How finches breed offspring green pages. Common finch - what it looks like, features of a bird

Starting from the end of February and almost until the end of summer in the world wildlife an annual recurring cycle of reproduction occurs. It ends with the breeding of offspring. In some species, one pair is formed for life, others annually look for a new breeding partner, and others are "polywives". There is also "polyandry" in the animal kingdom.

Crossbills and crows are the first in the bird caste to start breeding chicks. The sun, which has turned by spring, begins to heat the cones more strongly, from which the scales open up on their own, and it becomes much easier for the crossbills to get a large amount of food for themselves and the offspring that have appeared.

And with the advent of thawed patches, it is also easier for crows to find animals that died in winter and have now thawed out from under the snow. The female sits on the clutch all the time. It is still winter outside, and the male, having had enough of carrion, picks up a full beak of food and carries it to his girlfriend.

In the second, the cubs, having appeared naked and helpless, are in the nest until the very departure (tits, flycatchers, thrushes, chiffchaffs, robins, woodpeckers, shrikes, chakans, wagtails, etc.).

After all, a little more than a month passes from the laying of the first egg to the departure of the chicks. True, from a week to 30-50 days, adult birds have to feed fledgling chicks until they learn to get their own food on their own.

And there is so much food around that species such as thrushes, flycatchers, goldfinches, sparrows, tits, warblers and other small birds start building a new nest for the second clutch, and sometimes the third.

During the courtship of the female, the male often brings her food, and this is a confirmation for her that the future father knows how to get food and feed the chicks.

With the onset of incubation, nesting spots appear in birds - such a piece of bare skin due to feathers falling out or plucking them with a beak on the ventral side, due to which body heat is effectively transferred to the eggs. Periodically, the bird turns them over for more uniform heating. After the due date (depending on the species, incubation lasts from 12 to 32 days), the chick punches a hole in the shell with a special keratinized egg tooth, which subsequently disappears. Parents immediately carry the released shell away from the nest, and some species of waterfowl eat it, returning calcium back to the body.

Waterfowl often incubate rather large broods containing more than ten babies. Often, cubs with their mother go ashore, where they warm themselves under her wings, clinging to a warm body. Their not yet formed feathers (and for now it is children's fluff) are electrified from contact with mother's feathers and get wet much less in water.

Moorhens often produce two broods per season. The female begins to incubate the second clutch when the first feathers just appear in the first brood, but they already know how to get food. The male stays with them and continues to feed them a little, especially those who are stunted. And the chicks that have appeared from the second brood are fed all together.

Chicken birds in the spring hold colorful mating dances or tournaments in the form of currents, effectively demonstrating the color and structure of plumage.

Males do not take part in rearing the brood, with the exception of hazel grouse.

Birds of prey, such as white-tailed eagles, golden eagles, short-toed eagles, spotted eagles, eagle owls, are limited to only one clutch, and even then often containing only one or two eggs. After all, it is not so easy to feed large chicks in large numbers, and they will stay in the nest for up to 2.5 months.

In the event of an unfavorable year for food, some of the chicks, especially in birds of prey, dies, being killed and eaten by his older brothers.

White storks simply throw weakened chicks out of the nest, thus reducing the number of mouths. These are the realities of the survival of species in nature.

In the world of animals, the offspring appears in the new year already in February for bears, then in March for wild boars.

And with the advent of astronomical spring, hares, foxes, wolves bring offspring.

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 on the way to overcome the territories, including the regions of the North Caucasus, for feeding.

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 the wild, finches live an average of a couple of years, which is due to the characteristics of the negative impact of many adverse external factors. In captivity officially registered average duration The life of this unpretentious representative 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 finches family 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 the entire nest to the construction site. necessary material, 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 in another, newly built nest.

Finch- one of the most common forest birds in Europe. This is a rather unpretentious creature to the habitat, which can be found not only in forests. City parks and gardens are the same home for them.

Finch Features and Habitat

finch bird represents the finches family. By description of the finch- a small bird with about , sometimes reaches a length of up to 20 cm, and weighs only about 30 g. However, it differs significantly from other birds in that it has a very bright plumage.

Males, especially in the mating season, look very defiant. Their neck and head are blue or dark blue. The breast, cheeks and throat are dark red or burgundy in color, the forehead and tail are black.

Two stripes of a bright shade located on each wing, and a green tail make the owner's appearance unforgettable. After molting in autumn period the color scheme of the plumage of the bird becomes much more faded and brown tones begin to predominate.

The female finch has a more muted color, gray-green shades predominate in her color. Chicks are teenagers more color scheme females. There are a lot of subspecies of finches, they differ among themselves in size, beak, color and other features. In some areas, they occupy a leading place in terms of number among other small birds.

Finches are considered migratory birds, although some representatives adapt and stay for the winter, in the chosen territory. European part Russia, Siberia, the Caucasus - their summer place of residence.

In September, October, birds gather in groups of about 50 to 100 individuals and go to winter in Central Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, Kazakhstan and Crimea.

Pictured is a female finch

hibernate finch maybe in neighboring, located to the south, regions. Birds fly to the South quickly, about 55 km / h. Along the way, the flock may stop in food-rich regions for several days.

With firm certainty, it can be argued that, depending on the region, finches are sedentary, nomadic and migratory birds. In winter, finches form flocks and live mainly in open areas. As a rule, these are meadows and fields. Finches and sparrows are often members of their flock.

When the finches arrive spring is just beginning and they can be observed in forests, groves, forest plantations and city parks. Favorite habitats are sparse spruce forests, mixed forests and light forests. In more often they do not nest, as they usually look for food on the surface of the earth. Mostly they fly to the places where they were last summer.

The origin of the name of the bird is from the word to freeze, to chill. After all, they arrive at the very beginning of spring and fly away at the beginning of cold weather. There is one old Russian sign that if you hear the song of a finch, it means frost and cold, but it means warmth. It is noteworthy that the Latin name of the feathered has one root with the word cold. Even our ancestors believed that the finch was the herald of spring.

The nature and lifestyle of the finch

common finch flies very fast, and on the surface of the earth prefers not to walk, but to jump. finch songs voiced, loud and highly variable individually, very similar to the trills of a lark, but have their own characteristics.

The duration of the melody is no more than three seconds, after a short pause it is repeated. Youngsters perform simpler melodies, learn from adults and acquire skill and virtuosity with age.

By the way, each region is characterized by an individual "dialect", finch sounds, vary depending on where you live. The feathered repertoire can include up to 10 songs, which she performs in turn.

Before the rain, the birds sing a kind of trill "ryu-ryu-ryu", so that these birds can predict the weather. If the finch sings finch voice can be heard from the moment of arrival until mid-summer. In the autumn period, finches sing less frequently and in a low voice. At home finch singing starts from January.

Now to hear finch voice, many seek to win it at home. However, this is not the most The best decision. The finch does not really like to sing in a cage, he is constantly nervous, trying to free himself, he may start having problems with his eyes and obesity. In addition, it is quite difficult to choose a diet for this bird.

Finch nutrition

The finch feeds on plant food or insects. The peculiarity of the sky of the bird, a strong beak and strong facial muscles make it easy to break both beetle shells and hard seeds.

Basic Diet: Weed seeds and cones, buds and leaves, flowers, berries and all sorts of insects. Even though the workers Agriculture complain that birds destroy the seeds of sown plants, about the chaffinch it is safe to say that it brings significant benefits to fields and forest plantations.

Reproduction and life span of the finch

From warm lands in spring, male and female finches arrive in separate flocks. Males arrive earlier and keep apart from future girlfriends. Then the males begin to sing loudly, these sounds resemble the chirping of chicks. These sounds lure females into their territory.

The mating season for finches begins in March. Before looking for a mate, males occupy nesting sites, which have their own boundaries and different areas.

Often, these are the places where they nested last year. From this territory, competitors of the same species are immediately expelled. Fights between first-year-olds and older males are especially frequent because of the outskirts of the territories of old people.

During the mating season, males chaffinch look like real bullies. They fuss a lot, fight among themselves and sing, often interrupting the song. At this moment, he pulls himself up and the feathers on his head are pressed.

A nearby female flies up to the male, sits down next to him, bends her legs, raises her wings and tail a little, throws her head up and begins to squeak softly “zi-zi-zi”. Such acquaintance can take place both on the ground and in the branches of trees.

A month later, the finches begin building their home. This business is assigned to the female, the care of the male is help. It has been estimated that when building a nest, the female descends to the ground at least 1,300 times in search of suitable materials. finch nest can be found on almost any tree and any height. Most often - about 4 m and in the forks of branches.

In a week, a unique architectural structure is obtained - a bowl with a diameter of up to one meter. It consists of thin twigs, moss, branches, grass and roots. All this is fastened with a web.

Its walls are thick and durable and can reach 25mm. The outer walls are: moss, lichen and birch bark. Inside the nest is lined with various feathers, down and wool are also used. The result is a house that is perfectly camouflaged and hardly noticeable.

Pictured is a finch chick

Clutch contains 3-6 eggs, greenish with red dots. While the female is incubating the chicks, the male brings her food and takes care of her. After about two weeks, babies are born with red skin and dark fluff on the back and head.

They are completely helpless and both parents lovingly feed them directly into their beaks, putting them in. During this period, it is absolutely impossible to disturb. If a person approaches the nest, children or eggs, adult birds may leave it.

In mid-June, the chicks fly out of the nest, but the parents help them for another half a month. The second brood of finches appears in mid-late summer. There are fewer eggs in the second clutch. finch lives not for long, although in captivity its lifespan can reach up to 12 years.

They die mainly due to carelessness, as food is often sought on the ground and can be trampled by people or caught by predators. Among the people, the finch feather is considered a symbol of family happiness and prosperity.