Shrike: Gray bird life, habitats, interesting facts

The ordinary gray shrike has a reputation as a hermit, because it is very rare to meet with him. To notice this bird, patience and observation are necessary. But since the bird avoids neighborhood with a person, you can see it only on forest edges, outskirts of bogs, on tops of bushes and tall trees. If you hear a song that resembles a magpie's voice, then perhaps it's a gray shrike.

The Red Book was replenished with this rare bird, as the species size is very small. She received the third category. To preserve this subspecies, careful treatment of forest marshes and old forests is required.

Description of the Shrike

This species of birds refers to large birds. The body size is on average 26 cm. The weight of the bird is about 70 grams. The color of the shroud is light, its back is of an ash-gray hue, and the abdomen is white. On the breast is a picture. The stepped elongated tail and wings are black. On the edge of the tail feathers there is a white fringe. Also, a light transverse band passes along the wings. The head is also decorated with stripes - a black "mask" stretches from the beak through the eyes. Since this bird is a predator, it was "rewarded" with a hooked beak. Female and male in color do not differ. You can see the difference in their sizes, the "boys" are a little bigger.

When the shrike gray sits on a branch, its tail goes down or protrudes. The flight of this bird is undulating.

Habitat

Despite the fact that the number of these birds is small, their habitat is very wide. The shrike gray in small quantities populates the whole of Europe, a significant territory of Russia, North Africa. In addition, the bird settles in parts of South Asia up to the eastern line of India. Also this bird, penetrating through Chukotka, stops near the forests of the USA and Canada.

This species prefers to live in open areas. But, in spite of this, the shrike explores the mountainous areas, taiga and tundra. It can be noted that closer to the south this bird is nomadic, and representatives of the northern zones fly for wintering.

Voice of a bird

The gray shrike produces sounds that look like magpie songs. His voice is rude. The song is not melodic, it consists of creaking, low-pitched whistling sounds or a buzzing trill. But in his repertoire there may be sounds heard by other birds. With age, males accumulate a repertoire, and their songs become more artistic and diverse.

Also, through the sounds of the shrouds, information is transmitted. For example, in case of danger, they issue a frequent "check-check-check". Singular singing, they differ in the mating season.

Food

Shrike the gray is a bold predator, so feeds on what it catches. The diet can include large insects, such as locusts, large beetles, dragonflies and others. But the bird also hunts for small vertebrates, since there are very few insects in the northern regions. The shrike willingly catches lizards and small amphibians. In addition, he likes rodents, such as voles, shrews, mice, moles and eats small birds (sparrows, warblers, tits).

After the prey is caught, the shrouds immediately eat it. The bird does not store stocks, although if there is an abundance of food, it can dry the victim by hanging the acacia on the needle and the vertebral column leaving the branches in the forks. But it is worth noting that not all gray shrouds are inclined to this behavior.

Nesting of birds

Because the gray shrike is a large bird, its nest is also large. Usually such a dwelling is built only by a female. Males participate in this very rarely. To build a nest, select the appropriate branch. Often this is a thick process of a bush or tree. Also, the house can be attached to the trunk itself. The nest is not high, from 1 to 2.5 meters. It is two-layered. The outer side is woven from thin branches from bushes and trees, and dry grass blades are also woven here. A characteristic feature of the nest of the shrike are parts of branches with green leaves.

The inside is made of a material softer. So the tray is covered with wool, thin grass and a lot of feathers, although in some nests they may not be.

Young

Nesting period differs in different regions. This may be April or May, and in the northern parts of the range this is June. Laying of the shrike consists of 4-6 eggs with a white-green hue and brown spots. Nasizhivaet offspring predominantly female, but the father only occasionally replaces the mother.

The shrike gray remains on the masonry for up to 15 days. In these two weeks the male does not fly far from the family. Both parents are feeding the hatched offspring. Young male and female take care of about 20 days. By this time, the chicks are ready to fly. But it is interesting that sometimes even before the kids learn to fly well, they are already flying off the nest. Prior to departure, parents take care of the offspring. To feed their chicks the couple can still for a long time.

In the diet of young animals are orthopterans and beetles, and in rare cases they are given caterpillars and larvae.

Additional details and interesting facts about the gray shrouds

Shrike is a cunning bird with a sarcastic character. So, he likes to tease small falcons and hawks. Noticing the enemy, the cunning man climbs up to the top of the pine tree and begins to sing carelessly. The predator notices him and rushes to attack, but the shrike deftly hides in dense thickets.

This bird manages to drive out any birds that are larger than its size. It's curious how the shrike does it. To do this, he deliberately spoils the hunt for all predators, birds and ordinary animals. He warns the victim with a sound that the hunter is hiding to her, and so remains on its territory sole owner.