For a long time, the first sign of the coming autumn cold weather was considered a truly beautiful sight, when the birds, gathered in flocks, flew to the warmer climes. Why are they leaving us? And why, with the onset of warm spring days, they certainly come back?
Migratory birds
Birds are warm-blooded creatures. Their body temperature is forty-one degrees. Thanks to this, they would feel great on frosty days. So why do migratory birds fly away ? Feathered birds cannot stay overwinter because in the cold seasons it is almost impossible for them to get food. Some fly away because of the cold. They migrate to warmer climes to conserve most individuals.
Migratory birds, that is, those who leave our area in winter and fly south, include many species of birds. Among them are a lapwing and a swallow, a wagtail and a finch, a robin and a
songbird, a golden oriole and a redstart, a forest horse and an early bird, as well as a tenochka.
When and how birds fly away
At that moment, when the birds leave our region, the weather can influence. However, as a rule, this happens at the same time. Autumn departure begins only when young birds become stronger.
Most birds gather in packs. But there are those who fly in groups. Some species fly away one by one.
Cranes line up in a beautiful wedge in the sky. But crows are usually placed in a chain. There are such species of birds in which males fly away later than females. In some birds, young growth immediately leaves the habitat. Older individuals follow after a while.
The birds try to move during the day, and rest at night. In some species, the flight time is night.
Sedentary birds
Not all representatives of the feathered world leave the inhabited area. Some stay wintering and delight us with their songs on frosty days. They live in their homeland all year, so they are called settled. The capercaillie does not leave its places. He eats pine needles and therefore in winter he does not have to look for food. Juniper berries are eaten by hazel grouse and black grouse. They, too, are not going to fly away in the fall. But is the jay a migratory bird or not? This species of birds belongs to the settled. Jay eats plant and animal foods. She loves acorns. With its beak, the bird easily splits the shell of these oak fruits. In autumn, jays harvest acorns in huge quantities. One bird, according to some reports, makes stocks weighing up to four kilograms.
Woodpeckers and titmies also belong to the settled. But winter crossbill even hatches chicks. At the same time, he eats seeds of spruce.
Roaming birds
There are such species of birds that will be transferred to another place if unfavorable conditions have developed for them for some reason in their native area. These are, as a rule, birds living in the highlands. With the onset of severe cold, they migrate to the valley.
Birds are amazing creatures. In some places they can live as settled, and in others they can be migratory.
Why do birds fly away
Our cuckoos are the first to leave our region. Behind them are swallows, and a little later - swifts. From the end of August to September, several species change the climate to warmer.
What are the causes of bird migration? Feathered fly away with the onset of cold weather. However, the main reason for their migration is not the change of season. The decisive factor is the lack of food. So, a cuckoo eats up to a hundred caterpillars in one hour, and during cold weather insects disappear. Most of them die, leaving a large supply of eggs, from which the offspring will spring. Some insects hide in secluded warm places.
The stork eats small fish and frogs in the summer. In winter, he is not able to get his own food, which is located under a crust of ice covering water bodies. Birds that canβt get their livelihood fly south. There they have no problems with food.
Annual cycle of birds
The life of birds, as well as other animals, takes place in the greater part of our planet in conditions of changing seasons. The only exceptions are those areas where tropical forests are located.
The annual cycle of birds consists of four main stages. The first of these is the breeding season. Then comes the molt, seasonal migration of birds. The last step is wintering.
As for seasonal migrations, they are not a continuous period in birds. Flights are spring and autumn. Moreover, they are disconnected from each other by the wintering stage. Spring migration of birds can be considered as a phenomenon that is partially associated with preparation for the breeding stage. Autumn flights are a search for food to preserve the species.
Migration routes
Where do birds fly in the fall? Scientists ornithologists were able to answer this question in detail. Ringing migratory individuals, they established places of wintering of various species. What warm places do birds fly to? The suitability of a given region for wintering is, of course, determined by its ecological situation. However, birds do not always fly to places that are located near their nesting and have favorable conditions. To a greater extent, competition with other populations of a similar species, which tend to occupy the areas most suitable for wintering, plays a role here. So, birds that arrived from areas located to the north can be located in more southern latitudes.
From Europe, birds can fly not only in a southerly direction. They arrange wintering in the west. England has provided shelter to many North European and Central European birds. This country has favorable climatic conditions for birds, which are characterized by light snowfalls and mild winters. In autumn, lapwings and sparrows, woodcocks and other birds fly to England. However, a greater number of birds attracts the Mediterranean and southwestern regions of Europe.
Wintering places
What warm places do birds fly to? A large accumulation of birds is observed in the winter in the Nile Valley. Some Arctic and Siberian birds fly to African wintering grounds. Their numerous flocks are also located in the southern regions of China, in India, on the islands of the Indo-Australian archipelago. Quail and waterfowl fly to the northern regions of Africa and Western Europe . The way of some species of birds to wintering areas is very far. Thus, Icelandic sandboxes and East Siberian anemones reach the shores of New Zealand.
The answer to the question of where the birds fly away for the winter is helped by studies by learned ornithologists. Thus, ringing birds, they found that our blackbirds and starlings rest in the south of France and in Portugal. They settle in Spain and Italy. Ducks and cranes love to travel to the banks of the Nile. Hoopoe and nightingales winter in the African savannah.
Some species of waterfowl do not leave the territory of Russia. In the cold seasons, they settle in reserves located in the South Caspian. Crack ducks can be found in the winter in Transcaucasia. They rest on the Azov and Black Seas.
What warm regions fly birds living in the north of the American continent? Here, their migration due to the influence of the Gulf Stream goes only in a southerly direction. So, the polar terns, who live in the north of America, settle for wintering in the south of the continent. Sometimes these birds migrate to African countries. They fall into the Antarctic.
What places for wintering birds choose?
As a rule, birds settle where the habitat is similar to the one in which they live in their homeland. If birds choose forests for their nesting, then they will look for precisely such zones in areas with a warm climate. The birds living in the conditions of steppes, meadows or fields will look for habitual conditions for the settlement. This will allow them to find the usual food. Thus, the birds fly away to those places where the living conditions are not much different from their usual ones.
They find their way to wintering places thanks to their superbly developed navigation system. For some birds, large landmarks are mountains, coasts, and so on. There are species that calmly cross the water surface of the ocean that is not very diverse.
Those species of birds that fly during the day, are guided by the sun. Those birds that travel in the dark rely only on their own navigation system.
The winter cold will recede, and the birds flying into the warm edges will return home again. They will notify the arrival of spring with perky trills and will prepare for the next stage of their life.
Now you know in what warm places birds fly away. Good luck in the further study of birds!