Songbird is one of the largest bird populations. He became known to citizens and summer residents because of his amazing singing, which can be heard throughout the summer.
What territories does the thrush inhabit?
Very often you can hear the phrase: "Thrush is a songbird." Residents of the countries of Central Asia, Europe and Siberia are familiar with it. Representatives of this species fly away from their usual habitats for wintering to Africa and Southern Europe. Territories where the thrush lives, classify the bird as cold-resistant and northern.
After wintering, they return at night in small groups, the females arrive 7 days later, a phenomenon typical of central Russia.
Description and description of the species
The songbird belongs to the family Thrush and to the order Vorobinobraznye. Their coloring does not attract attention. Brown color with a chocolate tint, sometimes gray, prevails on the upper parts of the head, tail and back. Breast of white, sometimes pale yellow color, slightly buffy sides. You can also notice that the abdomen is covered with dark and brown spots, similar to droplets, their number significantly decreases closer to the throat. The place under the wings is characterized by a red tint. The beak of the bird is dark and brown; its base is light in color. Legs are brownish-yellow. There are no significant differences between females and males. The young generation of blackbirds can be noticed right away, the colors on their bodies are more colorful, but a little dimmer than that of mature individuals.
In length, the bird reaches 20-25 cm, its weight is small - 50-100 g, the wingspan of this baby can be about 34-39 cm.
Subtypes
Only three subspecies of the songbird are known. The first of them populates mainly England, the second - prefers Ireland, the third - is spread over all other spaces characteristic of thrushes.
Where does the songbird live?
Very diverse types of forests become home to blackbirds after returning from wintering. However, the bird prefers places where spruce and juniper thickets prevail, but deciduous forests are also no exception. The most favorite for them can be forests of maple, alder and birch, pine and spruce, oak.
The largest numbers of these birds are observed on the territory of the Eurasian continent. Their habitats are located in the direction of the north to the East European crooked forest, in the Urals they can be found up to the borders of birch forests. Steppes and forest-steppes are also not deprived of thrush attention, river floodplains among forests serve as a road for them in these areas. The bird is not afraid of the mountains. We can say that they give preference to more natural territories, such where people rarely happen. Although in recent years there has been a tendency to populate urban parks with these inhabitants, especially if there is spruce. This phenomenon is characteristic of Western Europe, for Russia it is still rare.
Active songbird populations are observed in suburban units and forest-type parks. These birds are perfectly adjacent to other representatives of their species, such as blackbird, sackcloth, white-browed, and mountain ash. Of all the individuals of his family, only the songbird has the ability to go deep into the large forests, but its nests can still be seen on their outskirts, clearings. The most favorite areas in the forests are wetter. The bird does not like small deserted places in them, it does not have a habit of winding nests in areas of agro-cities, but during flights it can use these areas for its food.
Great Thrush Song
There are the most diverse and amazing voices of birds, a songbird among them all stands out especially. Connoisseurs of such beauty very often argue among themselves about who sings better - a nightingale or a blackbird. Supporters always have that, and this bird. However, the voice of the song thrush sounds more mysterious and unusual.
His song can be described as a combination of short and infrequent whistles and trills, which do not sound very loud. Each element in them is repeated all the time for a long time. Very often they intertwine their singing with the songs of other birds, which sounds very playful.
Behind this amazing occupation of a songbird, you can find it on the very tops of tall trees, singing songs does not bother him all day. However, the best singing is in the morning and evening hours. There is a certain cyclical nature of the intensity of thrush songs, a small break is observed in early June, the next decline can be seen in mid-July.
Many people say that in thrush singing you can sometimes distinguish words that are repeated all the time. And what kind of phrases does he pronounce? There are different answers to this question, since everyone perceives a song differently.
Song Thrush Life
During their nesting birds live in pairs, after the end of this period of life they try to stay in packs.
After the arrival of the females, the males begin to look for a chosen one. In order for the lady to choose him, a marriage dance is performed, during which he lowers his wings and fluffs his feathers. If the female begins to dance in response, then this means that courtship is accepted. After the pair has been formed, the female searches for a suitable place for the nest. And after 7 days, the joint construction of the future home begins.
The construction of the nest can be called a real construction, since branches, twigs, grass, lichen and a lot of moss are used for this. After the main frame of the nest is built, the process of plastering begins. The inner surface is covered with a mixture of earth, clay, the remains of trees and saliva. After everything is dry, the female lays up to 6 eggs, they are blue with black spots. The mother is usually engaged in hatching, sometimes the male replaces her so that she ate. Chicks appear in two weeks, and parents collect food for them together. Even after the babies first fly out of the nest, they are unable to eat on their own, and the female and the male help them in this.
Song thrushes begin their second clutch in about mid-June, the number of eggs in it is slightly less than in the first.
The nest of the song thrush can usually be seen on trees among strong branches, on bushes, on fallen trunks, on fallen trees and sometimes on the ground. It is located no lower than 2 and no higher than 10 meters from the ground, and there are often edges and clearings near this place.
Desperate Daredevils
The songbird bravely defends his nest. Having noticed a possible danger, he will immediately begin to attack. In the event that the enemy is large, the bird pretends to be wounded and, jumping on the ground, takes the predator to a safe distance. A lot of fairy tales and stories have been written that describe such situations.
Thrush in the cinema
In the 70s of the last century, a film was shot with the title "There lived a song thrush." The main character named Gia plays in the orchestra on an unusual instrument - the timpani. His sound can be heard only a few times, at the beginning of the play and at the end. It is clear that the musician does not need to constantly be with him, and in the intervals between his work, he manages to arrange his hectic life. Perhaps the film was named so only because its creators found a similarity between the main character and the life of the song thrush.
These birds are known to almost every person, their amazing singing mesmerizes even musicians. They also benefit nature, destroying a huge number of pests.