At the very beginning of winter, the most beautiful birds, the pike, fly from our distant northern forests to our lands. These are the largest representatives of the finch family.
Description
Schur is the closest relative of the bullfinch, up to 22 cm in size and having a very beautiful color. The plumage of males is bright red and crimson, on the wings there are two transverse white stripes. Females and young pike are greyish-orange in color.
The description of the birds, their appearance, is very similar to the crossbill. It differs mainly in the form of a beak, which looks like a short hooked cone, which makes it easy to pick berries of rowan berries and pick out nuts from pine cones. The tail is dark gray or black in color, long enough, with a small neckline at the end.
Habitat
The homeland of Schurov is coniferous forests on the territory of Scandinavia, Chukotka, Sakhalin, as well as Alaska and Labrador. In these parts the greatest concentration of birds is observed. In central Russia, they can be found in the autumn-winter period. Mass arrival occurs irregularly and depends on the amount of feed in the homeland.
In harsh winters, arriving pike birds can populate parks, city squares, eating seeds, buds and berries of various species of trees and shrubs, less often insects.
Lifestyle and habits
By nature, these birds are very similar to a crossbill and a bullfinch. They are just as sociable, good-natured and so trusting that they allow a person to come very close, at arm's length. In our area, schur are settled where there are apple trees and mountain ash, as well as coniferous trees. A special treat for them are the fruits of juniper. But the main food is the fruits of mountain ash, which allows you to maintain such a beautiful raspberry color. Often, the pike gnaw on the flesh of these berries, leaving traces on the ground very similar to those of feeding bullfinches. In the north-east of the country, birds populate cedar thickets, preferring pine nuts to all other types of food. Schur has a very positive attitude towards water, loves to swim, managing to do it even in winter.
These songbirds have a surprisingly beautiful, clear voice, reminiscent of the sounds of a flute. Only the male sings, and in the offseason the song sounds much louder.
Nesting
Around March, birds return to their nesting sites. At first they form pairs and only in June begin to build a nest. It settles down at a coniferous trunk, less often - on lateral branches, at a height of 2–4 meters. Outwardly, it looks rough, the bottom is lined with wool of forest animals, lichen and thin grass. In the clutch there are from 3 to 5 eggs 24–26 mm in size, bluish-green in color with soft brown spots of different intensities.
The pike birds distribute their parental responsibilities equally: the female lays eggs, and the male feeds her beloved. During this period, they feed on buds of spruce, birch, overwintered lingonberries and seeds of cones. Birds are very trusting about the appearance of a person near the nest, even allowing sometimes photographing the chicks. Both parents take care of the chicks that have appeared. The kids are covered with a gray-brown fluff and are distinguished by a raspberry-colored mouth with a pink tongue. In the diet of the chicks, a large part is occupied by various insects. At about two weeks of age, the chicks leave their nest. When the troubles associated with the young growth are over, the birds of the season will gather in flocks, spending the winter south of the nesting sites.
Captivity
The gullible and sociable nature of Schuros allows them to be kept in captivity, where they very quickly adapt to living conditions in a cage or aviary, get used to the person and become almost tame. If you provide them with good care, when living conditions are as close as possible to natural, then these songbirds can live a long life, delighting the hosts with their singing, and even give offspring.
Given that the homeland of these birds is located in the northern regions, it is necessary to keep Schurov in the coolest place, change the water as often as possible, giving the opportunity to swim, they always do it with pleasure.
It is recommended to feed the birds with rowan berries, seeds and grains, leaving cones of conifers in the cage. Unfortunately, males, living in captivity, eventually lose their unusual color. Their plumage first acquires a yellowish-orange color, and then pales even more.
Like any other bird of the finch family, the squid does not always withstand captivity, and it happens that, once in a cage, it dies after a few days for unknown reasons.