In the Southern Urals, the geography of the earth's surface is quite diverse. This is the presence of mountains, forests and valleys. The climate in the region is continental, cold winters alternate with hot summers. Many rivers and lakes in this area contribute to the variegated diversity of birds. Birds of the Southern Urals can be divided into waterfowl and forest, predators and those protected by the Red Book. There are birds that leave their homes in winter in search of a warmer place to live and more food. Others remain faithful to their natural habitat and endure the winter cold with patience.
In the article, we consider birds of the Southern Urals, the names of some are known to everyone - sparrow, crow, rook, tit, goldfinch, siskin, magpie, etc., others are more rare. People who live in cities and are far from the Southern Urals have not seen many, only heard about some. Here we will focus on them.
Steppe birds
More than 60 different species of birds live in the steppe and forest-steppe zone. On the plains there are many rodents that feed birds of prey.
In the photograph, a white-tailed eagle is captured in flight.
Here are some of the steppe birds:
- burial eagle;
- white-tailed eagle;
- snake-eater;
- fawn;
- derbnik;
- Saker Falcon;
- black vulture;
- lun - field, meadow, marsh, etc.
Derbnik
Let's take a closer look at one of the birds of the Southern Urals called derbnik. This is a small falcon having a body length of 24-35 cm.
This is a very rare bird that is guarded by dense thickets of forest, preferring to them open steppes or banks of rivers and lakes. Like many birds of prey, the diet of lambworm consists of small rodents, birds, lizards, catches even insects.
Such a bird nests not on trees, but on the ground, among the stones in the crevices of the rocks. Lamb grass lives in natural conditions until the age of 11, from each clutch, a female hatches from 3 to 4 ocher-colored eggs with brown spots.
The color of an adult bird helps him to be invisible among stones and steppes. The feather cover is brownish-gray on top, the plumage on the stomach is white with dark brown spots. It hunts at low altitude, folds its wings during picketing.
Forest inhabitants
In the forests of the Southern Urals, birds are divided into residents of larch or mixed forests and conifers. One of the largest representatives of birds is the capercaillie, whose weight reaches 6 kg. The bird was named according to the type of male behavior during the current period. He is so busy searching for the female that he is completely deaf to the steps of the hunters, which they are incredibly happy about.
In the photo you can see the current capercaillie.
Grouse is found on the forest edges. He, of course, is much smaller than the capercaillie, but is also considered a large bird. The weight of the male can reach 1.4 kg. Grouse most often in search of food roams the earth, but if necessary, takes off almost vertically on branches. It also feels great on trees, moreover, it flies quickly for a couple of kilometers, although it looks like a chicken.
Nuthatch
Let's take a closer look at another bird of the Southern Urals, whose name is the common nuthatch.
This is a nimble little bird living in any type of forest. It moves adroitly and quickly along branches and even the trunk of a tree, often seen upside down on the bark. Its size is only 14 cm, it weighs up to 25 grams. The body is dense with a small head and a long beak. The color of the plumage may vary depending on the area of residence. Most often, this is the orange lower part, gray wings and the head layout, the eye area has a black even strip that passes into the beak, the chin is light. It is considered a noisy bird, changing several chants when singing. Nearby you can meet woodpecker, hazel grouse, waxwing, cuckoo, thrush, nightingale, titmouse, finch and other forest birds.
Traveling Birds
Some birds adapted to the harsh conditions of the Ural winters. These are the well-known sparrow and bullfinch, dove and titmouse, crows and jackdaws, magpies, the nuthatch and jay described above, the waxwing and hazel grouse. The birds of prey of the Southern Urals remain to winter. This is a night hunter owl, eagle owl, listed in the Red Book, a falcon and a hawk. Naturally, large birds — capercaillie and black grouse, their relative pheasant — do not go anywhere. The crossbill in the coniferous forest also has enough seeds of cones.
In the photo below, a migratory bird with bright plumage is a goldfinch.
The migratory birds of the Southern Urals include the following individuals: goose, swan, rook, nightingale, swallow, wagtail, quail, lark, starling and siskin, goldfinch and finch, swift and zaryanka. Herons and cranes living near the water also fly off to warm nesting places. Thrushes, storks, cuckoos and orioles do not winter. You can list for a long time, since the world of birds in the Urals is huge.
Wagtail
Let us consider in more detail the representative of migratory birds - the wagtail.
Wagtails are of two types - yellow and white. Since the first is quite rare in this territory, we’ll talk about the white individual. These birds live in small flocks near ponds, nests twist in crevices of rocks, under bridges or directly on the soil. Nests have a loose shape, are made up of thin twigs, inside the birds they carefully line the bottom with shreds of wool and even hair. They nest twice during the summer. When they are preparing for the fall, they gather in large flocks.
Red Book Birds of the Southern Urals
Thanks to monitoring of rare species of birds in this area, ornithologists added another 74 species of birds to the Red Book of the Southern Urals. This is due to the expansion of human economic activity, illegal actions of people in nature reserves, the number of roads and vehicles, the victims of which are often birds.
In the photo below - bell-crane.
Due to effective conservation measures, some individuals included in the list of rare birds multiplied and it was proposed to delete them from the book. This can not but rejoice. For example, shiloklyuv has bred a lot, but a limited number of them live on the territory of the South Urals. And some were transferred to Appendix No. 3 of the Red Book, which means that the number is starting to increase, as an example, the situation with a stilt, an avdotka and a peganka can be cited. But the black stork, unfortunately, is excluded from the list for a completely different reason. For several years he has never been met in the Southern Urals.
In the photo - a rare bird dipper.
In the Red Book you can also find the birds described above. This is derbnik and saker, the steppe eagle and some species of moons, etc. With the endangered birds of the South Urals - with photos, names can be found in the publication released in 2005. Learn more about one unique bird.
Curly pelican
This species is larger than its pink counterpart in size. Got its name for the presence on the parietal part of the head of curls on the feathers.
The plumage of the species is light gray, and the bag on its beak is highlighted with a bright orange spot. This is a very large bird, reaching a length of 180 cm, spread wings are almost 3.5 m.
A curly pelican flies beautifully, often soars in the sky, with its wings spread wide. Spends a lot of time on the surface of the water, resting and eating fish. The feathers of the bird get wet in the water, so he tries to raise his wings as high as possible, and then he dries his beak for a long time. Because of this feature, he also does not dive for the fish, but awaits its approach. Then he drops only the beak into the water and grabs the prey. On the ground he moves funny, rolling from side to side. From the surface of the water rises freely.
Curly pelicans live in small groups, and only when flying to warm regions they are combined into huge flocks, the number of birds in which can reach 300 individuals. Nests are built by a family of pelicans together. The male brings the branches, and the female lays them with an ugly bunch, and the details are held together by litter. You can find nests in reed beds or on floating islands.
The article briefly describes only a few birds living in the Southern Urals. If you are interested in the topic, you can view all the photos of the birds mentioned in the article on the Internet. Take care of the surrounding nature!