Flycatcher is a small bird that belongs to the order Vorobyinovye and the Flycatcher family, which includes about 80 genera and more than 330 species. All representatives of the family of flycatchers possess rather long wings and weak legs, unsuitable for active movement along tree branches or the ground. Flycatcher - a bird with a short tail (with the exception of the paradise flycatcher), with a notch at the end. The color of the plumage in the family of flycatchers can be either monotonous in one species, or very bright in another.
The most common species from this family are its species such as the small flycatcher, gray flycatcher and pied flycatcher. The bird mainly has a strong conical beak, which expands to the base, small size and soft plumage, which is typical for all species of flycatcher. In our country, of the representatives of this family there are about 4 genera and 15 species.
The pilot, or the small flycatcher, is a bird that got its name due to its miniature size and body weight. Its weight is only 11 grams, the body length is 12-14 centimeters, for which the pilot is considered the smallest species of the flycatcher family. The small flycatcher is an inconspicuous bird, because it prefers to settle in high-trunk
coniferous forests. In the first year of life, the color of males and females is almost the same. Later, the male pilot acquires a colorful plumage, expressed ashen-gray coloring of the front of the chest and sides, a red neck and a brownish-gray back. The female small flycatcher has a dimmer plumage and does not have red spots on the throat. Nests of small flycatchers are distinguished by a large amount of moss, which is the main material for the construction of the nest. The main source of nutrition for the bird is caterpillars, small beetles and butterflies. The pilotโs song is a fairly simple sonorous trill with a pleasant sound.
The gray flycatcher is a bird that has become widespread throughout Europe and the European part of Russia. In the east of our country, its habitat extends to the
Chita region. The flycatcher bird (photo can be seen in the article) does not differ in bright plumage, having a brownish-gray top, white bottom and longitudinal streaks located on the chest and head. Like all representatives of the flycatcher family, the gray flycatcher has a small size: the body length of the bird is 15 centimeters, and the body weight is 15 grams. Often, a bird settles near a person, lives in a country, on forest edges, vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens. Although many members of this family have a fairly beautiful voice, the gray flycatcher does not sing, but emits quiet creaky whistles.
The motley flycatcher is a songbird, which differs from its small and gray sisters by its rather bright plumage and sonorous trills.
In the summer, males have black and white plumage and distinct white spots on the wings and above the beak, as well as a whitish color of the chest. In female pied flycatchers, the plumage is less bright: the upper part of the body is brown, and the wings and tail are dark. In winter, the color of the males becomes similar to the color of the females, while the pied males remain with black wings and upper feathers on the tail. The main habitat of the pied flycatcher are parks, as well as
orchards, where there are a large number of hollows. The song of the male spotted flycatcher is a short sonorous trills of various heights.