Migratory birds of Kuban

Migratory birds Migratory birds are birds that fly to warmer regions in winter. Migratory birds make regular seasonal movements between nesting sites and wintering sites. Relocations can take place both close and long distances.

Lark Lark are small birds that live on the ground. They do not jump on the ground, but run. They also nest on the ground, laying spotted eggs in the nest. Larks eat seeds of plants and insects.

Duck The duck is a medium-sized bird with a relatively short neck. The color of the plumage varies. During the breeding season, males differ from females by their bright colors. Most ducks molt twice a year.

Rook Rook - the feathers of the rook are black, with a purple tint. In adult birds, the base of the beak is bald. Rooks feed on worms and insect larvae, which they find by digging in the ground with their strong beaks. They love to follow tractors plowing the ground in large flocks.

Crane Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Crane family pairs persist throughout life.

Swallow The city swallow is a small bird. It feeds on flying insects, which it catches in the air. Married couples persist throughout life

Swan The plumage of swans is either pure white, gray or black. Swans are distinguished from geese by their longer neck, which allows them to search the bottom in search of food in deeper waters, as well as by their size, which makes them the largest aquatic birds.

Starling Starling is a songbird. The starling has black plumage with a metallic sheen, sometimes with a purple, greenish or bluish tint. In winter, numerous white specks appear on the body. It has a wide range of sounds that can include whistles, squeaks, meows, various noises and rattles. Able to imitate the singing of other birds.

Nightingale The nightingale is an inconspicuous gray songbird. Winters in Africa. Lives in bushes and river valleys. It builds nests on the ground or very low, in the bushes. The eggs are greenish or bluish speckled.

Heron Herons are shallow water birds. They live in swampy or slowly flowing water bodies. They stand motionless in the water and peer into the water, looking for prey.

This is interesting! In what order do the birds fly away? The insectivorous birds (Wagtail) are the first to fly away. Then the granivores fly away - those that feed on the fruits and seeds of plants (oatmeal, siskin, chaffinch). And later than everyone else, ducks and geese fly away; they get ready to travel when the reservoirs freeze, because these are waterfowl.

Birds of Kuban include more than 300 species representing 18 orders. Although the nature of the presence of birds on the territory of the Kuban, unfortunately, is still little studied, nevertheless, it can presumably be said that 42 species are found only on migration, 113 are migratory-nesting, 99 are sedentary and 22 winter. 35 randomly vagrant species have been recorded: red-throated loon, common storm petrel, little cormorant, flamingo, golden-brown, etc. Thus, the local avifauna is represented by 212 species, including nesting, migratory and resident birds.

A unique habitat for birds is artificial forest plantations (forest belts, forest areas), 70-75% of the area of ​​which is located in the steppe part of the Kuban.

The most common nesting bird in forest belts in the central part is the rook, sometimes forming entire colonies.

The fields of grain crops are inhabited mainly by passerines (larks, buntings, pipits), chickens, steppe birds of the Kuban - quail, and birds of prey - field, meadow and steppe harriers. In total, 18 species of birds nest on the flat fields.

A large number of birds are attracted to artificial and natural reservoirs located on the plain. Their main inhabitants are ducks and waders.

The Eastern Azov region is the kingdom of fish-eating birds. The first thing that catches the observer’s eye is the mass of gulls and terns circling over the estuaries. A large number of herons gather in shallow water near the reeds. Toadstools are abundant everywhere.

However, not all birds are absolutely healthy. Under certain conditions, some of their species cause harm to agriculture. At the beginning of autumn, field and house sparrows constantly visit fields, eating grains of grain crops and seeds of garden plants. Flocks of starlings, pecking at the fruits of cherries and cherries, can cause significant harm to gardening; rooks, gathering in freshly sown fields, dig wheat grains out of the ground, and after germination, pull them out along with the seeds. And in these cases, the birds of prey of the Kuban make a very large contribution to their benefit.

Nowadays, when human impact on nature has increased significantly, a particularly careful, conscious attitude towards birds is necessary on the part of people. This should include the inadmissibility of the pointless extermination of not only rare, but also common birds, the preservation of their habitats, the reasonable conduct of agricultural work, and the proper organization of hunting.

In the near future we plan to open a separate section of Kuban birds photos, keep an eye on our website.

Birds are considered the highest of vertebrates, they have feathers and their upper limbs became wings. They have access to the sky and birds spend most of their lives in flight. Perhaps the feathers became wool, which once served as protection from cold and moisture, and now helps with aerodynamics. However, feathers also have protective functions. Birds' skin itself is dry and does not have sweat glands. Waterfowl species have one gland left, which secretes special fat. It is located under the tail and helps them in swimming. Fat protects the bird's body from moisture penetration during swimming and diving.

Bird species

One species with an interesting name, the great grebe, lives in the Krasnodar region itself. It is also called the great grebe. Great grebes can be found in the thicket of thickets near the water, and ordinary people call grebe for the fishy smell of its meat. The bird itself is beautiful - it is dark brown in color, with gray cheeks and a crest of black and red feathers. The Great Grebe is a waterfowl that builds nests. The great grebes take care of their offspring and each time leaving the nest, they hide them with plants. She carries the hatched chicks on herself for the first time until they grow up and begin to swim. It feeds on fish and shellfish.

You can also find great cormorants in Kubina - these are large birds that love estuaries. The cormorant has a long neck, shiny black plumage, and large strong wings. He needs 1.5 kg of fish per day. Cormorants dive and swim well in search of it.

Karavayka also lives in the estuaries near the Black Sea. Usually it is found in willow forests. This is a beautiful brown bird with a long beak. Hunts frogs and tadpoles.
Several species of herons live in the Kuban area - white, red-colored, and yellow. There are also night herons and great and little bitterns. Herons do not stay in one place, they migrate seasonally, feeding on fish, small animals, and of course frogs.
The writing swan is also found in those places. An individual can weigh 13 kg. Known for his silence. The bird does not like to make loud sounds; in extreme cases, it hisses, hence the name. Eats plants and small invertebrates, swims well.
The black kite is a frequent visitor to those regions. It is easy to recognize by its behavior: the predator circles in the sky above the place that interests it. The kite has a wide, long tail, a small head and wide wings, which it lazily moves in the air, catching the currents of the wind. Looks out for carrion, reptiles, rodents, and can catch small birds.
The Caucasian pheasant lives in places near lakes or ponds. He flies in extreme cases. Strong, long legs allow the important bird to move deftly on foot. Nesting sites are hard-to-reach thickets of various bushes. Food: Colorado beetles, berries and insects.
Gray partridges prefer the steppes. They are small, up to 500g, no more. They move deftly both on the ground and in the air. They chirp loudly and are able to take off even vertically, without a run-up. Partridge nests are located on the ground and rodents, such as ferrets, for example, sometimes do not hesitate to feast on their chicks.

Oriole- one of the most beautiful birds and one of the best songbirds of our forests. It should be added that, by eating many harmful insects, the oriole brings us great benefit. Of course, you want to know who is yelling so disgustingly? It’s hard to believe, but both beautiful and unpleasant sounds are made by the same bird. It is not for nothing that the oriole is called the forest flute and the forest cat.

Terns-The length of the bird is 36-43 cm, the wingspan is 74-84 cm. It is white in color, with a black cap and a gray mantilla, the tail is forked, heavily carved. In spring and summer the beak turns red. The legs are short, which is why he walks waddling. It nests in colonies in rocks or on beaches. Monogamous, pairs form for life. They fly 10-12 m from the surface of the water, hunting fish, crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and earthworms. They may also eat berries at nesting sites.

Reed chicken - Moorhen somewhat lessteal ; has a body that is strongly flattened laterally, and long legs with well-developed toes, it swims well and can dive. In search of food, it leaves the reed beds and remains for a long time on open reaches. While swimming, it tilts its head in time with the movement of its legs and every now and then twitches its short, raised tail. Fromcoots It is well distinguished by its relatively small size and bright (with a predominance of red) beak (in adult individuals), and its dark, almost black color and size distinguish it from other related species.

Kingfisher- a small bird the size of a sparrow. The kingfisher has motley plumage and a sharp long beak adapted for catching fish. This bird settles exclusively near bodies of water, because it feeds on the gifts of water - small fish no longer than six centimeters

There are many explanations for the origin of this word. Many people believe that the bird was named this way because it nests, that is, it is “born” in winter, but this is not at all true - kingfishers hatch their chicks in the second half of spring.
Their name has nothing to do with winter at all - it is a corruption of "shrew" or "shrewfish". Kingfishers choose steep banks for nesting and dig a hole in the vertical wall in which they hatch their chicks. That is, birds are actually born in the ground, which is why they got their name.

Night heron has a short neck compared to other herons and a short, but strong and powerful beak. The legs are also shorter than those of other herons. The male in breeding plumage has a black cap with a greenish tint and a back of the same color. The wings are gray. The belly and sides are white. In the spring, 2-4 long narrow white feathers grow on the back of the head. The beak is black, the legs are yellow or pinkish with long toes. The female has a similar color. Young birds are dark brown with longitudinal streaks. Downy chicks are white.

Cuckoo- a migratory bird; for the winter it migrates to tropical Africa. But an interesting thing: most birds make their flights in flocks, but no one has seen flocks of cuckoos. In the fall they disappear imperceptibly, the older generation earlier, the younger generation later. They usually fly at night and, most likely, alone. Cuckoos feed on various insects, which they eat in large quantities almost all day long. Cuckoos benefit greatly by eating furry caterpillars coated in poison. Other birds ignore such treats. If there are more cuckoos than usual in any forest area, this is a sure sign that a particularly dangerous infestation of caterpillars is occurring in this area. Eyewitnesses saw some of the cuckoos devour up to a dozen caterpillars per minute! So for the forest, the cuckoo is a very useful bird, because by destroying millions of pests over the summer, it completely atones for its “guilt” of killing innocent chicks of other species.

Martin is a small bird that flies to us in late spring - early summer from distant Africa, Hindustan and Indochina, as well as the Malay Islands. The bird is widespread in Europe, Asia, Sakhalin, the Japanese and Kuril Islands. The swallow is distinguished from other birds by its black silk tailcoat, white breast and sharp forked tail. This is an agile, graceful bird, constantly soaring in the air, capable of drinking on the fly and even dipping into the water for a moment. The swallow nests in the valleys of mountain rivers, where it settles in rocky caves and rock crevices, less often in burrows. Most swallows, adapted to life in cities and large villages, settle under balconies and roofs of buildings. The nest of this bird is a neat spherical structure made of straw, clay and earth. After building a nest, the happy young couple will soon have chicks whose main food is insects. It is at the moment of their appearance that adult swallows fly to us. With the advent of the first cold weather, swallows will fly away to distant shores.

Chiffchaff- singer of endless forests stretching across a vast expanse of the globe.

It winters mainly in warm regions, off the coast of Africa, and in the southern regions of Asia. The warbler arrives in our region in April.

In appearance, the bird is not particularly remarkable: the back is grayish-brown, the belly is lighter, the legs are dark. The main distinguishing feature of this bird is its singing, the sounds of which resemble drops: “shadow-shadow-shadow.” That's why they called her the chiffchaff, and for her wonderful singing - the warbler.

The Chiffchaff is a characteristic inhabitant of coniferous forests. The warbler places its nest not high from the ground, usually in the thick of spruce paws, on stumps or simply on the ground. Feathers are the main material used for construction. This is a hemispherical building with a side entrance. In a cozy nest, soon, closer to May, the warbler will have its first chicks.

She loves to eat spiders and small caterpillars, and at the end of summer - elderberries. In autumn, warblers with young offspring join flocks of tits and wander with them through forests and gardens. In September, the warbler will begin to prepare to fly away for the winter.

Chizh is a grayish-green bird with a timid character, small, quiet, inconspicuous. No matter how much you try to find a siskin’s nest among the large green paws of a spruce tree, it is in vain, this bird knows how to camouflage itself.

The siskin got its name from the characteristic “siskin” squeak that individual birds in flocks continuously call to each other. The song of the siskin is quite diverse and consists both of its own short “words and blows” and of imitating the singing of other birds, mainly tits.

The construction of the nest is carried out by the female, but the material is supplied exclusively by the male. Siskins spend spring and summer in the coniferous forest, where they have their chicks. The male and female feed them insects and plant seeds softened in the crop.

At the end of summer, siskins migrate to deciduous forests - birch and alder forests; they are attracted here by birch and alder seeds. Siskins' favorite food is alder seeds, which they take from cones, hanging from them on tenacious legs, sometimes even upside down. In winter, the siskin feeds mainly on birch seeds, and in summer, not only on seeds, but also on insects.

The cold and severe frosts will pass, the sun will peek into our windows, these modest peaceful birds will fly in again and make themselves known in early spring.

The siskin is one of the most common songbirds kept at home due to its intelligence and trust in humans. Because of this gullibility, siskins easily fall into all traps. They tolerate captivity quite well, become very tame, learn different tricks and can even bear offspring..

Birds are higher vertebrates that differ from other animals in that they have wings, feathers, and the ability to fly. Feathers play an important role in their life - they perform a protective function, retain heat, and when flying, minimize the friction that occurs upon contact with air masses. Birds' skin does not have any glands and is therefore always very dry. But there is still one gland that secretes fat and it is located under the tail, although it is well developed only in waterfowl. Birds lubricate their plumage with this fat, as a result of which it does not allow water to pass through. There are species of birds that instead of this gland have areas with constantly growing down, usually on the lower back or on the sides. These areas are called “powder fluff” because when this fluff breaks off, it forms a powder that resembles powder. And it is this powder that gives the plumage waterproof properties. These birds include ostriches or bustards. It turns out that birds do not have teeth, but instead have a crop, through which the food is, as it were, ground. They have highly developed hearing and a weak sense of smell.

In the Krasnodar Territory, a bird with an interesting name lives on reservoirs Great Grebe or as it is called differently - the great grebe. The great grebes usually live in thickets near water, and they earned this name because their meat smells very strongly of fish. In general, this is a very beautiful bird - its back, neck and top of its head are dark brown, its cheeks are gray, and on its head there is a beautiful crest of a mixture of black and red feathers. She swims and dives very well, and builds her own nests in the water from reeds and cattails. If a great grebe leaves her nest, then, like a caring mother, she always covers it with aquatic plants to protect it from unexpected guests and the sun's rays. When her chicks appear, she carries them on her back for two whole weeks, sometimes going down to the water. The great grebe feeds on various mollusks and fish.

But not only great grebes live here, there are also little grebes, which are in many ways similar to the great grebe both in lifestyle and in appearance.

Found in these parts and cormorants- very large birds that live on estuaries. This is not an ordinary bird species, as their appearance is quite unusual. The cormorant has a long neck, black shiny plumage and wide wings. He eats about one and a half kilograms of fish per day. Cormorants are excellent swimmers and, like the grebes, excellent divers.

You can also find a bird on the estuaries of the Black Sea coast loaf. It usually lives in willow thickets. The Karavaika is a very beautiful bird, with brown plumage and a peculiar long beak that is curved downwards. These birds eat frogs and tadpoles, and fly to Africa for the winter.

Well, how can we not mention heron... Several species of this bird live here - white, gray, yellow, red, as well as night herons and bitterns, both large and small. Herons are migratory birds; they feed on fish, frogs and small animals.

In these same places you can see mute swan, whose weight can reach up to 13 kilograms, and its wing length is around 70 centimeters. Such swans practically do not make a sound, but simply hiss, hence the funny name. They feed on plant roots and small aquatic invertebrates.

You can often find in this area black kite- This is a predator that is easy to recognize by the way it flies in circles and looks for prey. The kite's tail is long and wide, with a notch in the middle, its head is not large and its wings are quite wide. The kite feeds on carrion, reptiles, small birds and rodents.

Birds live in the steppes and mountains brown or another way buzzard. It is interesting that it builds nests only in the forest, but hunts in large open spaces. It also feeds on rodents, small birds and insects.

Lives in thickets of various plants near water bodies Caucasian pheasant. This important bird does not like to fly, but moves mainly on the ground. This bird builds its nests mainly in impassable thickets of bushes. It feeds on berries, insects, and does not even disdain the Colorado potato beetle.

In the steppe of the Krasnodar region there are gray partridges. These are small birds weighing up to 500 grams that move quickly on the ground, also fly quickly and can even take off vertically, while emitting a strong chirping sound. Partridges make nests only on the ground.

In the reservoirs of the Kuban there lives a bird called coot, weighing about 800 grams, has a black color and a gray belly. This bird has a white spot on its forehead. Coots behave very interestingly on the water - they swim slowly, shaking their heads and twitching their tails to the beat. It turns out to be a kind of duck dance. They can run on water, using their wings to help them do so. Coots are migratory birds. In the fall, they begin to fatten and are hunted.

In the meadows and swamps you can see lapwings, they arrive in Kuban in March and fly away in December. Lapwings are not much larger than pigeons, they weigh about 200 grams. The upper part of their body is dark, the bottom is white, the head is black with a green tint, and on the head there is a crest that bends towards the top.

Birds also live on lakes and ponds avocet. This is a very beautiful bird, black and white in color, with long legs that have a bluish tint. It feeds on small invertebrates, which it obtains with the help of its long beak.

In forests and ravines you can find eagle owl. This is an interesting large bird, with large round eyes and a red coloration. The eagle owl weighs 3 kilograms, its body is up to 70 centimeters long, but the wingspan of this bird is about two meters. Eagle owls feed on rodents, fly silently and have very sharp eyesight.

In these places there is also long-eared owl. This is not a large bird weighing up to 300 grams. The long-eared owl feeds on rodents. She hunts endlessly, even when she does not need food. Having had enough, she puts the spoils in different places and never uses them again. Interesting, isn't it? Probably cares about others...

In cities they live on rooftops black And yellow-bellied swifts. These are small birds weighing only 50 grams. They build their nests on the roofs of buildings, as well as in rock crevices. Swifts feed only on insects.

Common in forests, city parks, groves and alleys spotted woodpecker. On his head he has a peculiar black cap with a red spot on the back of his head, white cheeks, and black stripes under his eyes. The woodpecker's belly is white with a pink tint. This bird builds nests exclusively in tree hollows, most often in old aspen trees. It feeds on insect larvae, which it hollows out with its own beak, and it takes them out with its sticky tongue. The knocking sound of a woodpecker can be heard throughout the entire area.