Nadezhda Nikolaeva
A Tale of Wintering and Migratory Birds
A Tale of Wintering and Migratory Birds
Forest Doctor - Woodpecker said: “I have a strong beak and a long tongue - I can pull out the tree-destroying bark beetles from anywhere. Trees are not allowed to grow without my supervision, neither in winter nor in summer.”
Owl said: “I also can’t fly to warm places. There are a lot of mice in the summer, and if you don’t destroy them in the winter, they will eat all the mushrooms and berries in the summer.”
Pigeon said: “I want to stay because I’m used to people. It’s warm on the roofs of houses and that’s where my nests are. I don’t want to leave my home.”
Sparrow thought: “Chick-chirp, jump-jump. We are nimble and fast sparrows. People hang feeders in winter, feeding us and others birds. I think we won’t experience hunger.
These birds have become wintering birds.
Rest birds - heron, a swan, a seagull, a crane, a duck flew away because the water in rivers and lakes freezes in winter, and they are waterfowl.
Starlings, swallows, cuckoos and others birds which ate insects also flew to warmer climes and became migratory.
One rook thought for a long time, and when the snow covered the scattered grains in the fields, he also decided to fly away, but promised to return first.
Since then it has been like this: alone birds flew to warm regions where the water does not freeze and there are a lot of fish and insects. Some birds stay and feed themselves in winter. And many birds were left in the care of people to cultivate kindness and sensitivity towards their feathered friends.
Publications on the topic:
Conversation about wintering and migratory birds Target. To form a generalized idea of wintering and migratory birds, to learn to distinguish them by essential characteristics, the possibility of satisfaction.
Children and adults educational project on ecology “We are friends of wintering birds” Project passport Project type: natural science Duration: short-term (weekly) Participants: educators, parents, secondary school children.
The ecological holiday "Titmouse Day" is celebrated in many parts of our country. On this day, kind, caring people meet wintering birds.
Summary of educational activities on the formation of ideas about wintering birds in the preparatory school group “Young Ornithologists” Topic: “Young ornithologists” Prepared by teacher: Svetlana Leonidovna Kargina Purpose: to clarify and expand ideas about wintering birds.
“Conversation about wintering and migratory birds.” Program content: - to consolidate the concept of “wintering” birds, “migratory” birds; - clarify knowledge.
Lesson summary “Visiting wintering birds” Municipal budgetary preschool educational institution Kindergarten No. 1 “Alyonushka” of the urban district of the city of Oktyabrsky Republic.
Educational activity “Meeting migratory birds” Goal: To clarify children’s knowledge about spring and migratory birds. Educational objectives: To clarify and expand children’s ideas about spring and signs.
An educational fairy tale for a conversation about domestic animals and birds and their young One day, near the yard, a cub woke up and began calling for its mother. Suddenly he heard frogs croaking nearby. The cub thought they were laughing.
Wintering birds are those birds that, with the arrival of winter, do not fly south, but remain to spend the winter in their native land. Those that fly south are called migratory birds. And there are also nomadic birds. They are called nomads who constantly move from place to place in search of food. Nomadic birds can be found both in winter and summer. But most often we see them in winter. Why? Yes, because in winter, in search of food, birds constantly huddle close to human habitation. Therefore, in winter you can see wintering and migrating birds. All of them can be called hibernating.
And what birds stay for the winter? It would seem that the answer to this question is clear. Those who are able to withstand the cold remain. But this is not at all the main reason. Only well-fed birds can tolerate the cold. Therefore, only those birds remain that are able to find food for themselves in winter. Those that feed on insects will not be able to feed themselves in winter. All insects disappear during cold weather. Some hide in warm and secluded places. Most insects simply die, having previously left a sufficient supply of eggs. So the birds are forced to fly away to those regions where there is no winter and there is enough food. Only those who eat seeds, grains, and berries remain to spend the winter. But it’s not easy for them either.
For birds, winter is a very difficult time of year. The poor birds are hungry and cold. Because of the cold, winter birds lose a lot of heat. In order to keep warm, birds need to eat a lot, and in winter they need much more food than in summer. Finding food is the main activity for birds in winter. It gets dark quickly, and in the dark there is no food to be found. Therefore, from dawn to dark, birds search for food in winter. And whoever remains hungry will disappear at night and freeze! “A well-fed person is not afraid of frosts” - this can be said about birds.
And yet, in severe frosts, winter birds feel very bad. Especially when the frost is prolonged. Many fairy tales of northern peoples say: “It was so cold that the birds froze in flight.”
Often in frosty conditions birds do not fly, but sit with their feathers ruffled. Why? It turns out that they do not fly in cold weather, because the bird freezes much faster in flight. When a bird sits, it has still air between its feathers. It prevents cold from reaching the bird's body and retains heat. In flight, frosty air rushes towards the bird’s body from all sides, and it freezes in flight.
And you can also see in winter frosts how the bird stands on one leg or the other. Why is she doing this? The bird warms its legs by alternately lifting them from the cold ground.
To keep warm, birds hug each other closely and hide their beaks under their wings. Even those birds in winter that live alone in summer flock together. This makes it easier for them to endure the winter. One bird found food and immediately notified everyone. So everyone is full. It is easier for the flock to notice approaching danger. And the birds keep warm by huddling together.
How else do birds escape the cold?
Black grouse, hazel grouse, wood grouse and partridges escape the cold in deep snow. In the evening, a flock of stones falls from the trees into a snowdrift and hides in it from the wind and frost. And in the morning it takes off to feed on buds and needles again. In severe frosts, a flock can remain in the snow all day. But even in a snowdrift, danger can lurk for birds if a hard crust forms on it, and the birds do not have enough strength to break through it and get out.
The long winter forces some birds to make substantial reserves. This is how the nutcracker stores pine nuts. She makes tens of thousands of 10-20 pieces of nuts in secluded places and remembers them for several months! Of course, some of the reserves are stolen by other inhabitants of the taiga, from chipmunks to bears; sometimes forgotten “treasures” sprout and give rise to new groves of Siberian pine.
There is a bird that has adapted to winter conditions so much that it even hatches chicks in winter. This is a crossbill. The spruce crossbill lives in our country. These birds feed on seeds from the cones of coniferous trees, deftly extracting them from the cones with their crossed beaks. In January-February they begin to build warm, two-layer nests. The male brings food to the female sitting on the nest; she incubates the eggs for a little more than two weeks, and then the parents feed the chicks for another three weeks.
Flocks of bright bullfinches and waxwings noisily fly from one tree or small-fruited apple tree to another. A lot of pecked berries remain on the snow under the trees. Overripe berries can ferment during a thaw, and then the birds, having eaten them, behave like drunken people. They become disorientated, hit walls and fall.
Birds need help in winter, make feeders for them and regularly pour food into them.
Feed the birds in winter.
Let it come from all over
They will flock to you like home,
Flocks on the porch.
Their food is not rich.
I need a handful of grain
One handful -
And not scary
It will be winter for them.
It’s impossible to count how many of them die,
It's hard to see.
But in our heart there is
And it's warm for the birds.
How can we forget:
They could fly away
And they stayed for the winter
Together with people.
Train your birds in the cold
To your window
So that you don’t have to go without songs
Let's welcome spring.
Proverbs and sayings about winter birds
The sparrows chirp in unison, which means there will be a thaw.
In which direction the crow sits with its nose, the wind will come from there.
Crows hide their beaks under their wings - to the cold weather.
Birds sit on the treetops - it will be warm.
The titmice squeak in the morning, which means it will be frosty.
Poems about wintering birds
Poems about Crow
The color is greyish,
Habit - a thief,
Hoarse screamer
Famous person.
Hoodie!
Poems about Sparrow
The sparrow jumps and jumps,
Calls out to little children:
Throw crumbs to the sparrow -
I'll sing you a song
Tick-tweet!
Throw in millet and barley -
I'll sing to you all day long
Tick-tweet!
Poems about Soroka
Magpie flew to us
Belogruda, Belobok,
She chattered, she galloped,
I crushed the loose bed,
I dug here and there with my beak,
I wet my tail in a puddle,
Then she shook the feathers,
She ran and flew up!
Poems about tits
Birds jump early in the morning
Along the snow-covered branches -
Yellow-breasted tits
They flew to visit us.
"Tin-shadow, Tili-shadow,
The winter day is getting shorter and shorter -
You won't have time to have lunch,
The sun will set behind the fence.
Not a mosquito, not a fly.
There is just snow and snow everywhere.
It's good that we have feeders
Made by a good man!
Poems about waxwings
Blizzards are blowing outside the window,
But it happens sometimes -
Waxwings arrive
Peck berries in the spring.
The hawthorn bush bends
From the pressure of flocks of birds.
The silver ringing is rushing,
Glorifying the frozen harvest.
They moved to the rowan tree,
We drank scarlet berries,
And trills into the frosty air
They rushed with a thin echo.
Poems about the Bullfinch
Bullfinches are a funny bird,
Not afraid of winter at all,
In winter he comes to visit,
Kholodov doesn’t notice.
This red-breasted bird
Forest winter singer.
The forest is a glorious home for her in winter,
Bullfinches are looking for food there.
The bird is small in size,
Can be an example for many:
How to live in a cold forest,
Live and not bother at all.
Bullfinches fly in a flock,
The gifts of the forest are collected:
Dry flower seeds,
And berries from forest bushes.
Their flocks of red-breasted ones in a row,
It's like a parade for the forest.
Often flocks of bullfinches,
They fly into people's cities.
They eat winter rowan,
Everyone is waiting for spring together.
A children's song about autumn says:
Birds fly south
Geese, rooks, cranes.
This is the last flock
Flapping its wings in the distance.
Ducks, swans, swallows, starlings, larks, nightingales, cuckoos, wagtails and various other species also fly away, most of which are familiar to city residents only from pictures. But there are many who remain.
Why are frosts not terrible?
And what birds stay for the winter? Who is not afraid of harsh Russian frosts and deep snow? What birds can you see all year round in the city and in the forest?
Not only for warmth, but also for food. If there is something to feed in the cold, they do not fly away. Warm plumage, the ability to form flocks, the ability to hide in various buildings and human help allow the birds to survive the winter. Although prolonged ones can sharply reduce their numbers. Many fairy tales of northern peoples say: “It was so cold that the birds froze in flight.”
City dwellers
The question of which birds remain to spend the winter in the city is easy to answer. Pigeons wait in their usual places to feed. Every morning and evening they fly in flocks from their roosting sites in large trees in courtyards and parks outside the city and back. Magpie, common crow, and jay can be seen near houses.
The sound of a woodpecker knocking on an old tree in the park can be heard far in the frosty air. In winter, it is even easier to find it by the sound and crushed bark lying on the snow and to see it among the bare trees.
Increasingly, in large cities in the middle zone, you can see ducks and even swans on non-freezing reservoirs, fed by people. Although until recently, these wintering birds, photos of which are widely presented in the specialized literature, were very rare. Reducing harmful emissions from enterprises helps to increase the number of bird species in the city, which is an indicator of the well-being of its ecology.
Old acquaintances
Wintering birds whose names are familiar from childhood are whistling merrily at the windows and balconies, where they have already been fed: sparrows, siskins, goldfinches, different types of tits - great and tufted, chickadee and tit, long-tailed, as well as nuthatch.
It is difficult to see tits in the city in summer, but by winter they migrate closer to human habitation and can fly to a familiar window for several years in a row.
Flocks of bright bullfinches and waxwings noisily fly from one rowan tree or small-fruited apple tree to another, leaving a lot of pecked berries on the snow. During a thaw, overripe berries can ferment, and then the birds, having eaten them, act like they are drunk. They become disorientated, hit walls and fall.
These are wintering birds, the names and photos of which are a symbol and decoration of the harsh season. The appearance of bullfinches and waxwings always attracts attention and pleases.
The Science of Kindness
Wintering birds become an object of study and care for children. Together with parents and teachers, they make and fill feeders, and see who flies to them. They observe how wintering birds behave if they have to share food. The kindergarten and playground with feeders attract sparrows, tits, and pigeons from all over the area. Grain, seeds, table scraps, pieces of lard are in great demand in these poultry canteens.
A heavy pigeon can overturn a hanging feeder, so we have to invent different designs for small birds.
It's always interesting to watch cheeky sparrows snatch crumbs and seeds from under the noses of important pigeons. Magpies chirp and jump, respectable crows walk. Such lessons in communicating with living nature are very memorable for children. Knowing which birds remain to spend the winter in the city, preparing for their appearance, and feeding them in harsh times is very important. This is the science of kindness for a child.
What birds stay in the forest for the winter?
The north is buried in snow even in winter, rivers and lakes freeze. They are waterfowl and fly south. But observant skiers, hunters and outdoor enthusiasts know what birds winter in our forests.
In cold weather, you can hear and see tits, woodpeckers, crossbills, and nutcrackers in the forest. Some species of blackbirds fly away, but fieldfare and blackbird can remain for the winter at the latitude of the Leningrad region, especially when there is an abundant harvest of rowan. Most often, old males remain.
Large birds such as wood grouse, black grouse, partridges and hazel grouse easily find food and can hide in the snow from predators.
Predatory hawks, owls, owls, eagle owls, and owls winter in their nesting areas, although some species migrate from more northern regions. They can be found not only in the forest, but also in parks, gardens, cemeteries, and in holiday villages, where they hunt small birds and rodents.
Taiga game
If someone has seen and heard a flock of large birds take off noisily from under their feet, they are unlikely to ever forget the fear and surprise of such a meeting.
The smallest representatives of wild chickens, quails, winter in Africa and South Asia. But their relatives hazel grouse, black grouse, wood grouse and partridge have always been a desirable winter and spring prey for Russian hunters. Taiga game meat has a subtle resinous flavor and is highly valued.
Deep snow serves as a home and bed for these birds. In the evening, a flock of stones falls into a snowdrift from the trees and hides in it from the frost and wind. And in the morning it takes off to feed on pine needles and buds again. In severe frosts, a flock can remain in the snow all day.
But a snowdrift can also become a grave for birds if a hard crust forms on it, and hazel grouse or partridges do not have enough strength to break through it and get out.
And when the first thawed patches appear, the time comes for the mesmerizing display of wood grouse and black grouse. During mating songs they do not hear anything, which is why they got their names.
Thrifty nutcracker
The long winter forces some birds to make substantial reserves. Among Siberian fishermen there is an expression: “The nutcracker has dropped all its cones.” The point is that in a year when there are few pine nuts, this bird stores almost the entire harvest. Nutritious, rich in tasty and healthy oils, nuts help to survive the harsh winter and raise chicks in the spring. The nutcracker makes tens of thousands of nuts, 10-20 pieces each, in secluded places and remembers them for several months! Some of the reserves, of course, are stolen by other inhabitants of the taiga, from chipmunks to bears; forgotten “treasures” sprout and give rise to new groves of Siberian pine.
Winter chicks
What other birds migrate to those places where a lot of coniferous tree seeds are born, and manage to fearlessly hatch their chicks in February?
The spruce crossbill lives in our country. Beautiful motley birds with tenacious paws and a crossed beak deftly extract and bite the seeds, then drop the cones to the ground.
In January-February they begin to build warm, two-layer nests. The male brings food to the female sitting on the nest, she incubates the eggs for a little over two weeks, and then the parents feed the chicks for another three weeks. Sometimes crossbills postpone nesting until spring and hatch chicks only in May.
Life doesn't stop
It is no secret to the curious observer that not only the familiar tits, pigeons and sparrows winter near us, but also tap dancers, buntings, bee-eaters, wrens and three to four dozen other species. During trips and walks, you can get acquainted with a wide variety of birds, learn to distinguish their voices and tracks in the snow. There are even mobile applications that allow you to identify birds by their voices in the field.
Hanging a feeder from a plastic bottle or pouring crumbs from the table onto the windowsill is not at all difficult, but it is so interesting to watch the birds and understand that life in nature does not stop even in winter.
Tolstoy L.N.
Young sparrows were jumping on the path in the garden.
And the old sparrow sat high on a tree branch and vigilantly looked to see if a bird of prey would appear somewhere.
A robber hawk flies through the backyard. He is the fierce enemy of the small bird. The hawk flies quietly, without noise.
But the old sparrow noticed the villain and is watching him.
The hawk is getting closer and closer.
The sparrow chirped loudly and anxiously, and all the little sparrows disappeared into the bushes at once.
Everything fell silent.
Only the sentry sparrow sits on a branch. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t take his eyes off the hawk.
The hawk noticed the old sparrow, flapped its wings, straightened its claws and descended like an arrow.
And the sparrow fell like a stone into the bushes.
The hawk was left with nothing.
He looks around. Evil has taken the predator. His yellow eyes burn with fire.
Little sparrows poured out of the bushes noisily and jumped along the path.
Swans
Tolstoy L.N.
The swans flew in a herd from the cold side to the warm lands. They flew across the sea. They flew day and night, and another day and another night, without resting, they flew over the water. There was a full month in the sky, and the swans saw blue water far below them. All the swans were exhausted, flapping their wings; but they did not stop and flew on. Old, strong swans flew in front, and those who were younger and weaker flew behind. One young swan flew behind everyone. His strength weakened. He flapped his wings and could not fly any further. Then he, spreading his wings, went down. He descended closer and closer to the water; and his comrades further and further became whiter in the monthly light. The swan descended onto the water and folded its wings. The sea rose beneath him and rocked him.
A flock of swans was barely visible as a white line in the light sky. And in the silence you could barely hear the sound of their wings ringing. When they were completely out of sight, the swan bent its neck back and closed its eyes. He did not move, and only the sea, rising and falling in a wide strip, raised and lowered him.
Before dawn, a light breeze began to sway the sea. And the water splashed into the white chest of the swan. The swan opened his eyes. The dawn reddened in the east, and the moon and stars became paler. The swan sighed, stretched out its neck and flapped its wings, rose up and flew, clinging to the water with its wings. He rose higher and higher and flew alone over the dark, rippling waves.
Starlings (Excerpt)
Kuprin A.I.
We were looking forward to seeing old friends fly into our garden again - starlings, these cute, cheerful, sociable birds, the first migratory guests, the joyful messengers of spring.
So, we waited for the starlings. We fixed old birdhouses that had become warped from the winter winds and hung new ones.
The sparrows imagined that this courtesy was being done for them, and immediately, at the first warmth, they occupied the birdhouses.
Finally, on the nineteenth, in the evening (it was still light), someone shouted: “Look - starlings!”
Indeed, they sat high on the branches of poplars and, after the sparrows, seemed unusually large and too black...
For two days the starlings seemed to be gaining strength and were hanging out and exploring last year’s familiar places. And then the eviction of sparrows began. I did not notice any particularly violent clashes between starlings and sparrows. Usually, skurts sit in twos high above the birdhouses and, apparently, carelessly chatter among themselves about something, while they themselves gaze intently downwards with one eye, sideways. It's scary and difficult for the sparrow. No, no - he sticks his sharp, cunning nose out of the round hole - and back. Finally, hunger, frivolity, and perhaps timidity make themselves felt. “I’m flying off,” he thinks, “for a minute and right back.” Maybe I'll outwit you. Maybe they won’t notice.” And as soon as it has time to fly away a fathom, the starling drops like a stone and is already at home.
And now the sparrow’s temporary economy has come to an end. Starlings guard the nest in turns: one sits while the other flies on business. Sparrows would never think of such a trick.
And so, out of chagrin, great battles begin between the sparrows, during which fluff and feathers fly into the air. And the starlings sit high in the trees and even tease: “Hey, you black-headed one! You won’t be able to overcome that yellow-chested one forever and ever.” - "How? To me? Yes, I’ll take him now!” - “Come on, come on...”
And there will be a landfill. However, in the spring all the animals and birds... fight much more...
Starling song
Kuprin A.I.
The air warmed up a little, and the starlings had already settled on high branches and began their concert. I don’t know, really, whether the starling has his own motives, but you will hear enough of anything alien in his song. There are pieces of nightingale trills, and the sharp meow of an oriole, and the sweet voice of a robin, and the musical babbling of a warbler, and the thin whistle of a titmouse, and among these melodies suddenly such voices are heard that, sitting alone, you can’t help but laugh: a hen cackles on a tree , the sharpener's knife will hiss, the door will creak, the children's military trumpet will blow. And, having made this unexpected musical retreat, the starling, as if nothing had happened, without a break, continues his cheerful, sweet, humorous song.
Lark
I. Sokolov-Mikitov
Of the many sounds of the earth: the singing of birds, the fluttering of leaves on the trees, the crackling of grasshoppers, the murmur of a forest stream - the most cheerful and joyful sound is the song of field larks and meadow larks. Even in early spring, when there is loose snow on the fields, but dark thawed patches have already formed here and there in the warming months, our early spring guests arrive and begin to sing. Rising into the sky in a column, fluttering its wings, thoroughly penetrated by sunlight, the lark flies higher and higher into the sky, disappearing into the shining blue. The song of a lark welcoming the arrival of spring is amazingly beautiful. This joyful song is like the breath of the awakened earth.
Many great composers tried to depict this joyful song in their musical works...
Much can be heard in the awakening spring forest. Hazel grouse squeak subtly, invisible owls hoot at night. Arrived cranes perform spring round dances in the impenetrable swamp. Bees buzz above the yellow golden downy coats of a flowering willow. And in the bushes on the river bank the first nightingale began to click and sing loudly.
Swan
Aksakov S. T.
The swan, due to its size, strength, beauty and majestic posture, has long been rightly called the king of all aquatic, or waterfowl. White as snow, with shiny, transparent small eyes, with a black nose and black paws, with a long, flexible and beautiful neck, he is inexpressibly beautiful when he calmly swims between the green reeds on the dark blue, smooth surface of the water.
Swan movements
Aksakov S. T.
All the movements of the swan are full of charm: will it begin to drink and, scooping up water with its nose, will raise its head up and stretch its neck; will he begin to swim, dive and splash with his mighty wings, scattering far away splashes of water rolling off his fluffy body; will he then begin to preen himself, easily and freely arching his snow-white neck back, straightening and cleaning with his nose the crumpled or dirty feathers on the back, sides and tail; whether the wing spreads through the air, as if a long slanting sail, and also begins to finger each feather in it with its nose, airing and drying it in the sun - everything is picturesque and magnificent in it.
Sparrow
Charushin E. I.
Nikita and dad went for a walk. He was walking and walking and suddenly he heard someone chirping: Chilik-chilik! Chilik-chilik! Chilik-chilik!
And Nikita sees that it is a little sparrow jumping along the road.
So ruffled, just like a ball rolling. Its tail is short, its beak is yellow, and it doesn’t fly anywhere. Apparently he doesn’t know how yet.
Look, dad,” Nikita shouted, “the sparrow is not real!”
And dad says:
No, this is a real sparrow, but only a small one. This is probably the chick falling out of its nest.
Then Nikita ran to catch a sparrow and caught it. And this little sparrow began to live in a cage at our house, and Nikita fed him flies, worms and a bun with milk.
Here is a sparrow living with Nikita. He screams all the time and asks for food. What a glutton! As soon as the sun appears in the morning, he will chirp and wake everyone up.
Then Nikita said:
I will teach him to fly and release him.
He took the sparrow out of the cage, sat it on the floor and began to teach.
“You flap your wings like this,” Nikita said and showed with his hands how to fly. And the sparrow jumped under the chest of drawers.
We fed the sparrow for another day. Again Nikita put him on the floor to teach him to fly. Nikita waved his arms, and the sparrow flapped its wings.
The sparrow has flown!
So he flew over the pencil. A red fire truck flew over. And when he began to fly over the inanimate toy cat, he bumped into it and fell.
“You’re still a bad flyer,” Nikita tells him. - Let me feed you for another day.
He fed and fed, and the next day the sparrow flew over Nikitin’s bench. Flew over a chair. Flew over the table with the jug. But he couldn’t fly over the chest of drawers - he fell.
Apparently, we still need to feed him. The next day Nikita took the sparrow with him into the garden and released it there.
The sparrow flew over the brick.
Flew over a stump.
And he began to fly over the fence, but bumped into it and fell.
And the next day he flew over the fence.
And flew over the tree.
And flew over the house.
And he completely flew away from Nikita.
That's how great it was to learn to fly!
Winter debts
N.I. Sladkov
The Sparrow was chirping on the dung heap - and he was jumping up and down! And the Crow Hag croaks in her nasty voice:
Why, Sparrow, was he happy, why was he chirping?
“The wings itch, Crow, the nose itches,” Sparrow answers. - The passion to fight is the hunt! Don’t croak here, don’t spoil my spring mood!
But I'll ruin it! - Crow does not lag behind. - How can I ask a question?
I scared you!
And I'll scare you. Did you peck crumbs in the trash bin in winter?
Pecked.
Did you pick up grains from the barnyard?
Picked it up.
Did you have lunch in the bird cafeteria near the school?
Thank you guys for feeding me.
That's it! - Crow bursts into tears. - With what
Are you thinking of paying for all this? With your chirping?
Am I the only one who used it? - Sparrow was confused. - And the Tit was there, and the Woodpecker, and the Magpie, and the Jackdaw. And you, Vorona, were...
Don't confuse others! - Crow wheezes. - You answer for yourself. Borrowed - give back! As all decent birds do.
Decent ones, maybe they do,” Sparrow became angry. - But are you doing it, Crow?
I'll cry before anyone else! Do you hear a tractor plowing in the field? And behind him, I pick out all sorts of root beetles and root rodents from the furrow. And Magpie and Galka help me. And looking at us, other birds are also trying.
Don't vouch for others either! - Sparrow insists. - Others may have forgotten to think.
But Crow doesn’t let up:
Come and check it out!
Sparrow flew to check. He flew into the garden, where the Tit lives in a new nest.
Congratulations on your housewarming! - Sparrow says. - In my joy, I suppose I forgot about my debts!
I haven’t forgotten, Sparrow, that you are! - Titmouse answers. “The guys treated me to delicious salsa in the winter, and in the fall I’ll treat them to sweet apples.” I protect the garden from codling moths and leaf-eaters.
For what reason did Sparrow fly to my forest?
“But they’re demanding payment from me,” Sparrow tweets. - And you, Woodpecker, how do you pay?
That’s how I try,” answers the Woodpecker. - I protect the forest from wood borers and bark beetles. I fight them tooth and nail! I even got fat...
Look, thought Sparrow. - I thought...
Sparrow returned to the dung heap and said to Crow:
Yours, hag, the truth! Everyone is paying off winter debts. Am I worse than others? How can I start feeding my chicks mosquitoes, horseflies and flies! So that the bloodsuckers don't sting these guys! I'll pay back my debts in no time!
He said so and let’s jump up and chirp on the dung heap again. There is still free time. Until the sparrows in the nest hatched.
Arithmetic titmice
N.I. Sladkov
In the spring, the white-cheeked tits sing loudest of all: they ring their bells. In different ways and manners. Some people just hear: “Twice two, twice two, twice two!” And others whistle smartly: “Four-four-four-four!”
From morning to evening, titmouses cram the multiplication table.
“Twice two, twice two, twice two!” - some shout.
“Four-four-four!” - others answer cheerfully.
Arithmetic titmice. 
Brave duckling
Boris Zhitkov
Every morning the housewife brought out a full plate of chopped eggs for the ducklings. She put the plate near the bush and left.
As soon as the ducklings ran up to the plate, suddenly a large dragonfly flew out of the garden and began to circle above them.
She chirped so terribly that the frightened ducklings ran away and hid in the grass. They were afraid that the dragonfly would bite them all.
And the evil dragonfly sat on the plate, tasted the food and then flew away. After this, the ducklings did not come to the plate for the whole day. They were afraid that the dragonfly would fly again. In the evening, the hostess removed the plate and said: “Our ducklings must be sick, for some reason they are not eating anything.” Little did she know that the ducklings went to bed hungry every night.
One day, their neighbor, the little duckling Alyosha, came to visit the ducklings. When the ducklings told him about the dragonfly, he began to laugh.
What brave men! - he said. - I alone will drive away this dragonfly. You'll see tomorrow.
“You are bragging,” said the ducklings, “tomorrow you will be the first to get scared and run.”
The next morning, the hostess, as always, put a plate of chopped eggs on the ground and left.
Well, look, - said the brave Alyosha, - now I will fight with your dragonfly.
As soon as he said this, a dragonfly began to buzz. It flew straight from above onto the plate.
The ducklings wanted to run away, but Alyosha was not afraid. Before the dragonfly had time to sit on the plate, Alyosha grabbed its wing with his beak. She forcibly escaped and flew away with a broken wing.
Since then, she never flew into the garden, and the ducklings ate their fill every day. They not only ate themselves, but also treated the brave Alyosha for saving them from the dragonfly.
Jackdaw
Boris Zhitkov
The brother and sister had a pet jackdaw. She ate from her hands, let herself be petted, flew out into the wild and flew back.
Once my sister began to wash herself. She took the ring off her hand, put it on the sink and lathered her face with soap. And when she rinsed the soap, she looked: where is the ring? But there is no ring.
She shouted to her brother:
Give me the ring, don't tease me! Why did you take it?
“I didn’t take anything,” the brother answered.
His sister quarreled with him and cried.
Grandma heard.
What do you have here? - speaks. - Give me glasses, now I’ll find this ring.
We rushed to look for glasses - no glasses.
“I just put them on the table,” the grandmother cries. -Where should they go? How can I thread a needle now?
And she screamed at the boy.
It's your business! Why are you teasing grandma?
The boy got offended and ran out of the house. He looks, and a jackdaw is flying above the roof, and something glitters under her beak. I took a closer look - yes, these are glasses! The boy hid behind a tree and began to watch. And the jackdaw sat on the roof, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and began pushing the glasses on the roof into the crack with her beak.
The grandmother came out onto the porch and said to the boy:
Tell me, where are my glasses?
On the roof! - said the boy.
Grandma was surprised. And the boy climbed onto the roof and pulled out his grandmother’s glasses from the crack. Then he pulled out the ring from there. And then he took out pieces of glass, and then a lot of different pieces of money.
The grandmother was delighted with the glasses, and the sister was delighted with the ring and said to her brother:
Forgive me, I was thinking about you, but this is a thief jackdaw.
And they made peace with their brother.
Grandmother said:
That's all them, jackdaws and magpies. Whatever glitters, they drag everything away.
Orphan
Georgy Skrebitsky
The guys brought us a small shirt... He couldn’t fly yet, he could only jump. We fed him cottage cheese, porridge, soaked bread, and gave him small pieces of boiled meat; he ate everything and refused nothing.
Soon the little magpie grew a long tail and its wings were covered with stiff black feathers. He quickly learned to fly and moved to live from the room to the balcony.
The only problem with him was that our little magpie could not learn to eat on his own. The bird is quite an adult, so beautiful, flies well, and still asks for food like a little chick. You go out onto the balcony, sit down at the table, and the magpie is right there, spinning around in front of you, crouching, bristling its wings, opening its mouth. It’s funny and I feel sorry for her. Mom even nicknamed her Orphan. He used to put cottage cheese or soaked bread in her mouth, swallow the magpie - and then start begging again, but she herself wouldn’t take a bite from the plate. We taught and taught her, but nothing came of it, so we had to stuff food into her mouth. Orphan would sometimes eat her fill, shake herself up, look with her sly black eye at the plate to see if there was anything else tasty there, and fly up onto the crossbar right up to the ceiling or fly into the garden, into the yard... She flew everywhere and knew everyone : with the fat cat Ivanovich, with the hunting dog Jack, with ducks, chickens; Even with the old pugnacious rooster Petrovich, the magpie was on friendly terms. He bullied everyone in the yard, but didn’t touch her. It used to be that chickens would peck from the trough, and the magpie would immediately turn around. It smells delicious of warm pickled bran, the magpie wants to have breakfast in the friendly company of chickens, but nothing comes of it. Orphan pesters the chickens, crouches, squeaks, opens her beak - no one wants to feed her. She will jump up to Petrovich, squeal, and he will just look at her and mutter: “What a disgrace this is!” - and will go away. And then he suddenly flaps his strong wings, stretches his neck upward, strains, stands on tiptoe and sings: “Ku-ka-re-ku!” - so loud that you can hear it even across the river.
And the magpie jumps and jumps around the yard, flies into the stable, looks into the cow’s stall... Everyone eats themselves, and she again has to fly to the balcony and ask to be hand-fed.
One day there was no one to bother with the magpie. Everyone was busy all day. She pestered and pestered everyone - no one feeds her!
That day I was fishing in the river in the morning, returned home only in the evening and threw out the worms left over from fishing in the yard. Let the chickens peck.
Petrovich immediately noticed the prey, ran up and began calling the chickens: “Ko-ko-ko-ko! Ko-ko-ko-ko!” And as luck would have it, they scattered somewhere, not one of them was in the yard. The rooster is really exhausted! He calls and calls, then he grabs the worm in his beak, shakes it, throws it and calls again - he never wants to eat the first one. I’m even hoarse, but the chickens still won’t come.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a magpie. She flew up to Petrovich, spread her wings and opened her mouth: feed me, they say.
The rooster immediately perked up, grabbed a huge worm in his beak, picked it up, and shook it right in front of the magpie’s nose. She looked, looked, then grabbed a worm - and ate it! And the rooster is already giving her a second one. She ate both the second and the third, and Petrovich pecked the fourth himself.
I look out the window and am amazed at how the rooster feeds the magpie from his beak: he will give it to her, then he will eat it himself, then he will offer it to her again. And he keeps repeating: “Ko-ko-ko-ko!..” He bows and uses his beak to show the worms on the ground: eat, don’t be afraid, they’re so delicious.
And I don’t know how it all worked out for them, how he explained to her what was the matter, I just saw the rooster crowed, showed a worm on the ground, and the magpie jumped up, turned its head to one side, to the other, took a closer look and ate it right from the ground . Petrovich even shook his head as a sign of approval; then he grabbed a hefty worm himself, threw it up, grabbed it more comfortably with his beak and swallowed it: here, they say, as we think. But the magpie apparently understood what was going on - it jumped near him and pecked. The rooster also began to pick up worms. So they try to race each other to see who can do it faster. Instantly all the worms were eaten.
Since then, the magpie no longer had to be hand-fed. One time Petrovich taught her how to manage food. And how he explained this to her, I myself don’t know.
Forest voice
Georgy Skrebitsky
Sunny day at the very beginning of summer. I am wandering not far from home, in a birch forest. Everything around seems to be bathing, splashing in golden waves of warmth and light. Birch branches flow above me. The leaves on them seem either emerald green or completely golden. And below, under the birches, light bluish shadows also run and flow across the grass, like waves. And the light bunnies, like reflections of the sun in the water, run one after another along the grass, along the path.
The sun is both in the sky and on the ground... And this makes it feel so good, so fun that you want to run away somewhere into the distance, to where the trunks of young birch trees sparkle with their dazzling whiteness.
And suddenly from this sunny distance I heard a familiar forest voice: “Kuk-ku, kuk-ku!”
Cuckoo! I've heard it many times before, but I've never even seen it in a picture. What is she like? For some reason she seemed plump and big-headed to me, like an owl. But maybe she's not like that at all? I'll run and have a look.
Alas, it turned out to be far from easy. I go to her voice. And she will fall silent, and then again: “Kuk-ku, kuk-ku,” but in a completely different place.
How can you see her? I stopped in thought. Or maybe she's playing hide and seek with me? She's hiding, and I'm looking. Let's play it the other way around: now I'll hide, and you look.
I climbed into the hazel bush and also cuckooed once and twice. The cuckoo has fallen silent, maybe it’s looking for me? I sit in silence, even my heart is pounding with excitement. And suddenly, somewhere nearby: “Kuk-ku, kuk-ku!”
I am silent: better look, don’t shout to the whole forest.
And she’s already very close: “Kuk-ku, kuk-ku!”
I look: some kind of bird is flying across the clearing, its tail is long, it is gray, only its chest is covered in dark speckles. Probably a hawk. This one in our yard hunts sparrows. He flew up to a nearby tree, sat down on a branch, bent down and shouted: “Kuk-ku, kuk-ku!”
Cuckoo! That's it! This means that she does not look like an owl, but like a hawk.
I'll crow out of the bush in response to her! Out of fright, she almost fell out of the tree, immediately darted down from the branch, scurried off somewhere into the thicket of the forest, and that was all I saw.
But I don’t need to see her anymore. So I solved the forest riddle, and besides, for the first time I spoke to the bird in its native language.
So the clear forest voice of the cuckoo revealed to me the first secret of the forest. And since then, for half a century, I have been wandering in winter and summer along remote untrodden paths and discovering more and more secrets. And there is no end to these winding paths, and there is no end to the secrets of our native nature.
Friendship
Georgy Skrebitsky
One day my brother and I were sitting in our room in the winter and looking out the window at the yard. And in the yard, by the fence, crows and jackdaws were digging in the garbage.
Suddenly we see that some kind of bird has flown towards them, completely black, with a blue tint, and a large, white nose. What a wonder: it’s a rook! Where did he come from in winter? We see a rook walking through the garbage heap among the crows and limping a little - probably someone sick or old; He couldn’t fly south with other rooks, so he stayed with us for the winter.
Then every morning a rook got into the habit of flying to our trash heap. We will deliberately crumble him some bread, porridge, and cottage cheese from lunch. Only he didn’t get much: the crows would eat everything - they’re such impudent birds. And some quiet rook was caught. He stays on the sidelines, all alone. And that’s true: his brethren flew south, he was the only one left; Crows are bad company for him. We see that the gray robbers are offending our rook, but we don’t know how to help him. How to feed him without the crows disturbing him?
Day by day the rook became sadder. Sometimes he would fly in and sit on the fence, but he was afraid to go down to the crows’ rubbish heap: he was completely weak.
One morning we looked out the window, and a rook was lying under the fence. We ran and brought him into the house; he can barely breathe. We put him in a box next to the stove, covered him with a blanket and gave him all kinds of food.
He stayed with us for two weeks, warmed up, and ate a little. We think: what to do with him further? Don't keep him in a box all winter! We decided to release him into the wild again: maybe he will be stronger now and will survive the winter somehow.
And the rook, apparently, realized that we did good to him, which means there is nothing to be afraid of people. Since then, I spent whole days like this with the chickens in the yard.
At that time, a tame magpie, Orphan, lived with us. We took her as a chick and raised her. The orphan flew freely around the yard and garden, and returned to the balcony to spend the night. Here we see - our rook has become friends with Orphan: where she flies, he follows her. One day we see - the Orphan flew to the balcony, and the rook also showed up with her. It’s important to walk around the table like that. And the magpie, like a mistress, fusses and jumps around him.
We slowly stuck a cup of soaked bread out from under the door. The magpie goes straight to the cup, and the rook follows it. We both had breakfast and flew away. So every day the two of them began to fly to the balcony to feed.
Winter passed, the rooks returned from the south, and started making noise in the old birch grove. In the evenings, they sit in couples near the nests, sit and talk, as if they are discussing their affairs. Only our rook did not find a mate; he still flew everywhere after Orphan. And in the evening they will sit on a birch tree near the house and sit side by side, close, side by side.
You look at them and involuntarily think: this means that birds also have friendship.
Wintering birds are those that remain in their native land all year round. Birds are guided not so much by air temperature as by personal abilities and the ability to obtain food among the snow in a particular region. Therefore, insectivorous species fly south during the cold season, and those who can feed themselves on berries and seeds, as well as predators that hunt mice and hares, remain to spend the winter. There are about 70 wintering bird species in Russia.
Bullfinch
Not all bullfinches are wintering birds. 50°C frost is critical for them. Populations from the northern borders of taiga forests spend several months in the south. Bullfinches in central Russia live there all year round. In winter, flocks of bullfinches and individual birds are very clearly visible on leafless trees and a snow-white background.
Crossbill
Crossbills are not just wintering birds in Russia, but birds that sing in the snow. Trills can be heard even at 50 °C below zero. At -30 °C, crossbills calmly hatch eggs and raise offspring. Birds live mainly on coniferous trees and love pine nuts.
Woodpecker
In winter, the bird's main diet consists of seeds and nuts obtained from the cones of coniferous plants. The woodpecker sets up entire storerooms and forges by placing cones in crevices and breaking them with his beak. In the forest you can find mountains of husks from such work. Instead of water in winter, the woodpecker swallows snow.
Hoodie
Birds often destroy the nests of other birds. But the favorite delicacy of crows is carrion. There is a lot of it in winter, because not all animals can withstand the cold. So the birds remain for the winter. Many individuals spend the winter in cities and suburbs, concentrating near human activity.
Nuthatch
Even in winter, birds feed on hidden insects and their larvae. The nuthatch has a sharp, long beak to get them. The bird examines every crack in the bark with it.
Peregrine Falcon
Only young peregrine falcons are migratory, while older ones are sedentary. Birds from the northernmost regions migrate long distances. In winter, the peregrine falcon settles near large bodies of water, where it hunts the birds that live there.
Pigeon
Pigeons are not just wintering birds, but are attached to a specific place. Flying thousands of kilometers away from their native nest, the gray ones always return back. People took advantage of this by starting to send letters with pigeons.
Waxwing
Birds spend the winter in Russia. Birds look for fieldfare, barberry or viburnum thickets among the snow. In the forest canopy, waxwings look for frozen lingonberries.
Great tit
In winter, birds move to cities, feeding on the remains of human food, dropped seeds, pieces of bread and grains from feeders.
Capercaillie
Lives mainly in coniferous and mixed forests. He loves moss swamps in the forest, rich in berries. It flies heavily, with a lot of noise, often flapping its wings, and does not make long flights. He is very careful, has excellent hearing and vision, and therefore hunting him is very difficult.
Sparrow
The group of wintering birds consists of several species. There are two people in Russia: urban and field. The latter is typical for rural areas. Favorite delicacy is grains.
Great Sparrow Owl
Birds often, especially in winter, collect food supplies, which they store in hollows. Therefore, under the living hollow of an owl there is always a lot of remnants of its prey - the skins of voles, feathers of birds. In the cold season, owls love to visit bird feeders, where they watch for tits, bullfinches, and sparrows.
Goldfinch
An elegant bird with a red spot on its head. Despite their small size, goldfinches are known as fighters. Goldfinches fight for territories that they consider their own. They feed on the seeds of weeds, for example, thistle. Birds collect food, flying from field to field, looking for it under the snow and on dry plants sticking out above it.
Chizh
They are considered migratory. However, some siskins remain for the winter in Russia. Birds can survive the winter here next to non-freezing reservoirs. Birds make nests in the roots of trees nearby.
Shchur
In winter, pike perch, uniting in flocks, wander, gradually descending to the south and sticking to coniferous forests. The food of the pike-perch consists mainly of seeds of coniferous trees.
All birds are incredibly beautiful and delight people with their trills. It would be nice for us to take care of them in return - do not forget to feed them during the cold season.