A variety of animals and birds live in the Moscow region . There are so many of them that you can even see them on a regular walk, others are a little less common, but still quite common. To know the native nature better, all these animals are worth exploring in more detail.
Common squirrel
This small red animal is known to both children and adults. Squirrels are common animals of the Moscow region, living not only in forests, but also in the city. In the wild, they are often busy storing supplies for the winter, and in the parks they quickly get used to people and sometimes even take refreshments from their hands. The average protein size is twenty to thirty centimeters in length, with a tail two-thirds from the body. With it, they control the direction of the jump. By the way, this turns out to be excellent for squirrels - they can fly up to four meters in a straight line, and fifteen in a descending path. Lightweight also helps in this, the squirrel is a very light animal and rarely weighs more than three hundred grams.
The animal emits a bright color - most often red. But sometimes the tone of the coat can be gray, brown, brown, and even white. This is determined by the habitat and season. The squirrel is inhabited by the entire map of the Moscow Region - local coniferous and mixed forests are excellent for these animals.
Common hedgehog
Studying the animal world of the Moscow region, one can not help but pay attention to this animal. An ordinary hedgehog lives in Ireland, Britain, Scandinavia, Russia, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. It can be found even in the Alps - animals live at an altitude of up to two thousand meters above sea level, where dwarf pines grow. Hedgehogs have an elongated muzzle with a sharp and wet nose, large eyes and rounded ears. The needles are hollow and grow like hair. Hedgehogs from Cyprus have larger ears. In Spain, the color is lighter than the usual dark brown. Body size reaches thirty centimeters, of which the tail is not more than forty millimeters.
The weight of the hedgehog ranges from one kilogram to two hundred grams. After hibernation, it can be four hundred grams, but in summer it increases markedly. In nature, animals live up to five years, and sometimes as a pet even ten. Hedgehogs are distinguished by unusual snorting sounds, they can snore and grumble, and also clap their teeth. These are very common animals of the Moscow region, despite a wide list of enemies, including both owls and foxes with badgers.
Elk
The fauna of the Moscow region is represented by such large animals. Few people know that the moose belongs to the order of deer, in which it is the most impressive in size. The body length of an adult male is three meters, its height reaches two and a half meters, and the mass exceeds half a ton.
The elk differs from most deer in a body with a short body and a wide chest. The massive head with an overhanging lip and moving ears impresses with a leathery outgrowth on the neck and a complex design of horns that have a spade-shaped process with processes, the number of which usually does not exceed eighteen. Sometimes their shape may not be symmetrical. These animals of the Moscow region are also common in Poland, the Czech Republic, Norway, Hungary and Switzerland, were seen in the north of China and are very common in Canada.
Lake frogs
The animals of the Moscow Region are not only large moose or cute squirrels, but also various amphibians. For example, lake frogs are very common in this area. They reach fifteen centimeters in length and are most often painted in different shades of green, although you can find brown and gray frogs. Dark spots are located on their body, and a light streak passes along the back. Such frogs live in the territory from Central Europe to Iran; in Russia they are found even on Lake Baikal.
This amphibian can inhabit any reservoirs, including artificial and mountainous. Frogs are very fond of heat, so they can be found in hot springs. They feed on insects, but can eat a small lizard, mouse or chick. Large individuals can swallow other frogs. Catching dragonflies and mosquitoes helps a long sticky tongue, which is quickly ejected forward. Like many other animals in Moscow and the Moscow Region, in the winter, frogs stop activity, hibernating, for which they bury themselves in silt or indentations on the shore.
Hare
The map of the Moscow Region is densely covered with the habitats of various animals. Almost throughout its territory hare-hares, widely distributed throughout the north of Eurasia, live. The size of the hare does not exceed sixty-seventy centimeters in length with a weight of one and a half to five kilograms. Big ears can be about ten centimeters in length. Thick hair on the feet makes it easy to move even in the snow, and its color depends on the season, changing from pure white to gray or reddish.
In summer there is a lot of food for whites and you can meet them very often, and in winter they gather in groups and wander in search of food. Rarely can they be seen in the marshy area - hares prefer to live by the rivers, next to small farmland, in the forests. Like other types of squad, the whites lead a nocturnal lifestyle, moving several kilometers during feeding. During the day, they lie on the surface, and in winter they can dig shallow burrows for relaxation.
Mountain thrush
Many plants and animals of the Moscow Region are found only deep in the forest, but these birds can be found in the city. From the usual thrush they are distinguished by a beautiful plumage with a white abdomen and underwings and motley chest and sides. They live in gardens and fields, along the edges of meadows and in small forests.
Thrushes nest in colonies of thirty pairs, making strong bowls from branches in which they are located with chicks. Sometimes they are attacked by birds of prey (magpies, jays), then the settlement can be destroyed. It takes about five days to create one nest, and the thrush hatch for almost two weeks. As many chicks remain there. The birds feed on worms, insects and rowan berries or juniper berries.
Badgers
These are quite rare animals of the Moscow region, photographs of which are available only for very experienced travelers and hunters. It is impossible to see them in the city. Badgers are distinguished by a large and dense body with an elongated head and small eyes. Strong legs adapted for digging. The teeth are suitable for eating plant foods. Badgers look different in different areas, as a rule, they are distinguished by brown fur on their backs with a dark stripe along the ridge and light ripples on the sides. Cheeks and forehead are white or brown. Summer fur is darker and reddish compared to winter. The young badger has a lighter color.