Shrike - ordinary roe. Description, features

Every day, whether it's a city, a village or any other place, we meet dozens of different birds. Some of them we know from the school bench are the ubiquitous fights of sparrows, magpie magpies, gloomily croaking crows, the eye-catching little bunnies, slowly strolling pigeons. But there are some among them, which are difficult to recognize right away, for example, a bird is a rogue.

Who is he - an ordinary rogue?

The appearance of the rogue is quite interesting. The bird itself is relatively small - body length usually does not exceed 20 centimeters. The head is slightly flattened on the sides, but there is practically no neck as such. The bird has an interesting beak - very short, swollen, and its lower reaches are bent down and pointed. The eyes of the crook are very small, more like beads. The wing span with a body weight of thirty grams is about 30 centimeters. The tail, which is the "handle" of the bird in flight, is long enough, narrow, with a straight edge at the end.

The legs of the shark are short, but strong enough in the jerk. The upper body has a pleasant brown color with a reddish tint, the chest and belly are beige-pink. Zhulan represents a group of Passeriformes.

Food

It feeds on a rogue interesting. The main food is insects, but the bird does not disdain the larger fauna. For example, for lunch, grasshoppers, spiders or flies can enter it, as well as lizards, small frogs, mice, voles and even fellow birds. It is also remarkable how the shrimp-roel conducts the process of food intake - the caught prey is not swallowed whole, as do many other species of birds, but is broken into very small pieces. Part of a rogue can dine at once, the other part will go to the reserve. The bird will diligently puncture the pieces of food on the protruding thin knots, the thorns of the plants, and sometimes even the metal mesh. It will be an untouchable stock, which the bird will use when he can not find himself any other food.

Reproduction

In family life, crooks are like swans - they try to keep their pair to the very end.

Reproduction occurs in the spring, in April-May. Zhulan ordinary seldom nests on trees - birds prefer thick bushes. However, if the nest is curled in a tree, then it will be very low. Often there are nests, entwined right on the ground, but more often birds choose safer places. The dwelling of a rogue can be compared to a clay cup - so thick and strong are the walls of the nest. A cozy family nest is created by both parents - the male brings materials for construction, the female neatly puts them out. In the course there is everything - thin twigs, pieces of moss, roots, and the bottom of the nest is always covered with soft grass. Clutch usually has 5-6 testicles, but sometimes their number increases to 8.

It takes about two weeks to nurse chicks. Male all this time looking for and brings his half of the food. Sometimes, but very rarely, he can replace a female. Chicks hatch without feathers, but already see. Two weeks parents feed them in the nest, and with the third they begin to learn how to fly.

Where does the rogue live?

Order Passerine prefers almost the entire territory of Europe. Often a bird can be found on the western outskirts of Asia. Zhulan refers to those representatives of birds who leave for winter to warm countries. The favorite place of wintering for a bird is Africa. She flies only at night. Keep trying closer to the water - it can be like river valleys, and marshes. Often a rogue can be seen on the fringes and felling - the bird prefers free spaces and abundance of sun.

Described feathered, as well as ordinary sparrows, can often be seen in parks, gardens, in the gardens - that's such unpretentious to the habitat of a rogue. The bird often nests in the settlements, but chooses only those places where there is a thick bush. An interesting fact is that before the crooks lived exclusively in the UK, but for some reason they moved from there, appearing only briefly during the migration.

What are the crooks?

Zhulan ordinary - this is only one of the species of this kind of birds. Along with it there are also the Siberian rogue, the gray shrike, the black-headed shrike, the Japanese shrike, the tiger and red-headed, the wedge-tailed shrike. Birds differ in color, and it is also possible to understand whose nest is in front of us, even in the color of the eggs hatching by the female (or the remains of the shell). The color varies from rich green to white with reddish-brown spots. Common to all birds of this family is the behavior when hunting. Waiting for prey, the bird sits high on a tree or on wires, turns its head from side to side, while making characteristic circular motions with its tail. Zhulan ordinary can hang in the air for an indefinite time to better aim at the prey. All kinds of singing are similar, their screaming is usually similar to "check-check" or "chj-chzha".