One of the most famous feathered singers is the ordinary nightingale, which is also called oriental. If you had to walk at night or in the morning along lush trees and shrubs, then you probably heard the sonorous and enchanting singing of this little fellow.
Nightingale Description
All species of nightingales belong to the family of thrush. Females and males do not outwardly differ from each other. An ordinary nightingale is a small bird, a little larger than a sparrow. Its color is also inconspicuous, mostly plain, brown-olive. Part of the abdomen and neck of a bird is white. On the sides and on the chest, the color is slightly darker than the main color. The top of the tail has a slight reddish tint. The color of nightingales practically does not change all year round.
Young individuals can be distinguished by scaly coloration underneath and light streaks on the upper side. Round eyes seem almost black. The length of the nightingale does not exceed 20 cm, and its weight is an average of 25 grams. The wings of the bird are about 9 cm, and the span can be 29 cm. These birds have a straight tail. But there are individuals with curves at the end. When the nightingale sits, the tail rises and lowers.
Spread
Eastern nightingale is a fairly common bird that settles in eastern Europe. You can also meet him in the west of Siberia. These birds are migratory, therefore, for wintering they choose North Africa, Southern Iran and Arabia.
Habitat
But where do nightingales live, returning after wintering to their homeland? Since they are water-loving birds, they choose succulent areas, such as swampy bushes, shrubs in parks and gardens. They also love forest edges, which are found in forest and forest-steppe regions. Some individuals may settle in arid places, but usually they will not return to these sites next year.
Lifestyle
From the place of wintering, this bird is in no hurry to return. The nightingale flies in the spring, when the trees are already covered with greenery, and insects lead a stormy life, since they are the food of these birds. Usually this time falls in late April to mid-May. Experienced singers usually return first. After a few days, one-year-old birds are pulled up. With their arrival, life changes. Young mature individuals tend to live close to experienced, old nightingales. They are trying to conquer part of the territory of those males who live here from year to year. But he actively defends this site. The old nightingale vehemently tries to drive out all the envious people and only gives up some positions, losing part of its territory. But at the same time, he decides to whom to give in, as if he chooses with whom he wants to side by side. New neighbors become mature young nightingales, old ones can never occupy someone else's territory.
Thus a hierarchy is formed from a small number of nightingales. The head is the oldest male, there are also from 1 to 3 adult individuals, and the rest, the youngest, stand lower, obeying the leader. All of them can create families and settle at a distance of 15-30 meters, sometimes a neighboring nest is only five meters away. In such cases, the old and young nightingales can sit on one branch and sing. At the same time, the youngest bird strictly observes its turn in order to start singing. It happens that an inexperienced male is carried away and begins to sing earlier, then the old bird attacks and chases off the offender or begins to sing as loudly as the young one does not know how, thereby silencing him.
If the males live a few meters apart, each has his time for singing. This is usually observed in places especially favorable for nesting. There may not be a leader among adult males. Also, eastern nightingales, which are only a year old, can group themselves and live separately on settlements. These birds sing ineptly, with wheezing and blots, or excessively zealously, with "fervor."
In other areas, usually to the north, individual pairs settle at a distance of several hundred meters from each other.
More about singing
Among this family of birds, the best singer is the Western ordinary nightingale. The bird begins its songs only three to five days after it returns from wintering. His song begins around 10 p.m. and lasts all night until dawn. But the first weeks after he arrives, feathered singing can be heard in the afternoon. He pours all the time, silent only for a couple of hours at lunch.
The nightingale performs his song on a branch that grows not high from the ground. At this time, he is slightly hunched over and lowers his wings. In normal times, it is almost impossible to notice the nightingale, since the character of this maltz is secretive and cautious. But during singing, he can be forgotten so much that some managed to get very close and consider a keen artist.
Songs of the nightingale are very characteristic, they are filled with whistling, rumbling and clicking sounds. But in his "dictionary" there are many signals that he uses not only for singing. But he uses these sounds only for a specific purpose, therefore, very rarely. For example, a nightingale uses several different signals to indicate an impending alarm.
Nightingale songs can gradually improve as the birds learn this art gradually. Young males listen to more adults and imitate them. If an experienced performer is wound up in the district, soon all the nightingales will tighten their singing here. It is known that in places where good singers are caught, the next generation will not perform their tunes well until they are taught.
The description of the nightingale, or rather his song, will not convey the beauty of this extraordinary event, so it is better to set aside a day to go for a walk in the countryside, and maybe you will be lucky to hear the tunes of this famous singer.
Pairing
Females arrive at the territory of males in the evening and quietly wait until the morning. At dawn they begin to whistle softly in order to attract attention. Often at this moment they jump on the branches of a bush or on the ground. The male, in turn, begins to wriggle, taking different poses, lowers its wings, hunches and opens its tail. So a pair is formed. The female takes off, and the male goes after her, making creaky sounds. So he chases his chosen one.
A few days later, when the female settles in the nesting area of ββthe male, she finds a good place to build a nest.
Nesting
Favorite places for building a nightingale's nest are bushes and shrubs, tree shoots, groves, and nearby gardens. Typically, these places are located near wet areas, such as near ponds or wetlands. The nest is usually built on the ground, and sometimes on a pile of dry leaves. The place is hidden by branches or roots. To build a house, they do not pit, but only a little deeper into the forest litter. The sides of the nest remain at the level of dry leaves. So, its diameter is 110-130 mm, its height is up to 100 mm. The tray itself inside the nest is 7-8 cm in diameter, and the depth is 5-7 cm.
An ordinary nightingale is building rudely. At the bottom there are several layers of last year's leaves. The edges of the tray, in rare cases and the walls of the nest, are lined with grass stems and sedge. Also, the bottom of the tray is covered with small particles of cereals and even horse hair. The new nest is in a hidden place, so the nightingale walks to it. A female is building such a dwelling. She spends up to 6 days on this.
Offspring of a bird
After arranging the nest, the female makes a clutch in which 4-5 eggs are olive or olive brown. This time falls on the end of May and the beginning of June. Only the female incubates. At this time, βdadβ sings and guards the territory and the female with the nest. After 13-14 days, offspring appears. Feeding lasts up to 12 days, and the father helps in this female. Approximately on the 19th day, the chicks begin to fly, and the father stops his singing. Two more weeks parents feed the young. Already at the end of June, all the nightingales stop singing, and the broods fly apart. Birds begin their usual solitary life. An ordinary nightingale flies away from the nesting site in late July.