What kind of birds fly to the warm edges? Seasonal migration of birds. Causes of migration

For a long time, the first sign of the coming autumncold was considered a truly beautiful sight, when the birds, gathered in packs, flew away to warm lands. Why are they leaving us? And why, with the onset of warm spring days, they surely come back?

Migratory birds

Birds are warm-blooded creatures. Their body temperature is forty-one degrees. Thanks to this, they would feel great on frosty days. So why fly off migratory birds? The birds can not remain wintering because, in cold seasons, it is practically impossible for them to obtain food. Some fly away because of the cold. They migrate to warmer lands to save most of the individuals.

To migratory birds, that is, those who are in winterleaves our locality and flies to the south, includes many species of birds. Among them, a chibis and a swallow, a wagtail and finch, a robin and a singing thrush, an Oriole and a redstart, a forest horse and a lark, and also a chiffchaff fur.

When and how birds fly away

At a time when the birds are leaving our lands, the weather can influence. However, as a rule, this happens at the same time. Autumn departure begins only when young birds become stronger.

Most birds gather in flocks. But there are some who fly in groups. Some species fly away singly.

Beautiful cranes in the sky are lined with cranes. But crows are usually placed in a chain. There are such species of birds, in which males fly away later than females. Some young birds leave their habitat at once. Earlier individuals follow after a while.

The feathers try to move during the day, and at night to rest. In some species, the time of flight is night.

Settling birds

Leave the habitable area not all representativesfeathered world. Some stay to winter and please us with their songs frosty days. They live in their homeland the whole year, so they are called sedentary. The wood grouse does not leave its places. He eats pine needles and therefore in the winter he does not have to look for food. Berries of juniper eat grouse and black grouse. They, too, are not going anywhere in the fall. But the jay is a migratory bird or not? This species of birds refers to the sedentary. The jay eats vegetative and animal food. She loves acorns. With its beak, the bird easily splits the shell of these oak fruits. In autumn, jays harvest acorns in huge quantities. One bird, according to some reports, makes stocks weighing up to four kilograms.

To the settled are also woodpeckers and titmouses. But in the winter, the crest even breeds the chicks. At the same time he eats the seeds of spruce.

Nomadic birds

There are such species of birds that migrate toanother place if for them for some reason in their native country unfavorable conditions have developed. These are, as a rule, birds that live in the highlands. With the onset of severe cold, they migrate to the valley.

Birds are amazing creatures. In some places they can live as sedentary, while in others they can be migratory.

Why fly birds

Our lands are the first to leave the cuckoo. Behind them - swallows, and a little later - Swifts. From the end of August to September, several species change the climate to warmer.

What are the causes of bird migration? Fly birds with the onset of cold weather. However, the main reason for their migration lies not in the season change. The decisive factor is the lack of food. So, the cuckoo eats up to a hundred caterpillars per hour, and during the cold the insects disappear. Most of them die, leaving a large supply of eggs, from which the offspring will appear in the spring. Some insects hide in secluded warm places.

The stork feeds on small fishes in summer andfrogs. In winter, he is unable to get his food, which is under the crust of ice covering the reservoirs. Birds that can not get their own food, fly to the south. They have no problems with food there.

Annual feather cycle

Life of birds, as well as other animals, on a larger territory of our planet takes place in a changing season. Exceptions are only those areas where tropical forests are located.

The annual cycle of birds consists of four main stages. The first of these is the breeding season. Then there is molting, seasonal bird migration. The last stage is wintering.

With regard to seasonal migrations, they have a featheredare not a continuous period. Flights are spring and autumn. At the same time, they are separated from each other by the wintering stage. Spring migration of birds can be considered as a phenomenon, which is partly associated with the preparation for the stage of reproduction. Autumn travel is the search for food to preserve the species.

Migration Paths

Where do birds fly in the fall? This question was answered in detail by ornithologists. Ringing the migratory specimens, they established wintering habitats of various species. What kind of birds fly to the warm edges? The suitability of an area for wintering determines, of course, its ecological situation. However, not always birds fly to places that are located near their nesting and have favorable conditions. To a greater extent, competition with other populations of a similar species plays a role here, which tend to occupy areas most suitable for wintering. Thus, birds that flew from regions north of the city may be located in more southerly latitudes.

From Europe, birds can fly not only in the southerndirection. They arrange wintering in the west. Many northern European and Central European birds are sheltered by England. This country has feathers favorable climatic conditions, which are characterized by small snowfalls and mild winters. In England, in the autumn, fly away chibis and sparrows, woodcocks and other birds. However, more birds attract the Mediterranean and south-western regions of Europe.

Wintering places

What kind of birds fly to the warm edges? A large flock of birds is observed in the winter in the Nile Valley. Some Arctic and Siberian birds fly to African wintering grounds. Their numerous flocks are also located in the southern regions of China, in India, on the islands of the Indo-Australian archipelago. Quail and waterfowl are arriving in the Northern regions of Africa and in Western Europe. The path of some species of birds to the wintering areas is very far. So, the Icelandic sandpipers and the East Siberian windbreakers reach the shores of New Zealand.

Reply to the question of where birds are flying towinter, the research of ornithologists helps. So, ringing the birds, they established that our thrushes and starlings are resting in the south of France and in Portugal. They are based in Spain and Italy. Ducks and cranes like to travel to the banks of the Nile. Hoopoes and nightingales hibernate in the African savannah.

Some species of waterfowl do not leaveterritory of Russia. In cold seasons, they settle in the reserves located in the Southern Caspian. Cry ducks can be found in the winter in Transcaucasia. They rest on the Azov and Black seas.

In what warm lands fly the birds living onnorth of the American continent? Here, their migration due to the influence of the Gulf Stream is only in the southern direction. Thus, polar terns, who live in the north of America, settle for wintering in the south of the continent. Sometimes these birds migrate to African countries. They also get to the Antarctic.

What are the places for wintering birds choose?

As a rule, birds are located whereThe habitat is similar to the one in which they live in their homeland. If birds choose forests for their nesting, then they will look for such zones in areas with a warm climate. Feathered, living in steppes, meadows or fields, will seek for the settlement habitual for themselves conditions. This will find the usual food for them. Thus, birds fly away to those regions where living conditions in which they differ little from the habitual ones.

They find the way to wintering places thanks toa perfectly developed navigation system. For some birds, large landmarks are mountains, seashores and so on. There are species that calmly cross the waters of the ocean that are not different in variety.

Those species of birds that fly during the day are guided by the sun. Those birds that travel in the dark rely solely on their own navigation system.

Winter colds will recede, and the birds that have flown to the warm regions will return home. They will be aware of the coming of spring with furious trills and will prepare for the next stage of their lives.

Now you know what kind of birds birds fly to. Good luck to you in further study of birds!