear openings are very large and in some species are surrounded by longer feathers, forming something like an outer ear. Most owls have a mimicking mottled coloration, with small specks scattered across a reddish-gray background. Females are usually larger than males.

Like diurnal predators, owls have a hooked beak and well-developed claws, and the outer toe can be turned back - this makes it easier to grasp prey. The food consists of various warm-blooded animals, among which rodents (voles and mice) predominate. Owls throw out indigestible food residues in the form of pellets, which differ from the pellets of daytime predators in their rounded shape.

Owl nests are very primitive, and some species simply lay eggs on the ground or in a hollow; Long-eared owls often occupy crows' nests. The female incubates. Immediately after the first egg is laid, the female sits on the nest, and therefore the chicks hatch at the same time, which makes feeding them much easier.

In the fauna of Tatarstan, owls are represented by 12 species. The eagle owl, tawny owl, hawk owl and some little owls lead a sedentary lifestyle, and the snowy owl and great gray owl appear here in winter only in some years. All owls are undoubtedly useful birds, and if they occasionally catch game animals and birds, this is more than compensated for by the large number of mice and voles they destroy.

The largest representative of the squad, whose weight reaches 3 kg. It is found everywhere in Tatarstan, but its favorite habitat is the wilderness. At present, the eagle owl is relatively rare, but still in the spring in all large forest areas of the republic you can hear at night its muffled cry “hoo-hoo”, sometimes turning into a very unpleasant sound, reminiscent of a person’s cry or the cry of a child. This, apparently, was the reason for the creation of popular beliefs according to which the eagle owl portends trouble. Often in our time, the cry of an eagle owl is identified with the laughter of a “goblin.”

The eagle owl's food is very varied and depends on the amount of a particular food in nature. According to the materials, the eagle owl's main food is mouse-like rodents. Thus, in the stomach of an eagle owl, caught in February 1946, the remains of 40 voles and mice were found. There is no doubt that rodents form the basis of its food, but when there are few of them, the eagle owl is able to take hares, catch black grouse, partridges, rooks, jackdaws, crows and jays, and even dares to attack foxes. Thus, in one of the forest ravines near Matyushin, an eagle owl was killed while attacking a fox.

The eagle owl does not make nests, but lays 2-3 white, almost spherical eggs, characteristic of all owls, right on the ground.

The eagle owl undoubtedly needs protection, and hunters must remember that even if it destroys a certain number of hares, black grouse and other useful animals, it first of all takes the sick and weakened and thereby brings great benefit, cleaning the livestock and to some extent preventing outbreak of diseases.

Long eared owl

One of the most common owls we see. It inhabits forests of various ages and compositions and is often found even in close proximity to the city, and, possibly, nests in the Arsky cemetery of Kazan, where we have repeatedly heard its two-syllable cry “hu-hu.” The long-eared owl is significantly smaller in size than the eagle owl: all the owls we caught weighed less than 500 g. It is well distinguished from other owls by two protruding tufts of feathers on its head, reminiscent of ears. In addition, long-eared owls have long wings that, when folded, extend beyond the end of their tail.

In years rich in mouse-like rodents, long-eared owls live sedentary here, not flying away for the winter; in years poor in rodents, they migrate south, reaching Africa. They begin nesting in April. The number of eggs in a clutch depends on the availability of food for the birds and ranges from 3 to 8. Usually the long-eared owl occupies the nests of crows, magpies and jays: all 4 nests of the long-eared owl that we found previously belonged to crows. and three owl nests were described, of which two were made by ravens and one by a magpie.

Incubation begins immediately after the first egg is laid. The female incubates, but the male is usually located close to the nest. With large clutches, the difference in the size of the chicks can be very large; for example, in one inspected nest, the largest chick weighed 242 g, and the smallest - only 87 g. It is quite natural that all chicks rarely survive - in years of large “harvests” of rodents. Usually, 1-2 "of the latter die, since the food brought by the parents is captured by larger chicks, which are even capable of killing their little "brothers and sisters" themselves and eating them. Such "weeding out" of chicks is a common occurrence for all our predators.

Order Longwings

As the name of the order itself shows, it includes birds with long wings, somewhat reminiscent of swallows, but even more adapted to flight. We have one species from this order - the black or common swift.

Saber-shaped wings, a seemingly flattened head with a split beak, like a nightjar, short and weak legs with a feathered metatarsus and trailing toes, directed forward and serving only for holding on walls, cornices and tree trunks, are good signs swift. The swift does not know how to walk at all and, once on the ground, rises onto its wing with great difficulty. His element is air, where he has no rivals in both speed and maneuverability of flight. It feeds exclusively on insects, which it catches in flight. Mating in swifts also occurs in the air.

In our country, swifts appear with almost calendar accuracy - around May 14, and their swift flight with a piercing cry of “swifts” marks the onset of the last phase of spring. Swifts are found in large numbers in Kazan and other populated areas, where they nest under eaves, in cracks in walls and in attics. In some places they are numerous in tall, hollow forests. For two years in a row, near the laboratory station in the Raifa section of the reserve, a pair of swifts nested in a birdhouse hung on a birch tree at a height of only about 6 meters.

Two highly elongated, almost cylindrical, white eggs are incubated by the female, who is carefully fed by the male at this time. Before bad weather, swifts fly low, which is associated with the migration of insects that are very sensitive to changing weather conditions; Thus, by observing swifts, it is often possible to predict changes in the weather. Swifts fly to Equatorial Africa for the winter in early September.

Order passerines

The order of passerines, the richest in the number of species, is represented in Tatarstan by 103 species, which is 37.2% of the species composition of birds in Tatarstan. It is undeniable that in terms of the number of individuals, the order of passerines has no competitors. Most of our small birds belong to this order and are found in enormous numbers. Thus, according to records, up to 400 pairs of birds nest on 25 hectares of mixed deciduous forest. The appearance of birds belonging to the passerine order is very diverse. Along with the raven, which reaches a weight of up to 1500 g, the wren, whose weight does not exceed 8 g, also belongs to the passerine order.

Passerines have “walking” legs, four toes of which are located in the same plane: three of them look forward, one looks back. The wing has 10-12 flight feathers, the tail consists of 12, less often 10-16 tail feathers. All passerines belong to nestling birds. The planting period for small species lasts 12-14 days. For approximately the same period, the chicks are fed by their parents in the nest. Large passerines have a longer period of incubation and stay of chicks in the nest.

Most species of this order fly to warmer regions for the winter, and in the spring they return to their homeland, where they nest. Some species are found here all year round, making only minor migrations. Most small passerines feed on insects, if not all year round, then while feeding their chicks. Many people eat weed seeds. Passerines are mainly useful birds that help humans combat pests in agriculture and forestry.

Lark family of birds

To the characteristic external signs Representatives of this family include a rounded posterior surface of the metatarsus, covered with scutes, and a long, sharp claw of the hind toe.

Field lark

Modestly colored, with grayish-brown streaks and a low, wide crest, the field bird is well known to everyone who visits the fields in spring and summer. It flies to us very early, as soon as thawed patches appear here and there, and its ringing song can be heard already at the end of March. The massive migration takes place in the first half of April, and then the lark’s singing coming from above can be heard even while walking along the noisy streets of a big city. Pairs begin to reproduce when the snow-free fields turn green. The clutch contains 4-6 eggs.

A simple nest is made on the ground. The chicks develop quickly and leave the nest 9-10 days after hatching. During the summer, larks usually have two broods. They feed their chicks with insects. The rest of the time, larks feed on various seeds of grasses and cereals, picked up on the ground. By autumn they gather in flocks and roam through fields and meadows before leaving for the winter.

Forest lark, or spinning top

It differs from the skylark in its smaller size, light yellowish eyebrow and shorter tail. song wood lark can be expressed in the words “yuli-yuli-yuli.” Yula has a clear attraction to the forest, and its habitats are forest clearings, clearings, pine woodlands, especially heather heaths on sandy hillocks.

Horned lark

It got its name from the original black “horns” of feathers on the sides of its head and cannot be confused with any other bird. Flocks of these rather brightly and motley-colored birds, slightly smaller in size than a starling, can be found during their spring and autumn migration, but they do not nest here.

Among the vagrant species is the crested lark. These birds were observed several times in the vicinity of Kazan.

Solovyov Anton: “How do birds winter?” In winter, our neighboring birds try to stay close to human habitation: it is warmer and more satisfying here. For a well-fed person, the frost is not so scary. A good lunch warms you from the inside, and the warmth spreads throughout your body. If you don’t lose weight over the winter and preserve the fat under the skin, then even the severe cold that passes through the feather is not dangerous: it cannot freeze the fat under the skin. But the trouble is, it’s not easy to find food in winter. It is difficult for those birds that fed on insects in the summer; they switch to cones, nuts and grains. But we still need to look for this food. It’s easier to get through difficult times together. And so in winter they gather different birds in flocks. After all, how is it in a pack? I found one food and immediately notified everyone: everyone will be full. It is easier to notice danger in time; someone is always on guard while others are feeding or dozing. If you need to fight off a large predator, then it’s easier for everyone together. So there is no way a little bird can be alone in winter. Even those birds that usually live alone join some flock for the winter.

Semyonov Daniil: “Nuthatch and Woodpecker” In the park, garden, at the feeders, you can see a nuthatch in a flock of different tits. This small, short-tailed bird immediately attracts attention with its ability to quickly run upside down along a tree trunk. Among the birds, nuthatches are the best lazuns. The special structure of their paws with very long fingers and claws helps them in this. Throughout the warm season, these birds run through the trees, looking for insect pests. In winter they have to go on a plant-based diet. A piece of unsalted lard in a feeder or a bug tucked in the bark is a treat for a nuthatch. The color of the bird is bluish-gray, the neck, chest and abdomen are white, and there is a black stripe from the beak. The woodpecker is a noticeable bird. His back, wings, and tail are black, as if he were wearing a black tailcoat. The throat, chest, and abdomen are white, and on the head there is a bright red cap. It sits on a tree trunk, clinging to the bark with its claws, and also leans on its tail. The woodpecker's tail is unusual: with pointed ends, very hard feathers. Resting its tail against the unevenness of the bark, the woodpecker firmly holds on to the vertical trunk. He needs this kind of strength to hit a tree hard. After all, the woodpecker feeds on worms, beetles and other insects that spoil the tree by gnawing passages deep into the trunk.

Bikbova Ilsina: “Tits” Tits are one of the most useful birds for humans, because they destroy many pests. In the spring, when they have a baby, they can eat as many insects in a day as they weigh. These birds are nomadic, but do not fly long distances, only short ones - from the northern regions they can move to the southern ones. “There are several types of tit, and all of them are useful. The more of these birds there are, the better. They need to be attracted using feeders. In spring and summer, tits feed only on insects, and in winter and autumn they eat berries and grain. To prevent the wind from blowing away their food, you can make a ball from lard (unsalted) and “glue” raw sunflower seeds, oats, millet, and flax to it. This food can be hung on a tree or near a window. The titmouse also relishes unsalted lard.

Egorova Liana “Sparrows” In the central zone of the European part of Russia, two types of sparrows live: house (urban) and field (village). They are found together in mixed flocks, especially in late autumn and winter. In spring and summer, individuals of each species stick to their favorite habitats, where they nest and breed. It is not at all difficult to distinguish a house sparrow from a field sparrow: the house sparrow (male) has a dark gray cap on the crown of the head, while the field sparrow has a brown one; The house sparrow has one light stripe on its wings, and the field sparrow has two. In addition, the tree sparrow has black brackets on its cheeks on a light background, and has a white collar around its neck. In terms of physique, the house sparrow is coarser and larger than the field sparrow. The house sparrow is also called the urban sparrow, because it is especially numerous in urban settlements and is common even in the largest cities. tree sparrow received the name rustic for its commitment to rural areas.

Garifullina Gulia “Bullfinches” The bullfinch is larger than a sparrow. It has bright plumage: red on the chest and gray-bluish on the back. Females are similar in appearance to males, but differ in more modest gray plumage. Bullfinches of both sexes have a black cap on the crown and a thick, short black beak. The homeland of bullfinches is the coniferous forests of the northern taiga. Here they make nests and hatch chicks. In September, bullfinches form flocks, and in October they migrate to the forests of the central zone of our country for the winter. At this time, they appear in villages and cities, standing out sharply against the background of the fallen snow. Hence, probably, the name of these birds, bullfinches. In winter, bullfinches stay in mixed and deciduous forests, where they feed on seeds of alder, ash, maple, linden, hornbeam and other trees, as well as shrubs (lilac, etc.). In gardens and parks they eat tree buds, and on the outskirts of fields they look for seeds of quinoa, horse sorrel and other weeds in ravines and wastelands. Bullfinches are especially attracted to rowan trees, which they readily eat. During feeding, they leave traces of their work in the form of opened ash and maple leaves, the remains of linden seeds, the pulp of crushed rowan berries, etc. From these remains it is easy to recognize that bullfinches “ruled” here.

Nikonorova Azalea “Pigeons” The largest of our pigeons is the wood pigeon. It is also easy to distinguish by its clearly visible white spots on the neck and wings. Noble gray plumage with a slight smoky touch. Wood pigeons arrive at the end of March, and from mid-April their mating sounds are constantly heard - a dull buzzing vibrating in an early rhythm. At the same time, you can see the current flights of pigeons: a sudden take-off with a noisy flapping of wings and subsequent smooth gliding. The nest is a loose, flat layer of twigs, built on the side branches of trees and extremely carelessly. A clutch of two pure white eggs is incubated for days. Three weeks later, the chicks leave the nest, and the birds move from the forests to the fields, gathering in large autumn flocks. They fly away in October. In the reserve, the wood pigeon is the most common pigeon. The clintukh is much smaller than the wood pigeon and without any white markings. The wood pigeon arrives earlier; the current voice of the wood pigeon has been heard since the beginning of April. It nests in tree hollows, sometimes at a considerable height. It is found regularly in the reserve, preferring ripe pine forests.

Riddles about birds With a greenish back, a yellowish belly, a black cap and a stripe of a scarf. (Tit) Here is a bird, just a bird, Not a thrush, not a tit, Not a swan, not a duck, And not a nightjar. But this bird, although small, hatches its chicks only in the bitter winter. (Crossbill) Red-breasted, black-winged, Loves to peck grains, With the first snow on the mountain ash He will appear again. (Bullfinch) The small bird has legs but can’t walk. Wants to take a step - It turns out to be a jump. (Sparrow)

Tatarstan is famous for its unusually beautiful nature. The republic is home to many species of animals and birds. Today we invite you to find out what birds live in Tatarstan, to get acquainted with three species: the brant goose, the pochard and the black kite. Let's find out what they look like and their lifestyle. Let's start with the migratory red-headed duck.

Arrival time

The beautiful bird is a waterfowl and flies to Tatarstan in late April and early May. This bird likes to spend the winter in warm regions, and travels a long way from Africa, the tropics of Asia, Japan, South or Western Europe to Tatarstan to build a nest and raise new offspring. It nests near bodies of water and is a target for hunters and sport hunters.

Appearance

An adult pochard has an average body size of 58 centimeters. The weight can reach from 0.7 to 1.1 kilograms. It has a neat short tail; its distinctive feature is its arched back when swimming. The duck's neck is short and its body is dense. The bird's legs are located far behind, so when it stands, it leans forward strongly.

The beak of this duck is equal to the length of the head, it is slightly widened at the base. The plumage of the wings and body has a typical color, a gray-white pattern is clearly visible.

An adult female is quite easy to distinguish from a male. They have different patterns and head color. In the male it is colored brown-red, and in the female it is yellow-brown.

Habitats

These migratory birds Tatarstan chooses the most fertile areas of lakes and artificial reservoirs. The most suitable places for them are deep reservoirs with abundant vegetation. Walls of tall reeds are a favorite nesting site. The red-headed pochard will never settle where there is no abundant food or acceptable water depth.

Dives avoid brackish bodies of water. They can be found in swamps, sections of rivers with calm flows, and artificially created reservoirs.

Dive behavior

These birds of Tatarstan live in flocks and can live with other representatives. They are too clumsy when moving on land, so they spend most of their time in the water. Pochards dive and swim excellently. In case of danger, unlike other birds, they do not take off, but dive under the water, where they wait out the unfavorable time.

During molting, red-headed ducks cannot fly, so they prefer to spend this period with their relatives, away from places where they can become easy prey for predators or humans.

Reproduction

Pairs of dives are formed already during the flight. The breeding season lasts from April to the end of June. The male is close to the nest, but does not participate in the care and education of the offspring.

The nest of the described ducks is not original; it is an ordinary shallow hole in the ground, covered with grass. One female can lay from five to twelve eggs. The duck incubates its offspring for an average of 26 days. After birth, ducklings are in the care of their mother for two months, after which they begin an independent life.

Dives - Tatarstan. They are quite interesting to watch while feeding. Ducks dive under water, and can stay there for up to 16 seconds, and emerge in another place. They are also very active in shallow water, where they love to splash around and fool around.

Black goose: description

It is rare in Tatarstan, but you can still see this beautiful bird. It belongs to the duck family and looks like a goose. This type is the smallest of all geese. The average weight is two kilograms, the body length reaches sixty centimeters. The birds are on the verge of extinction, are listed in the Red Book and are protected by law, so you cannot hunt them. The cause of extinction is dirty water bodies.

These birds are migratory in Tatarstan; their main habitat is the tundra and sea coasts.

The color of the goose is very interesting. Most of her body is covered with gray and brown feathers. The belly and sides are lighter, and the back is dark. The undertail and tail feathers on the wings are white, the neck, beak, head and legs are black. There is a white, uneven stripe on the neck that resembles a collar.

The black goose prefers to winter in East Asia, North-West Europe and on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These birds reach their wintering areas only along the coasts.

Geese breeding

These are birds that create permanent pairs. During the breeding season, which begins in June and lasts for three months, they beautifully look after each other. This is a special ritual consisting of a strange dance, with a constant change of poses.

Black geese nest in groups, which allows them to protect themselves from various predators, such as gulls, arctic foxes and polar bears. A nest is built in depressions in the ground along bodies of water with good vegetation. The bottom is covered with down and soft grass.

The female can lay from three to five eggs and incubates them for twenty-four days (on average). The male is nearby all the time, he cares for his wife and helps in raising the ducklings. The babies are able to leave the nest within a few hours. Parents lead their brood to bodies of water and teach them how to get food. For six weeks, the couple protects their ducklings, and then the grown-up offspring can leave the shelter on their own, but remain with their parents until other babies appear.

Nutrition

The diet of geese is very varied. They eat various vegetation, including algae. Sometimes they can taste “live” food, these are small insects and crustaceans.

The described ducks do not know how to dive, but they are still able to get algae from under the water by bending down into the depths. At this time, the tail, like a float, remains on the surface.

In winter, when there are not very many plants, the goose eats moss, and the basis of its diet is the seaweed Zoster.

The birds of Tatarstan are impressive in their diversity. There are both migratory and permanent residents here. A huge number of herbivores, omnivores and predators live on the territory of the republic. We looked at two species from the duck family, now let's get acquainted with one of the most beautiful predatory creatures.

Black kite

This is a predator of the hawk order, it is very beautiful, and stands out among other species with its color. Leads a migratory lifestyle and chooses dense forests located near water bodies for living. The kite prefers to spend the winter in flocks in Australia, Africa and India. There they team up with local representatives of this species.

The black kite is not a black bird at all, it is more dark brown. The size of the chicken coop is average, it grows up to 58 centimeters and weighs from 0.8 to 1.1 kilograms. The wings reach 50 centimeters and their span can be up to 1.5 meters. The main decoration of this bird of Tatarstan is its tail. It is smooth, reminiscent of a fan, lowered down.

Males are slightly smaller than females in size, their plumage is the same, so it is very difficult to distinguish. The body is decorated with dark brown feathers, the top of the head is light gray. The back is darker than the chest and belly, the wings are dark, as is the tail. The base of the beak and the bare part of the kite's legs are yellow.

Diet and lifestyle

Black kites are scavengers and predators. They love the remains of animals, resting in the sun, and dead fish. Of course, they can also hunt, but if there is carrion, they will prefer it. Most of all they like to steal other birds from the nests of chicks. Adult birds are also included in the menu if they are smaller in size. Also, these birds, living in Tatarstan and many other places, know how to fish. They catch with their claws fish that have approached the surface.

The flight of kites is very smooth, measured, they slightly bend their wings. These birds benefit agriculture by exterminating gophers, moles, and mice. People do not always treat kites kindly, as they constantly carry ducklings, goslings and chickens.

Breeding offspring

Black kites arrive for nesting in April from Southern countries, when the snow has not yet melted in some places. They can be found not only in the forest, but also near urban settlements; sometimes they can fly into a quiet city.

Nests are made independently, or those abandoned by other birds and suitable in size are populated. Usually the diameter of the nest does not exceed a meter, and they are considered modest given the size of the birds themselves. The dwelling is located on a tree or rock, located at a height of up to fifteen meters from the ground. Nests are insulated with feathers, paper, down and grass.

The female lays eggs in early May, usually two or three future chicks. There may be four eggs in a clutch; in very rare cases, five appear. The size is slightly larger than a matchbox, the color is white, with a barely noticeable blue tint. The shell is decorated with brown spots.

The eggs take up to one and a half months to hatch, and the parents share all the worries. After hatching, the chicks do not leave the nest until forty-five days, after which they can fly independently. Sexual maturity in this species occurs at the age of two. In nature, birds can live up to 25 years.

Number of kites

IN last years the population has declined greatly. Scientists attribute this to the use of chemicals in agriculture and with industry. There are especially few birds left in Russia.

The once numerous species has become on the verge of complete extinction, and it is very difficult to correct the current situation.

Conclusion

The birds were described in this article. These are not all species that are threatened with complete extinction. It so happened that man caused huge losses in nature. Some species have become completely extinct, but water bodies continue to be polluted by industry, and no one is fighting it. The birds of Tatarstan, like birds living in other places, need our help. If people don't start working towards saving nature, we could soon lose many useful and beautiful creatures.

Wonderful pictures with migratory and wintering birds. Which birds remain to spend the winter in their homeland, and which ones fly away?

Walking through a park or forest, we listen to birds singing and often simply don’t think about which bird trills so nicely. There are birds that live in our area all year round, but there are also those that fly to “warmer climes” in the fall.

The fact is that in winter it is very difficult for birds to find food for themselves, because insects, berries and grains become scarce, and when snow falls, it is almost impossible to find them at all. AND different types birds solve this problem in different ways: migratory birds fly hundreds and even thousands of kilometers to warmer countries, and sedentary birds adapt to our harsh winters.

Settled, wintering birds: list, photos with names

To help the birds that remain over the winter find food, feeders are hung. And it is quite possible that they will be of interest to the following visitors:

• Sparrow. Noisy sparrows that fly in flocks may well become the first visitors to the feeder.

• Tit. Tits are in many ways not inferior to sparrows; they quickly rush to feed in feeders. But compared to sparrows, tits are endowed with a more gentle disposition. Interestingly, in the summer the tit eats almost as much food as it weighs. You can often see mixed flocks of both sparrows and tits at feeders.

• Gaichka. A close relative of the tit. However, the chickadee's breast is not yellow, but light brown. The chickadee also differs from other tits in that it makes a hollow in a tree to make a nest in it.

• Crow. Ravens are often confused with rooks. It is known that in the western part of Russia crows are very rare. Therefore, if you live in the European part of Russia and see a black bird emitting a piercing croak, then most likely it is a rook.

• Pigeon. The distribution and lifestyle of pigeons was largely influenced by people who simply brought them with them to different parts of the Earth. Now pigeons are found on all continents except Antarctica. Pigeons easily exchange rocks, which are their natural habitat, for man-made structures.

• Woodpecker. In the warm season, woodpeckers feed mainly on insects, which they get from under the bark of trees, and in the cold winter, they can also feed on plant foods: seeds and nuts.

• Magpie. The magpie is considered a bird of high intelligence; it is capable of expressing a lot of emotions, including sadness, and can recognize its reflection in the mirror. It is interesting that not only its fellow birds react to the alarming cry of a magpie, but also other birds, as well as wild animals, in particular bears and wolves.

• Owl. Owls come in different varieties, large and small, and there are more than 200 species in total. These birds are endowed with acute vision and excellent hearing, which allows them to lead a nocturnal lifestyle. It’s interesting that the tufts on an owl’s head are not ears; owls’ real ears are hidden in the feathers, and one of them is directed upward, and the other downward, in order to better hear what is happening above the head and on the ground.

• This bird is also considered an owl and is a close relative of other owls.

• A rare owl that lives mainly in mountainous areas in northern latitudes. Name of the bird different versions means "inedible" or "insatiable."

• Jackdaw. Externally, jackdaws are similar to rooks and crows; moreover, there are mixed flocks in which all three species of birds can be seen. However, the jackdaw is smaller in size than the crow. And if you are lucky enough to observe a jackdaw up close, you can easily recognize it by the gray color of some of its feathers.

• Nuthatch. This little bird climbs tree trunks very deftly. In summer, nuthatches hide seeds and nuts in the bark, and in winter they feed on these supplies.

• Crossbill. Like the nuthatch, this bird is excellent at climbing trees and can hang upside down on branches. Crossbill's favorite food is seeds from spruce and pine cones. This bird is remarkable in that it can hatch chicks even in winter, but only if there is enough food.

• Bullfinch. Only males have bright red plumage on the chest; females look much more modest. Bullfinches are more often seen in winter, because due to lack of food, they are drawn to people. In summer, bullfinches prefer wooded areas and behave inconspicuously, so they are not easy to see.

• Waxwing. A bird with beautiful plumage and a singing voice. In summer it feeds mainly on insects and likes to settle in coniferous forests. In winter, the waxwing moves to more southern regions of the country and is often found in cities. In the cold season, rowan and other fruits become the main food for birds.

• Jay. A large bird, which, however, can fly to feast on a feeder hung by people. In the summer it is rarely seen in the city, but closer to winter the bird begins to reach out to human habitation.

• Kinglet. One of the smallest birds, the weight of an adult male is only 5-7 grams. Kinglets are relatives of sparrows.

• . A large bird that is a favorite trophy for many hunters. Pheasants can fly, but most often move on foot.

• Grouse. It is also an object of hunting, despite the fact that this bird is quite small. The weight of an adult hazel grouse rarely reaches 500 g. Interestingly, the largest population of these birds lives in Russia.

• Another bird that is related to hunting. Black grouse are found at the edge of the forest and in the forest-steppe.

• Falcon. It is considered one of the smartest birds on the planet and one of the best hunters. The falcon is capable of working in tandem with a person, but it is very difficult to tame it.

• . Like the falcon, it is a bird of prey. A hawk's vision is 8 times sharper than a human's. And rushing after prey, the hawk can reach speeds of up to 240 km/h.

Migratory and nomadic birds: list, photos with names

• Rooks differ from crows in having a gray-yellow beak. In Kuban and Ukraine, you can see how in the fall rooks gather in huge flocks, so large that the sky seems black from the birds soaring in it - these are rooks that fly south. However, rooks are classified as migratory birds only conditionally, some of them remain to winter in central Russia, some winter in Ukraine, and only some birds fly to the warm shores of Turkey for the winter.

• They really like to fly to freshly dug ground, sometimes they fly right behind a plowing tractor in order to have time to get as many worms and larvae as possible from the dug up ground.

• This inconspicuous bird with a singing voice loves warmth, and therefore flies south in the fall. And for wintering, our native nightingales chose hot Africa. These birds fly to the eastern part of the continent - Kenya and Ethiopia - for the winter. However, local residents cannot enjoy their singing, because nightingales sing only during the mating season, which takes place in their homeland.

• Martin. Swallows love rocky terrain; they often settle on the steep walls of quarries that people have dug. However, our winters are too harsh for swallows and therefore in the fall they fly to the southern part of Africa, far from us, or to Tropical Asia.

• Chizh. Like the rook, it is a migratory bird that arrives early and winters nearby: in the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and southern Europe. Externally, siskins are inconspicuous, their gray-green feathers are absolutely not noticeable against the background of the branches. The bird's temperament matches its appearance: quiet and meek.

• Goldfinch. In Europe it is a wintering bird, however, in Russia goldfinches can only be seen in summer. By winter, goldfinches gather in flocks and move to lands with a warmer climate. Goldfinches are close relatives of siskins.

• A slender bird that runs quickly along the ground and shakes its tail with every step. Wagtails spend the winter in eastern Africa, southern Asia, and sometimes southern Europe.

• Quail. The only bird from the Galliformes order that is migratory. The weight of an adult quail is not so large and amounts to 80-150 g. In summer, quails can be found in fields sown with wheat and rye. Quails winter far beyond the borders of our homeland: in southern Africa and southern Asia, on the Hindustan Peninsula.

• Thrush. The song thrush, with its sweet trills, creates worthy competition for the nightingale. A appearance his, like that of the nightingale, is inconspicuous. In winter, blackbirds become Europeans: Italy, France and Spain are their second homeland.

• Lark. Larks return from warm countries very early; sometimes already in March you can hear their sonorous song, which becomes a harbinger of spring warmth. And larks spend the winter in Southern Europe.

• Gull. With the onset of cold weather, seagulls living on the coasts of the northern seas migrate to the Black and Caspian Seas. But over the years, seagulls are increasingly drawn to people, and increasingly remain to spend the winter in cities.

• . Swifts winter in Africa, and fly to its equatorial part or even go to the southern part of the continent.

• Starlings really need birdhouses, since most often they breed their offspring in them. And our starlings go to Southern Europe and East Africa for the winter.

• Finch. Finches from the western part of the country winter mainly in Central Europe and the Mediterranean, and finches that live near the Urals in the summer go to winter in Southern Kazakhstan and the southern regions of Asia.

• Heron. It is quite difficult to determine where herons spend the winter; some of them travel huge distances to South Africa, some winter in the Crimea or the Kuban, and in the Stavropol Territory, herons sometimes even remain for the winter.

• Crane. These birds are monogamous, and once having chosen a partner, they remain faithful to him throughout their lives. Cranes settle in swampy areas. And their wintering places are as diverse as those of herons: Southern Europe, Africa and even China - in all these parts of the world you can find cranes that have flown from Russia to spend the winter.

• Stork. In Russia there are black and white storks. White storks build huge nests, up to one and a half meters wide, and make very long flights to the south. Sometimes they cross half the planet and reach South Africa, a country located in the very south of Africa.

• Swan. The swan is a bird that represents devotion and romance. Swans are waterfowl, so for wintering they choose places near water, often the Caspian or Mediterranean Sea.

• Duck. Wild ducks, as a rule, do not fly far in winter and remain in the vast expanses of post-Soviet states. It is noteworthy that their domestic relatives also begin to worry in the fall and sometimes try to fly away, sometimes they even fly over fences and fly short distances.

• . Cuckoos live in forests, forest-steppe, and steppe. The vast majority of cuckoos fly to tropical and South Africa for the winter; less commonly, cuckoos winter in South Asia: India and China.

• . A small bird with a singing voice and bright plumage that flies to the tropics for the winter.

• . They wake up at dawn and are among the first to start the morning song. This little songbird used to be called a robin. Robins fly to Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East to spend the winter and are among the first to return home.

What is the difference between migratory birds and wintering birds: presentation for preschoolers

Why do migratory birds fly to warmer regions where they spend the winter, and why do they come back?

Winter is a harsh test for birds. And only those who can get food for themselves in harsh conditions remain to spend the winter.

What could be the ways for birds to survive in the cold season?

• Some birds store food for the winter in the summer. They hide plant seeds, nuts, acorns, caterpillars and larvae in grass and cracks in tree bark. Such birds include the nuthatch.
• Some birds are not afraid of people and live near residential buildings. In winter, they find food in feeders and garbage heaps.
• Some birds are predators and feed on rodents. There are birds of prey that can feed on hares, hunt fish, small birds and bats.

If a bird can find food for itself in winter, it means it does not need to go on a tedious and difficult flight to warmer climes in the fall.

It would seem that everything is simple, and the only reason for the seasonal migration of birds is the lack of food. But in reality there are more questions here than answers. For example, imagine that a wild duck, which is a migratory bird, is provided with an artificially heated pond and a sufficient amount of food. Will she stay for the winter? Of course not. She will be called on a long journey by a strong feeling that is difficult to explain, called natural instinct.

It turns out that birds fly to warmer regions, as if out of habit, because their ancestors did this for hundreds and thousands of years.

Another question that requires an answer: why do birds return from warm countries every spring? Ornithological scientists have concluded that the beginning of the return flight is associated with the activation of sex hormones and the beginning of the breeding season. But why do birds fly thousands of kilometers and hatch their chicks exactly where they were born? Poets and romantic people say that birds, like people, are simply drawn to their homeland.

How do migratory birds know where to fly? A question to which to this day there is no clear answer. It has been experimentally proven that birds can navigate in completely unfamiliar terrain and in conditions of limited visibility, when neither the sun nor the stars are visible. They have an organ that allows them to navigate the Earth's magnetic field.

But the mystery remains how young individuals, who have never flown to warm regions before, find their own wintering place, and how do they know the route to fly? It turns out that in birds, at the genetic level, information about the point on the map where you need to fly is recorded and, moreover, a route to it is drawn.

Do migratory birds build nests in the south?

Birds wintering in warm regions do not lay eggs or hatch chicks, which means they do not need a nest. Only chicks that migratory birds will hatch in their homeland need a nest.

Which birds are the first and last to arrive in spring?

They arrive first in the spring rooks. These birds return to their homeland in early spring, when the first thawed patches in the snow appear. With their strong beaks, rooks dig out larvae in such thawed areas, which form the basis of their diet.

The last to arrive are the birds, which feed on flying insects. These are swallows, swifts, and orioles. The diet of these birds consists of:

• Komarov
• Moshek
• Horseflies
• Zhukov
• Cicadas
• Butterflies

Because for the appearance large quantity adult flying insects from larvae need warm weather and about two weeks of time, then the birds that feed on them fly to their homeland after the mass appearance of these insects.

Which birds are the first and last to fly away in the fall?

With the onset of autumn cold weather, insects complete their active life cycle and hibernate. Therefore, the birds that feed on insects are the first to fly to warmer climes. Then the birds fly away and feed on the plants. Waterfowl are the last to fly away. There is enough food in the water for them even in autumn. And they fly away before the water in reservoirs begins to freeze.

VIDEO: Birds fly south

What flock of migratory birds promises snow?

By folk signs, if a flock of wild ones flew south geese— you need to wait for the first snow to fall. This sign may not coincide with real weather phenomena. So in the north of Russia, geese fly to warmer climes in mid-September, and snow can fall much earlier. Let's say the first snow in Norilsk this year fell on August 25th. In the south, geese fly to warmer climes at the end of October, and sometimes even at the beginning of November. The first snow in these areas may occur around this time. But it all depends on the weather conditions in autumn. Indian summer here can last throughout October.

VIDEO: Geese gather in flocks to fly south

Which bird from the order Galliformes is migratory?

A migratory bird from the order Galliformes is quail. The quail's habitat extends beyond Russia in the west and south. In the east, these birds live up to the western coast of Lake Baikal. They are widespread in Europe, Western Asia and Africa.

For the winter they fly south. And they winter in Hindustan, Northern Africa and South-West Asia.

VIDEO: How do migratory birds fly?

2nd grade MBOU "Secondary school of Nizhnyaya Rus"

Presentation about some wintering birds of our region

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Wintering birds of Tatarstan

Solovyov Anton: “How do birds winter?” In winter, our neighboring birds try to stay close to human habitation: it is warmer and more satisfying here. For a well-fed person, the frost is not so scary. A good lunch warms you from the inside, and the warmth spreads throughout your body. If you don’t lose weight over the winter and preserve the fat under the skin, then even the severe cold that passes through the feather is not dangerous: it cannot freeze the fat under the skin. But the trouble is, it’s not easy to find food in winter. It is difficult for those birds that fed on insects in the summer; they switch to cones, nuts and grains. But we still need to look for this food. It’s easier to get through difficult times together. And in winter, different birds gather in flocks. After all, how is it in a pack? I found one food and immediately notified everyone: everyone will be full. It is easier to notice the danger in time - there is always someone on guard while others are feeding or dozing. If you need to fight off a large predator, then it’s easier for everyone together. So there is no way a little bird can be alone in winter. Even those birds that usually live alone and then join some flock for the winter.

Semyonov Daniil: “Nuthatch and Woodpecker” In the park, garden, at the feeders, you can see a nuthatch in a flock of different tits. This small, short-tailed bird immediately attracts attention with its ability to quickly run upside down along a tree trunk. Among the birds, nuthatches are the best lazuns. The special structure of their paws with very long fingers and claws helps them in this. Throughout the warm season, these birds run through the trees, looking for insect pests. In winter they have to go on a plant-based diet. A piece of unsalted lard in a feeder or a bug tucked in the bark is a treat for a nuthatch. The color of the bird is bluish-gray, the neck, chest and abdomen are white, and there is a black stripe from the beak. The woodpecker is a noticeable bird. His back, wings, and tail are black, as if he were wearing a black tailcoat. The throat, chest, and abdomen are white, and on the head there is a bright red cap. It sits on a tree trunk, clinging to the bark with its claws, and also leans on its tail. The woodpecker's tail is unusual: with pointed ends, very hard feathers. Resting its tail against the unevenness of the bark, the woodpecker firmly holds on to the vertical trunk. He needs this kind of strength to hit a tree hard. After all, the woodpecker feeds on worms, beetles and other insects that spoil the tree by gnawing passages deep into the trunk.

Bikbova Ilsina: “Tits” Tits are one of the most useful birds for humans, because they destroy many pests. In the spring, when they have a baby, they can eat as many insects in a day as they weigh. These birds are nomadic, but do not fly long distances, only short ones - from the northern regions they can move to the southern ones. “There are several types of tit, and all of them are useful. The more of these birds there are, the better. They need to be attracted using feeders. In spring and summer, tits feed only on insects, and in winter and autumn they eat berries and grain. To prevent the wind from blowing away their food, you can make a ball from lard (unsalted) and “glue” raw sunflower seeds, oats, millet, and flax to it. This food can be hung on a tree or near a window. The titmouse also relishes unsalted lard.

Egorova Liana “Sparrows” In the central zone of the European part of Russia, two types of sparrows live: house (urban) and field (village). They are found together in mixed flocks, especially in late autumn and winter. In spring and summer, individuals of each species stick to their favorite habitats, where they nest and breed. It is not at all difficult to distinguish a house sparrow from a field sparrow: the house sparrow (male) has a dark gray cap on the crown, while the field sparrow has a brown one; The house sparrow has one light stripe on its wings, and the field sparrow has two. In addition, the tree sparrow has black brackets on its cheeks on a light background, and has a white collar around its neck. In terms of physique, the house sparrow is coarser and larger than the field sparrow. The house sparrow is also called the urban sparrow, because it is especially numerous in urban settlements and is common even in the largest cities. The tree sparrow received the name country sparrow due to its affinity for rural areas.

Garifullina Gulia “Bullfinches” The bullfinch is larger than a sparrow. It has bright plumage: red on the chest and gray-bluish on the back. Females are similar in appearance to males, but differ in more modest gray plumage. Bullfinches of both sexes have a black cap on the crown and a thick, short black beak. The homeland of bullfinches is the coniferous forests of the northern taiga. Here they make nests and hatch chicks. In September, bullfinches form flocks, and in October they migrate to the forests of the central zone of our country for the winter. At this time, they appear in villages and cities, standing out sharply against the background of the fallen snow. Hence, probably, the name of these birds - bullfinches. In winter, bullfinches stay in mixed and deciduous forests, where they feed on seeds of alder, ash, maple, linden, hornbeam and other trees, as well as shrubs (lilac, etc.). In gardens and parks they eat tree buds, and on the outskirts of fields they look for seeds of quinoa, horse sorrel and other weeds in ravines and wastelands. Bullfinches are especially attracted to rowan trees, which they readily eat. During feeding, they leave traces of their work in the form of opened ash and maple leaves, the remains of linden seeds, the pulp of crushed rowan berries, etc. From these remains it is easy to recognize that bullfinches “ruled” here.

Nikonorova Azalea “Pigeons” The largest of our pigeons is the wood pigeon. It is also easy to distinguish by its clearly visible white spots on the neck and wings. Noble gray plumage with a slight smoky touch. Wood pigeons arrive at the end of March, and from mid-April their mating sounds are constantly heard - a dull buzzing vibrating in an early rhythm. At the same time, you can see the current flights of pigeons: a sudden take-off with a noisy flapping of wings and subsequent smooth gliding. The nest is a loose, flat layer of twigs, built on the side branches of trees and extremely carelessly. A clutch of two pure white eggs is incubated for 17-18 days. Three weeks later, the chicks leave the nest, and the birds move from the forests to the fields, gathering in large autumn flocks. They fly away in October. In the reserve, the wood pigeon is the most common pigeon. The clintukh is much smaller than the cowlick and without any white markings. The whirlwind arrives earlier; the current voice of the whirlwind has been heard since the beginning of April. It nests in tree hollows, sometimes at a considerable height. It is found regularly in the reserve, preferring ripe pine forests.

Riddles about birds With a greenish back, a yellowish belly, a black cap and a stripe of a scarf. (Tit) Here is a bird, just a bird, Not a thrush, not a tit, Not a swan, not a duck, And not a nightjar. But this bird, although small, hatches its chicks only in the bitter winter. (Crossbill) Red-breasted, black-winged, Loves to peck grains, With the first snow on the mountain ash He will appear again. (Bullfinch) The small bird has legs but can’t walk. Wants to take a step - It turns out to be a jump. (Sparrow)