Our planet is inhabited by a wide variety of birds - from tiny hummingbirds to huge ostriches. All birds differ among themselves not only in size and appearance, but also in intelligence, habits, lifestyle. In the article we will tell you about a small feathered predator - a small bird, a falcon, from the falcon family.
Poultry Bird - Description
Kobchik belongs to the genus Falcon and surprises with its small size. It is smaller than a pigeon, its trunk has a length of 25-32 cm, the wing length is not more than 35 cm, and the wingspan is 64-77 cm. Such a bird weighs about 150-200 grams. In appearance, the feline is very similar to the kestrel.
The male is strikingly different in color from the female. In "boys" the back is covered with dark blue, almost black feathers. The bottom of the abdomen, the undertail and the “panties” on the legs are painted in brick red. The “girls” body, as well as the wings and tail, are painted with buffy gray tints, the back is decorated with a dark transverse strip, the abdomen with longitudinal mottles. The beak of all small foxes is short and weak. The paws, ringlets around the eyes and the waxen of these birds are red or orange. The iris is dark brown. The claws on the legs are strong, whitish-brown in color.
Young males look like adults, only smaller, and young females are covered with brown feathers, have a whitish abdomen in longitudinal streaks. In the first year of life, the small falcon bird (photo) has paws, a wax and a ring around the eyes, painted in yellow.
Distribution area
The falcon bird is found in the vastness of Eurasia and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans. Their habitat extends west to the Vilyuya basin - the longest tributary of the Lena, east - to the upper reaches of the Lena and the shores of Lake Baikal. On this vast territory, the feathered birds, which are described in the article, nest and breed chicks, and fly away to winter in southern Africa and South Asia. This means that the falcon bird is a migratory bird. They migrate in large flocks. Departure occurs in August, returning to their native lands in May.
Lifestyle
Poultry prefers open space - steppes, forest-steppes, less often - forest edges or urea of low-lying river valleys. This falcon can be found on extensive clearings, in marshy areas or on burned-out areas of the forest. Also found in cultural landscapes - parks, gardens, groves. In large forests, the red-footed bird, the photo of which is presented in this article, does not settle.
Small falcons live in colonies of 80-100 pairs, it is extremely difficult to meet alone. The birds are very mobile, although inferior in speed to other members of the family. Voice - voiced "Kli-Kli-Kli" - served often.
Life expectancy is 10-12 years.
Nutrition
Dragonflies, bugs, grasshoppers - the main food that these birds of prey prefer . Kobchik is also able to attack lizards or small rodents (mice), from birds it hunts sparrows and pigeons. These birds are active only during the day, with the onset of twilight they return to their nests.
Little falcon bird flies over the steppes, fields and meadows. Seeing the prey on the ground, hovering over it, often-often flapping its wings, then abruptly dives and grabs an insect or lizard. If the bug managed to move, then the bird catches up with it on foot. Foals rarely grab prey on the fly, while behaving like real falcons.
These birds hunt all day, exterminating a large number of harmful insects and rodents, which bring great benefits to the national economy.
Breeding
The males do not build their nests, but are occupied by strangers. First of all - rooks, crows, magpies. Sometimes they dare to settle in a nest of a kite. Also, empty hollows and burrows are chosen as housing.
The egg-laying bird starts laying eggs immediately after arrival in late April and early May. 3-5 eggs are more often found in one clutch, less often 8. Eggs are small, approximate sizes are 37 by 30 mm, have a buffy color with numerous dark dots and frequent streaks of rusty-brown color.
Male and female hatched eggs together, in turn. When the second parent is in the nest, the first gets food. Incubation lasts 28 days. Chicks appear in early June, after a month and a half (in mid-July) leave the nest. Both adults and young animals begin to prepare for the departure of birds from the second week of August. They flock in packs, the last males leave their native lands in the first half of September.
Now you know what the red-headed bird looks like, where it meets, how it breeds and what it eats.