This article provides information about one of the tiny representatives of the huge diversity of the family of birds. They represent one of the most common varieties of "summer" birds. These birds are minted. Consider them.
The territories of many countries are habitats of chasing birds.
Description
Mint is a bird genus from the blackbird family. In size, it is smaller than the usual sparrow - the length of its body is about 15 centimeters, and its mass is 20 g. The tail of the bird is relatively short. A feature of the coinage’s behavior is its mobility, the habit of twitching its tail and bowing.
There are common features in the plumage of males of different types of coinage - the breast is orange-red, a black “mask” on the eyes and a white eyebrow above them. In females, the color is lighter and the eyebrow is practically not expressed.
Habitats, distribution
Is there a chasing bird everywhere? The mint is mainly settled in meadows with tall grasses or sparse shrubs with hard stems used by birds as additives.
In the southern parts of Europe they choose relatively moist glades, high mountain pastures, fringes of coniferous massifs located at heights within 700-2200 meters above sea level. seas.
Places of distribution depend on the type of bird. For example, meadow mint (the most common) is found mainly in Eurasia. And in Europe, their distribution does not go south beyond the 43-degree mark of northern latitude.
Mint bird habitats in Russia are territories from the North Caucasus to Arkhangelsk, and their border reaches Kazakhstan (western part), and in Western Siberia to the upper reaches of the Yenisei. Prefers this species to settle in the mixed floodplain meadows. It is also found on the edges, clearings, pastures, meadows, vacant lots, clearings.
Varieties
Meadow, large and black-chested - these are species of bird minted. A description of each of them is presented below.
- Meadow minting. The dimensions of his body are about 14 cm, and the mass is no more than 20 g. The plumage on the back is brown with black speckles, and the tummy is gray-white. Throat and chest bright yellow-orange. Males have white stripes above the eyes and under the beak, and black plumage between them. Meadow mint lives in nature up to 8 years.
- Big coinage. Distributed only in Asia (Mongolia, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Kazakhstan). It inhabits to a greater extent in mountainous areas, nests in alpine and subalpine meadows. This species leads mainly a sedentary lifestyle. Outwardly, it looks like a kindred bird - meadow mint. This species belongs to vulnerable birds, due to the rapid decrease in meadows - the habitats of the large mint. Their population today totals only up to 10,000 individuals.
- Black-headed coinage. In size, it reaches 12 cm in length and weighs about 13 g. On the head there is a coal-black plumage, on the neck there is a white strip. These are the hallmarks of a male of this species. His chest is bright red-orange. Females have a paler color. The bird prefers open spaces with rare shrubs, such as swamps and wastelands. Black-headed minting is found mainly in the east and in the center of Europe. Winters in territories located to the south and west of their native places.
Voice Features
The song of the coinage is grinding hasty twittering, trills and creaks, whistles with pauses varying in the interval, and sometimes with some sounds and phrases. Songs of meadow and black-headed chasers are similar to each other.
Usually a singing male sits on a large prominent branch of a bush or tree, on a fence, on the highest stems of grass. Can sing in not very high current flight. He sings a lot in the pre-nesting time, and at all times of the day, and even at night. At the beginning of nesting, such activity decreases sharply.
The alarms and the most common calls for chasing are not very loud “check-check”, “check”, “he-check-check”, “yu-chik-chik”, etc.
Nesting
The chasing of a bird’s nest is always arranged on the ground, in a well-covered recess, among grass, bushes, humps. The nest is built of moss, fine grass, and the tray is lined with thin blades of grass or large wool.
Usually in clutch there are up to 5-6 eggs, which in meadow mint are brighter in color than in black-headed ones. They are painted in bluish, blue, greenish colors, with a reddish or brown bloom or rash. There may be a faint spot on the blunt end. The eggs are hatched only by the female for about 13 days. There may be two broods throughout the summer.
Nutrition
In food, these birds are unpretentious. The chasing bird mainly feeds on insects, which it collects in the grass. Prey is usually looked for from some low additive. And in the air, coinage can catch insects.
From the middle of summer they roam with broods, singly or in small groups. They start to fly away for the winter from the end of August to September.
At home, they can be fed with conventional mixtures for insectivorous birds. Nightingale food with admixtures of pieces of berries and fruits is perfect for them. The delicacy for minting is flour worms.
Some interesting facts
- The care of the chicks is entrusted to both parents - both the female and the male feed them.
- These birds are very friendly. They quickly get used to the person and can take food directly from his hands.
- In captivity (after getting used to it), minting is rather fun and chirps a lot, and this can continue almost all year round.
Finally
Migration of chasing depends on the habitat of populations. For example, the permanent inhabitants of the temperate zone of Europe (black-headed chasers) migrate for the winter closer to the Mediterranean or to the northern parts of Africa. The inhabitants of Asian countries (large coinage) - do not have such a need - they remain in their sunny homeland.