Klest is a legendary bird, its bright plumage and murmuring singing attracts the attention of not only lovers of birds, but also people who are indifferent. This is a bird from the finch of the passerines, which can easily be confused with a parrot, because the bent beak, extraordinary savagery and habits of these birds are somewhat similar. There is something mysterious in these crossbills.
Every bird is sinless
There is a legend that when Jesus was crucified, a bullfinch and a crossbill flew to him. The bullfinch broke thorns on a thorny wreath and stained his breast. And the crossbill tried to pull out the nails that crucified Christ, but the little bird didn’t succeed, he only mutilated his beak.
God thanked the bird and presented several unique properties. Indeed, when closed, the beak of a bird forms a cross. The crossbill is imperishable after death, and hatches chicks in the winter by Christmas. Of course, there is a scientific explanation for everything, but this does not detract from its mystery.
Description
A crossbill is a finch bird. The feathery is not very large - less than 17 cm, approximately like a large sparrow. The tail is divided in two, the beak halves are bent and crossed in closed form. This is an incredibly strong form of the beak, which makes it easy to break spruce and pine branches or tear off the bark. It is ideally suited for removing seeds from cones. Paws are short and strong. This allows the bird to hang upside down and hold heavy cones.
Males and females are very different in color. The males have an inflamed red or red-orange color of the abdominal part, back and neck, wings and tail are usually brownish-gray. In females, bright feathers are replaced by greenish-gray with a yellow undertone.
The first three years of life, the "clothing" of these birds is only being formed. In early childhood, their feathers are gray.
The weight of the male is about 35-40 g, and the female is 30-35 g. The wingspan is up to 30 cm. The length of each wing is 9-10 cm, the tail is 6-8 cm, the tarsel is 2 cm, and the beak is 1.5 -2 cm
The singing of this bird is somewhat similar to a mixture of twitter and whistle. The name "crossbill" comes from the sounds "glue-glue-glue" that they create. These birds sing, only soaring in the air, sitting on branches, they are silent.
Habitat
A crossbill is not a migratory bird. However, the ringing procedure recorded individual individuals that covered 3,000 km. Their habitat depends on the harvest of cones - this is the main feed of crossbills. They are constantly looking for places to eat. Their beak makes it easy to pick out seeds. Those places where crossbills live are always rich in nuts.
These birds prefer pine, spruce and mixed forests, but do not live in cedar forests. These birds make nests from twigs, insulate them with moss or feathers. The crossbill has no reason to be afraid of predators, because eating seeds of cones saturates the body of birds with resins and makes it bitter in taste. After death, their bodies are incorrupt because they are embalmed during life.
Rarely descend to the ground, feel more bold on branches. They creep endlessly through the trees in search of food. The legendary beak helps them, because of the special shape of which they were called the northern parrots.
Nutrition
The main food is the seeds of cones, crossbills eat only their kernels. If the grain is difficult to process, the bird simply throws it away and looks for another bump. Fallen nuts serve as food for other forest inhabitants. The yield of this product determines the place where crossbill lives in a given season.
With a deficiency of cones, he eats coniferous buds or ate resin together with the bark. In captivity, enjoys relishing worms, sunflower seeds and oatmeal.
Breeding
Crossbill is a frost-resistant bird. Like other birds, they breed when they eat enough food. Chicks are born in the fall and spring, but most often at Christmas. Nests are built on the tops of conifers or under the reliable paws of branches to protect the home from moisture. Usually they choose those places that are rich in food, because in this case you will not have to leave the offspring for a long time unattended.
The walls of the nest have two layers of interwoven twigs. Warm “houses” with moss, feathers or shreds of wool of wild animals. Housing is very durable and warm, has the properties of a thermos.
Usually 3-4 eggs in clutch. The color of the shell varies from yellowish white to off-white, grayish or purple spots are scattered on it. Egg weight 3 g, length - 19-25 mm, diameter - 15-18 mm.
Despite the frosts, the bird actively protects its offspring. Females incubate for about 2 weeks. During this time, the male takes care of the future mother, wears grains, previously softened in the throat. This is one of the elements of the marriage ritual. On the 5th day, the nestling chick leaves the nest, but its beak has not yet been bent. Therefore, parents help him get food the first time.
When the beak is formed, young crossbills learn to extract seeds from cones. From this moment they are considered full-fledged adults and begin to live separately.
The color of young birds differs from adults. At first, their plumage is grayish, and in the third year of life they acquire permanent bright clothing.
What is the difference between an elovik and a pineman
On the territory of Russia there are three species of this bird: crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill. Both the first and second live in mixed forests in close proximity. Probably they themselves do not distinguish each other. Lifestyle, marriage songs and other nuances are very similar. Outwardly, they differ slightly in color: the plumage of an elk cross-stitch has an inflamed red hue, while the pine-colored clothes are not so bright and have a yellowish tint.
The sosnovik is more brutal in appearance, its brisket is wider, and its beak is more plump. Some ornithologists consider the division of crossbills into pine trees and spruce trees a mistake. Sosnovik is one of the options for the fir tree who prefers to feast on pine cones.
The process of removing food from the cone
First of all, a crossbill cuts a bump, as if with scissors. Holding her by the tail, trying to pull the dish on a convenient horizontal surface. This, believe me, is not so simple. He balances with his tail and free paw. If the cone cannot be held with one foot, then the crossbuck presses it with the entire abdomen. Now we are talking about the elovik. From frequent contact with cones, a tar trace often remains on the abdomen of the earner.
First, the bird penetrates under the scales and breaks it. If the cone is open, then the bird penetrates deeper and pulls out a seed. A rough tongue comes to the rescue.
But the bump is very difficult for a fragile bird. And it often falls before the crossbill has time to collect the entire crop. Therefore, the bird eats 1/4 seeds at best.
Habitat
All crossbills live in the Northern Hemisphere. Many consider them taiga birds. But this is not entirely true. Klest lives in the coniferous forests of Eurasia, America and Africa. The nesting places of these birds are inconsistent, because these birds constantly fly in search of food. If the year turned out to be barren for cones, then crossbills can fly away from the forest even in the steppe. At first glance, the birds do not seem very skilled, but this idea immediately disappears when you see how they quickly move along the branches and turn upside down.
In North America, an elovik is also found. There is even one of the subspecies of these birds that live only on the island of Haiti.
Captivity
Klest is a very funny and sociable bird. It quickly adapts to new living conditions. He has a great talent for mimicking the voices of other birds.
In good captive conditions, birds can live up to 10 years if nesting conditions are created for them. If you do not maintain nutritional needs and temperature conditions, the plumage of the bird turns pale to grayish-green, and the crossbill dies.
They are very savvy creatures, so they can easily open the cage. Crossboot owners admit that communicating with these birds and observing their behavior brings a sea of positive emotions.
Some interesting facts
- The ancestors of modern individuals appeared 9 million years ago.
- In winter, a crossbill can gurgle its songs even in fifty-degree frost.
- In Ukraine, crossbills are called cones, and in Belarus - kryzhadzuby.
- These birds feed their chicks in a peculiar way: they drop lumps of food in their mouth, if they miss, they start the procedure again.