This bird, nesting in swampy landscapes and damp plains, lives in vast territories stretching from Iceland to the Far East. Wintering places cover the regions of many continents - Africa, Southern and Western Europe, Asia Southeast and South, Australia.
This is a swamp sandpiper, or a large godwit (photo of the bird is presented in the article) - a large variety of sandpiper, which is part of the Bekasov family.
General information
In connection with the reduction of suitable breeding grounds, the large godwit is included in the International Red Book as part of the threatened group (category NT). The nesting range covers latitudes of the northern hemisphere with a temperate climate, from Iceland (west) to the Anadyr and Primorye river basins (east), but to a greater extent it consists of a large number of isolated areas. In the regions of Western Europe, east of France and Great Britain, the bird is sporadically distributed (not regularly and not constantly), and is found only in some areas where wetlands and wet uncultivated meadows are preserved. The only exception is the Netherlands, where the large godwit has a normal distribution area. Outside the mainland, it nests in Iceland, as well as on the islands of Shetland, Faroe and Lofoten. More often and in large quantities, these birds are found in Eastern Europe, since in these regions the least land has been transferred for agricultural purposes.
Description
The large godwit is a very elegant large sandpiper with a relatively small head, long legs and beak. In size, it is comparable to the average size of curlew, but the first physique is more slim. The body length is approximately 36-44 cm with a body weight of 160 to 500 g. The wingspan is from 70 to 82 cm. Males are slightly smaller than females (respectively, on average 280 and 340 grams), and their beak is shorter.
In the mating season, the godwit has a rusty-red head, front of the chest and neck. The upper part of the head has longitudinal stripes of dark brown color, and from the sides there are also strokes of the same shade. The spindles have a motley back: against a black-brown background, there are red transverse spots and grayish-brown mottles. The upper covering wings have a grayish-brown tint, and the wings are black-brown with white bases.
Habitat
Large godwitters nest in swampy and moistened biotopes with soft soil and tall herbs. Sometimes they can also be found on sand bald patches - river marshy valleys and moist meadows that do not have woody vegetation. They live on the shores of lakes, on pastures, grassy swamps and on the outskirts of moorlands. And also in the territories from the forest-tundra in the north to the steppe zones in the south.
In Iceland, the bird prefers to settle in marshes overgrown with dwarf birch and sedge. After the end of the nesting period, the godwit often moves to even more moist areas - irrigation fields, as well as to the marshy shores of water bodies and salt marshes and estuaries flooded during the tidal season. Wintering takes place in similar biotopes, including sandy beaches, silty shores of sea lagoons and flooded rice fields.
Singing and eating
Large godwit - a noisy bird during the breeding season. During the current period, it emits a sharp, nasal and protracted scream of "scotch-scotch", which gradually accelerates. On the fly, it can make a subtle but slightly creaky sound of “someone's,” slightly resembling the voice of a lapwing. An alarm is a sharp nasal and prolonged “spindle-spindle”, due to which it got its Russian name.
The bird feeds on small crustaceans, spiders, mollusks, aquatic insects and their larvae, bivalves, polychaete and ringed worms, a little less often - fish caviar and frog caviar, as well as tadpoles. During nesting in many areas, the food of these birds is dominated by grasshoppers and other locusts. In places of wintering and on migration, they also use plant foods - rice grains, seeds and berries.
They forage on land from the surface of grass, land, or by immersing their beaks in the ground. In the water they feed in shallow water, going into the water on the shoulders and looking for prey either on a muddy bottom or on the surface. Godworms are public birds, and usually feed in large groups, and sometimes together with herbalists.
Nesting Features
The breeding season lasts from April to June. The bulk of the birds begins to breed at the age of two. Sandpipers usually arrive at nesting sites in groups and settle in small colonies, which number from 2 to 20 pairs.
The place for the nest is selected by the male. Tokovanie is a rather spectacular performance taking place on the nest location site: males fly, swaying from side to side, and striking alternately with one or the other wing. And they also make deep dives, making nasal lingering sounds. Alien males who have flown into this territory are unceremoniously driven out of it.
Chicks
Usually, in this clutch there are 3-5 eggs of olive-green or reddish-brown shade with large superficial olive-brown and deep gray spots in the clutch. The eggs are hatched by the female and male for about 24 days. In the event of any enemies, the parents defend their nest - issuing loud cries, fly out to meet. They can also enter into an air battle with feathered predators. They are guarded by neighboring nests.
Chicks of a large godwit immediately after hatching have a yellowish-ocher fluff with a dark pattern. After drying, they leave the nest. They feed with their parents in the swamps and shores of water bodies. After about 30 days, they become winged, and in July the female with the young chicks first leaves the nest. The male usually flies after them in a few days. The maximum life span of this bird in Europe is just over 23 years.
Some interesting facts
This bird belongs to monogamous species. Thanks to studies by British experts, it turned out that, despite the annual breakdown of pairs of large godworms and wintering at considerable distances from each other, these birds again spring in the same places of nesting every spring. This happens only in the case of the arrival of each of the birds of one pair in the interval of three days. Otherwise, the birds find new partners.
It is important to remember that not only the Big Red Book is included in the International Red Book. Red books of many regions of Russia and countries of Western Europe also include this interesting bird. On the territory of Russia, it is an object of hunting during its autumn migration, although some ecologists advocate a ban on hunting for it.