Which birds arrive first in spring. Which birds arrive first in spring? Puberty and reproduction

Russia-country famous for its long winter, which can sometimes last until the end of March. Year after year, people look forward to the arrival of spring, because this time of the year is an excellent time to start new achievements. The arrival of spring has long been symbolized by the first birds arriving from the warm regions. In Russia, there are approximately 59 species of birds that fly from the places where they nest to the wintering grounds and back.

Starlings
The first arriving bird, which appears already in March, is the starling. The people say: "The starlings have arrived, so spring has come!"
The common starling is a small bird reaching a length of no more than 20 cm, but having a wingspan twice as large. An interesting feature This bird has a long, slightly curved and sharp black beak that changes color to yellow during the breeding season.
The plumage of birds is dark black in both males and females. In winter, starlings have white spots on the breast, wings and head, and in the spring, after seasonal molting, the bird becomes brown in color. The singing of the common starling may include squeaks, whistles and rattles, and the starling is also able to imitate the singing of other birds.

Rooks
Almost simultaneously with starlings, rooks arrive in early March. There is a sign: “The rooks have arrived, which means that in a month the snow will come down.” and as a rule it always happens.
Rook is a bird of the genus of crows that lives in Eurasia. In the southern part of the range, this bird species is sedentary, in the northern part it is migratory. The male reaches a length of 45 to 47 cm, in young birds the beak is surrounded by feathers, in adult males there are no more feathers.
Rooks nest in trees in large columns. In winter, rooks try to keep together with birds of their own kind. (Photo 2)

finches
By the end of March, finches begin to arrive. They say about them: "The finch flew in, brought spring on its tail."
The finch is a songbird of the finch family. On average, these birds live only 1.5 years and are very small in size, reaching no more than 15 cm in length. The plumage of the male is bright, and the closer to spring, the brighter: brown-red breast, brownish-green back, bluish gray head, large white spots on the wings. In the female, the color of the female is duller.
The finch lives in deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as artificial plantations. Chaffinch nests in forests, gardens and parks. Prefers sparse spruce forests and areas of mixed forests, as well as pine forests, especially if there are groups of deciduous trees and shrubs nearby. Avoids deaf overgrown places, as it often descends to the ground for food.

Thrushes
A little later, around mid-April, thrushes arrive. There is a sign among the people that says: "The thrushes have arrived, the frosts have disappeared." Thrushes are birds of the thrush family of the passerine order. They reach 25 cm, move on the ground exclusively in jumps. They migrate south for the winter in large flocks. They nest singly or in small columns. The birds are easily recognizable by their gray back and yellow breast.

nightingales
Nightingales return in the first half of May. There is a sign: "The nightingales sang, so spring has blossomed."

Distributed in Europe and western Asia, they belong to the thrush family. They reach 17 cm in size, have a brown color with a reddish tail, they prefer to make nests closer to the ground, usually in small shrubs. The nightingale winters in Africa. The nightingale is famous for its wonderful singing, polyphonic with many different sounds. In May, the nightingale sings all day, but his songs are especially beautiful from the dawn until the morning. Thanks to such wonderful trills of this bird, Nightingale Day was celebrated on May 15, and it was from that day that it was believed that spring was filled with warmth and sunny weather. After the arrival of the nightingale, you can really consider that spring has come!

Daria Trubitsina

What birds come to us first in spring about which birds it can be said that they are harbingers of spring.

There is an opinion that the very first birds in spring always arrive those birds that flew away last. And, conversely, the last to arrive are the birds that flew away first.

Based on this “schedule of arrival and departure of birds”, you can make a list of the first heralds of spring, the birds that fly to us first in the spring.

Rook in the spring, flew in and importantly walks ...

There is also a lapwing bird, which, depending on the region and its latitude, can arrive even in late February - early March.

Then, in spring, wagtails, gulls, magpies, redstarts, thrushes, and cranes arrive.

Buntings arrive, ducks and geese occupy lakes and rivers, nightingales fill the forests.

Swallows, swifts, and of course cuckoos are returning.

It should not be forgotten that nature influences the spring arrival of birds. Those birds that winter not so far are the first to react to the arrival of early spring.

Everything in nature makes sense! As soon as the ice on the rivers begins to melt, ducks and geese immediately arrive. Indeed, it would be foolish for them to arrive first, and the reservoir is still in the ice for them, not ready.

Ducks return to the water in spring

Heralds of spring, birds - signs

Birds have always been messengers of spring. Among the people there are many signs and superstitions, holidays associated with the arrival of birds.

If you see a starling, then spring is on the porch

The lark flies towards the heat

Goose calls spring

Arrival of swallows in spring, to imminent thunderstorms

The wagtail is small, and breaks the ice with its tail

Here they are - the first spring birds that fly to us, bring us spring, warmth and joy on their wings.

We will be grateful to them for this!

Almost every inhabitant of Russia at least once in his life met a small, sparrow-like bird - a finch. Despite the resemblance to a sparrow, it will not be difficult to distinguish between these two representatives of the sparrow order. Finches are distinguished by a brighter color, especially males. They can brag to their motley counterparts with a red chest, a blue head and a brown back with a green tint.

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

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

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

In autumn, the molting period begins in birds and the new plumage of males becomes as faded as that of females. Then the colors acquire saturation and during the mating season become brighter and more provocative.

The color of the beak of finches changes depending on the time of year.. In winter, it acquires a brown hue, and in spring and summer it becomes bluish.

The color of females does not surprise with a riot of colors. Their plumage is painted in more faded colors. This is necessary in order to make the bird less visible to predators. Especially this color helps during the period of incubation of eggs. The female merges with the surrounding landscape and does not attract the attention of unwanted persons. The female finches have brown feathers on the back, the breast is colored in the same way as in males. In general, their color is made in a more restrained tone and has a dark green tint.

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

Habitat of the common finch

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

migratory season

Although finches are considered migratory birds, some flocks prefer to stay at home and do well in cold winter climates. The rest of the birds at the end of summer begin to stray into groups of fifty to one hundred individuals and in September fly away to Central Europe, Asia, Crimea and Kazakhstan. There they wait out the harsh Russian winter and return to their homeland in the spring.

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

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

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

Ornithologists divide finches into:

• Settled.
• Nomads.
• Migratory.

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

Lifestyle and character

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

The songs of the finches consist of three-second tunes. Between them, the bird makes small pauses. Young individuals are distinguished by ease of execution, but gradually learn from more mature individuals, gain experience and improve their skills.

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

With the help of finches can predict the weather. Experts have identified a pattern - if a bird sings a song that resembles the sounds of "ryu-ryu", then it will rain in the near future. Finches begin to sing immediately after returning from wintering, and end in July.

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

IN Lately many songbird lovers seek to acquire a finch. But these creatures not intended for home use. Finches are wild birds, they feel very uncomfortable in a cage, experience stress and do not stop trying to get out. In such cramped conditions, finches can develop eye problems or obesity. Yes, and picking up food for such birds is quite problematic.

diet

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

The diet includes:

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

Often workers Agriculture finches are blamed for spoiling crops, but these birds can be safely called helpers. They destroy weed seeds in large quantities, which are of great benefit to fields with cultivated plantings and forest areas.

reproduction

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

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

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

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

All these actions are accompanied by a quiet squeak, like "zi-zi". Birds can get acquainted in this way directly on the ground or on tree branches.

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

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

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

All materials are fastened together with cobwebs.

The walls of the nest are very strong, their thickness can reach two and a half centimeters. The outer part of the dwelling, the birds trim with moss and tree bark. Inside the nest there is a perinka, consisting of fluff, feathers and hairs of animals. This creates a warm and well-camouflaged shelter.

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

At first, the babies are absolutely helpless, and the parents independently get food for them and put the chicks right into their beaks. At this time, in no case should you approach the nests of these birds, as they can fly away and never return. In this case, the chicks are doomed to starvation or death from predators.

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

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

The finch is the most numerous of the songbirds living in Europe. As ornithologists sometimes joke, this is what scientists who study the habits of birds call - there are more finches in Europe than the population of Europe itself, and more seriously, the number of finches is from 80 to one hundred million pairs. At the same time, it is interesting that finches in the wild do not live more than two years, although in captivity the life expectancy of a chaffinch of 10 years is not the limit.

Of all the species of songbirds, the chaffinch is the most studied by scientists, this is evidenced by at least the fact that they counted more than 450 varieties of chaffinch and identified more than 10 “conversational” signals in the song of the chaffinch, with the help of which birds communicate with each other.

Among them are signals of courtship, begging and warning to an intruder. The finch's song is usually short, up to 3 seconds, and more like a dialogue. The female finch is less sociable than the male, sings less often, her song is not very diverse.

Chaffinch bird photo and description

What does a finch bird look like easy to remember from the photo. Let's try to describe the finch in words. First of all, size, a finch is no larger than a sparrow. By the color of the plumage of the male finch, it is easy to distinguish from the female. As with other songbirds, the coloration of the female is duller.

The male finch as in this photo the back is brown with a green tint, the goiter, wings, tail and chest are brown with redness, the head is bluish-gray, white spots or stripes on the wings.

The favorite habitats of the finch bird are not dense mixed forests, forest belts, parks and gardens. The chaffinch avoids deaf places, but it can often be found near human habitation, in the garden, and also in bushes along rivers and lakes. Apparently, this way of living is associated with the extraction of food.

The chaffinch feeds on seeds of trees, grasses, grain, does not disdain green leaves of plants, and in the summer it cleans gardens and kitchen gardens from insect pests with which it feeds chicks.

Is the finch a migratory bird?

Finch migrant or not is a rhetorical question. It all depends on the area where he lives. In central Europe and the Caucasus, it stays for the winter; from Europe, the chaffinch flies to winter in the Mediterranean. From us to the Caucasus and to the south of Kazakhstan from the Urals and Siberia to Central Asia.

Birds return from wintering in early April, and by early June, chicks are already growing up in the finches family and flying out of their nests. The second replenishment in the family of finches usually appears in July, and from the end of September the departure of birds for wintering begins.

Look very impressive bird finch in winter against the backdrop of snow-covered trees, it would seem that they do not need support, but this is a misleading opinion. Like any other bird, it is difficult for a finch to find food and a person must help him in this.

Keeping a finch at home.

Finch at home a desirable bird, since ancient times in Russia, the chaffinch was considered a talisman of the hearth and family happiness, but problematic. The finch bird does not tolerate closed spaces at all, even in nature, unlike, for example, from a nightingale or a siskin, it does not live in thickets. At the same time, the finch is extremely pugnacious by nature, 2 males never get along in the same cage.

Being planted in a cage, the finch beats against its bars so hard, trying to free itself, that it breaks into blood. That's why only keep finches outside in a free enclosure and preferably built around a living tree.

Of course, you can try to keep one finch at home in a spacious cage, just cover the cage with a cloth first, it will calm the bird and it will stop beating.

Growing a finch at home it is still possible and brings a lot of pleasure to the owners. In terms of the beauty of singing, finches are close to, although, for example, I like it more in terms of the beauty of singing. Special singing tournaments with prizes are often held among finches.

Chaffinch bird - 12 photos + video "How the chaffinch sings"

For the little ones - Georgian fairy tale king and finch.

The finch (lat. Fringílla coelebs) is a beautiful songbird belonging to a fairly large family of finches and the order Passerines. One of the many songbirds of Europe has become very widespread in Asia and Mongolia, as well as in some places in North Africa.

Description of highlights

Finch is a Russian folk, almost ubiquitous name for a bird.. The female of this species is usually called a chaffinch or chaffinch. Also, the chaffinch is known as the siveruha and the bramble, the chill and the cast iron, the chaffinch or the snigirik.

Appearance

The size of an adult chaffinch is similar to the parameters of passerine representatives, therefore the maximum body length does not exceed 14.5 cm, with an average wingspan of 24.5-28.5 cm. The weight of an adult is within 15-40 g. The beak is quite long and sharp . The tail part is sharply notched, no more than 68-71 cm long. The plumage is dense and soft, with a very characteristic bright coloration.

Adult males have a bluish-gray head and neck, a black forehead, and a brownish-chestnut back with a grayish tint. The loin area is greenish-yellowish in color, with long grayish feathers in the rump. The lesser and middle wing coverts are white, while the greater wing coverts are black with a white tip.

This is interesting! With the onset of the mating season, the beak of the male finch acquires a very original bluish coloration with a darker top, and in winter it has a brown-pink color.

The flight wings are brown, with a white border on the outer webs. The entire lower part of the finch's body is distinguished by a pale wine-brownish-red color. Females of such representatives of the finches family have a brownish-gray plumage below and brownish feathers in the upper part. The youngest individuals are characterized by a pronounced external resemblance to females. The iris of the female is brown, and the beak has a typical horn color throughout the year.

Lifestyle and behavior

In the spring, the arrival of finches to the territory of the northern regions is observed starting from the second decade of April, and the birds return to the central part of our country around the second half of March. The southern regions resound with the voices of the arrived finches already at the end of winter or in the first decade of March.

In autumn, finches go for wintering also non-simultaneously - from early September to mid-October. The departure of finches is carried out by fairly large flocks, often consisting of several hundred individuals. During the flight, a large flock is able to linger for feeding on the way through the territories, including the regions of the North Caucasus.

This is interesting! Finches are represented by a large number of subspecies that differ in size, as well as beak length, plumage color, and some behavioral features.

In the southern part of the range, finches belong to the category of sedentary, nomadic and wintering birds, and individuals living in the middle and northern parts are nesting and migratory representatives of the Passerine order. The southern borders of the range are inhabited by partially nesting and migratory, partially settled, wintering in the range and often nomadic finches.

How long do finches live

In conditions wildlife finches live an average of a couple of years, which is due to the peculiarities negative impact many unfavorable external factors. In captivity, the officially recorded average life expectancy of this unpretentious member of the finches family is ten to twelve years.

Range, habitats

The usual distribution range for finches is represented by:

• Europe;
• northwest Africa;
• western parts of Asia;
• part of Sweden and Norway;
• some sites in Finland;
• British, Azores and Canary Islands;
• Madeira and Morocco;
• Algeria and Tunisia;
• the territory of Asia Minor;
• Syria and northern Iran;
• part of the post-Soviet space.

A small number of individuals go for wintering to the north-eastern shores of the Caspian Sea with a flight to Iceland, the British or Faroe Islands. Habitats typical for the chaffinch are very diverse. The main condition for this type of birds is the presence of all kinds of woody vegetation on the territory.

As a rule, finches settle in cultivated tree landscapes, represented by gardens, park areas and boulevards, as well as in light oak forests, birch, willow and pine groves. Very often, representatives of the family of finches and the genus Finches can be found on deciduous and coniferous edges, in areas of floodplain and sparse forest zones, as well as in island-type forests on the territory of the steppe zone.

This is interesting! For one of the most numerous birds in our country, it is characteristic to live in forests and park areas of any type, often directly near a human dwelling.

Flash ration

In the diet of representatives of the family of finches and the genus Finches, all kinds of insects occupy the predominant positions. Based on numerous studies of the gastric contents of finches, it was possible to conclude that such birds also use weed seeds, various fruits and berries for food purposes.

Food of animal origin predominates in the diet of such birds from mid-spring to the last summer month. Basically, finches feed on small beetles, actively destroying weevils, which are very dangerous pests of forestry.

natural enemies

Despite the fact that in their natural habitat, finches are quite unpretentious and very hardy birds, they are extremely Negative influence the number of birds is influenced not only by the weather and climatic features of the range, but also by the so-called disturbance factors during the nesting period. Such factors include, magpies, gray owl, and sparrowhawks. There are known cases of great spotted woodpecker attacks on the nests of finches.

Reproduction and offspring

From wintering, finches return to the nesting place as part of "same-sex" flocks.. Males arrive, as a rule, somewhat earlier than females. The main signs of the beginning of the mating period are the peculiar cries of males, which are a bit like the squeaky chirping of chicks, alternating with loud singing.

Mating is accompanied by the flight of males from one place to another, singing and frequent fights. Representatives of the order Passeriformes do not have real display. The direct mating process is carried out on the ground or thick tree branches.

This is interesting! Nest building begins about four weeks after arrival. In a significant part of the range, finches manage to complete a couple of summer clutches.

The nest is built exclusively by females, but it is the males who deliver all the necessary material to the construction site, which can be represented by thin twigs and twigs, roots and stems. The shape of the finished nest is most often spherical, with a cut top. Its walls from the outside are necessarily lined with pieces of moss or lichen, as well as birch bark, which serves as a very successful masking of the nest.

A full clutch usually consists of 4-7 pale bluish-green or reddish-green eggs with deep and diffuse, large pinkish-purple spots. The female is engaged in incubation, and in a little less than a couple of weeks, small chicks are born.. Both parents feed the offspring, using for this purpose mainly various sedentary invertebrates, represented by spiders, sawfly larvae, and butterfly caterpillars. Under the protection of the parental roof, the chicks stay for fourteen days, after which the female begins to actively prepare for the second clutch, but already in another, newly built nest.