The coachman, or common nuthatch, is a small bird of the nuthatch family, which is widespread in North Africa, Asia and Europe. It can be found in central Russia, as well as in Siberia. It nests in mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests, in gardens and parks of settlements. The nuthatch, in search of food, adroitly moves along the branches and trunks of trees, often even upside down.
Description
This is a small mobile bird, reaching 14.5 cm in length, with a weight of 25 g and a wingspan of 27 cm; with a large head, a tight physique and an almost imperceptible, short neck. The plumage is thick, fluffy. Coloring varies depending on the habitat; the upper body always always has different shades of gray-blue color. In Western Asia, Western Europe, as well as in the Caucasus, it has a red belly and a white chin with a neck. In the north, its bottom is white with red sides, in addition, a chestnut undertail with white streaks.
Common Nuthatch, pictures of which are presented in this article, which lives in the eastern part of China, has a completely red bottom. Far Eastern species have white breast feathers. There are always white spots on the tail feathers. From the beginning of the beak to the back of the head there is a dark horizontal strip. The beak is sharp, straight and long, gray. At its base there are forward stiff bristles. The wings are rounded, short, and have ten wing feathers. Short, straight tail. Legs are strong, gray-brown, with tenacious long claws, perfectly adapted to active climbing trees. Females and males do not differ from each other in appearance, only the male is slightly larger.
Area
In the forest part of the Palearctic (the main part of Asia, Europe, and also North Africa) , the common nuthatch is widespread. The bird, the photo of which is presented in this article, is found almost everywhere in Europe. In the territory of our country from the north, the range is limited by the White Sea, the lower reaches of the Ob and the village of Ust-Tsilm; from the south - Saratov, Voronezh regions, Kokchetav, the South Urals, Barnaul and Omsk. Outside of our country lives in Korea, China, Taiwan and the Japanese islands; lives in the south in Iran, Israel, Indochina and the Himalayan mountains. In Africa can be found in Morocco.
Habitat
Common Nuthatch lives in forests - coniferous, mixed and deciduous, and at the same time chooses territories with a large number of old and tall trees in which it seeks food. Also willingly settles in parks and gardens with woody vegetation. In southern regions and western Europe, it prefers broad-leaved forests, in which hornbeam, oak, and beech dominate.
Common Nuthatch reaches forest tundra in the north, in the southern part - steppe zones in which it nests in forest belts and tugai forests. In the Far East and Siberia, where coniferous forests mainly grow, lives mostly in the taiga with a lot of larch or cedar. It is known that the fragmentation of forest masses, often leading to a reduction in the number of different species, does not affect the reproductive efficiency of the nuthatch.
An ordinary nuthatch (photo can be seen in this article) leads a settled life, and, as a rule, it adheres to one place, if not disturbed. In the middle taiga and in the north of the range, birds migrate south in the winter. At this time of the year they can join other birds (mainly titmouse), but they themselves do not form flocks. Territorial bird, guarding its site all year round.
Breeding
In birds, the beginning of the breeding season directly depends on latitude. For example, in central Russia, they begin to nest in April, while in the northern regions - only in May. Birds are monogamous (only one female per male); couples persist throughout their lives.
Nuthatch their creepers with clay, while leaving only a small summer.
Incubation
An ordinary nuthatch, the photo of which is placed in this article, becomes silent with the beginning of incubation, becoming invisible. The female incubates, while she leaves the nest only in case of danger, after covering the masonry with litter. Incubation lasts about two weeks. Next, the chicks hatch, which are covered with long rare down on the back, shoulders and head. Both parents take care of them, bringing them food up to 350 times a day. The chicks become winged after 25 days, although they feed on their parents for another 1-2 weeks, and then disperse.
By the end of summer, the main number of young birds is selected by an individual site, but with the choice of a partner and breeding territory, they are finally determined only next spring. Birds in the wild live for about eleven years.
Hollow
Common Nuthatch bird nests in hollows, but, unlike the same woodpeckers, they are not able to hollow out hollows on their own, therefore, they use old nests or occupy natural voids in trees. The hollow is selected at a distance of 4-8 meters above the ground. Also occupied by duplicates created by artificial means. Often, if the hole is large enough, they cover it with clay to protect it from various predators, periodically mixing it with manure, leaving only a small notch with a diameter of up to 35 mm. From time to time, both the hollow itself and the surrounding areas are smeared with clay.
The inside of the hollow is lined with small scales of a thin upper layer of the bark, sometimes with pieces of leaves. The litter is magnificent - eggs in it are almost completely immersed.