Cinnamon nodule: description and reproduction

Гаичка буроголовая - the bird from family синицевых. In Russia it is also known as "puhljak" because of its way to fluff up feathers in extremely cold weather. Inhabits the coniferous forests of Asia and Europe. Unlike other types of tits, he prefers to settle in remote places, but often displays curiosity towards a person.

Cinnamon bunny: description of appearance

The bird has a small dense body, up to 14 cm in length and with a mass of 9-14 g, a short neck and plumage is grayish-brown in color. The top of the satisfied large head and the back of the head is a matte black shade. Most of the back, medium and small wings, shoulders, nadhvoste and loins have a brownish-gray color. Cheeks are white-gray. On the sides of the neck there is a buffy hue. On the front of the throat there is a so-called shirt-front - a large black spot. The beak has a dark brown color. Bottom of the bird is dirty-white with a slight ohrist shade on the sides, legs and paws are dark gray.

A brown-haired nut in the field can easily be mistaken for a blackhead. The difference between them is that Puhlak has a matte, not a brilliantly black cap and a grayish longitudinal strip on the secondary wing wings. The most striking feature of these birds is their singing.

Habitat

Cucumber nestle is found in forest zones of Eurasia, starting from the east of Great Britain and the central regions of France, and ending with the coast of the Pacific Ocean and the Japanese islands. In the north, it lives in areas of arboreal vegetation, as well as Scandinavian and Finnish forest-tundra. In the south it is found in the steppes.

The brown ham is inclined to live in flat coniferous, mountainous and mixed forests, in which pine, larch, spruce grows, as well as river floodplains and wetlands. In Siberia, he settles in the dark coniferous taiga with sphagnum marshes, willow trees and alder thickets.

In Europe, mainly inhabits the bush vegetation of floodplain forests, on the fringes and groves. In the highlands it occurs at an altitude of 2000 m to 2745 m, for example, on the Tien Shan. Outside the breeding season, the bird tends to rise much higher. For example, in Tibet plump was seen at an altitude of 3960 m above sea level.

Lifestyle

Birds of this species nest in April and May. They lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle in hollows, which are located in stumps and dead trees at a small distance from the earth. The brownhead, like woodpeckers, prefers to hollow out its dwelling in rotten old wood. The depth of the hollows is about 20 cm, and the diameter is 6-8 cm.

Puhljaki are engaged in arrangement of a nest in pairs which find to themselves in the autumn. Males in the first year of life are looking for females in the nearest territory (no more than five kilometers). If they fail to do this, they fly away to distant areas of the forest.

It takes an average of one to two weeks to equip the nest for puffy-wool. For this, birds use twigs, bark of trees, birch bark, wool and feathers. Jacks of chubby are different from other types of houses because they do not carry moss to their house. Titmouse - a brown-haired nut - likes to make caches with plant seeds, but most often it forgets the whereabouts of the treasure.

Food

Puhlyaki feed on various small invertebrates and larvae. Thus, gaichki bring a huge benefit to the forest ecosystem, because they regulate the number of insects. In addition, they eat fruits and seeds of plants.

In summer, the diet of an adult gaichka is divided equally between food of animal and vegetable origin. In winter they feed mainly on juniper, pine and spruce seeds. Nestlings are fed by spiders, butterfly caterpillars with the addition of plant foods. Adults puhlyaki for food use earthworms, bees, weevils, flies, mosquitoes, ants, mites and even snails.

From plant foods in their diet includes such crops as wheat, corn, oats and barley. From berries gaichki prefer cranberries, mountain ash, cranberries, blueberries and cotoneaster. Bird feeders visit very rarely.

Reproduction

This season coincides with the time of arrangement of the nests. Puhljaki find themselves a couple in their first year of life and stay together until one of them dies. The life span of brown-headed gaichoks is no more than nine years.

Courting of males is accompanied by songs and shaking of wings. Before mating, they demonstratively bring the fodder to the females. Before the beginning of the clutch, the birds resume the nest arrangement. Thus, at the beginning of the incubation of the egg, the nuts are covered with a layer of litter. Masonry usually consists of 5-9 white eggs with reddish-brown specks. The incubation continues for a crescent moon. At this time, the male produces food for the mother and protects the nest. Sometimes the female flies out of the dwelling for a short time and feeds herself.

Chicks hatch asynchronously for two to three days. At first they are covered with a rare fluff of brownish-gray color, the beak cavity has a brownish-yellow hue. The female and the male feed the cubs together. On average, they bring prey 250-300 times a day. At night and on cool days, the brownhead is sitting in the hollow at all times, heating up its offspring. The chicks begin to fly a little after 17-20 days after birth, but they are still dependent on their parents, because they are not able to independently procure food. In mid-July, bird families are straying into nomadic flocks, in which, in addition to tits, you can meet pikas, kings and nuthatches.

Singing

The vocal repertoire of a brown-haired gaicha does not have such a variety, as, for example, blackhead. Classify two types of songs: demonstrative (used to attract couples) and territorial (marks the nesting site). The first type consists of a series of measured, soft-sounding whistles "thi ... ti ..." or "thi ... thii ...". The brownhead (photo below) performs this song at the same height or increases the tone from time to time. Puhlyaki sing all the year round, but most often it occurs in the spring and in the second half of summer.

The territorial whistle is much quieter than the demonstrative one and resembles a gurgling trill with a punctuated squeak. It is more often performed by males than females. Also, many ornithologists sing out a "babbling" song. Frequently encountered desires include typical high-pitched "chi-chi" sounds, which are almost always heard by the jingling and coarser "jae ... jae ...".