Why do birds fly away? Seasonal migrations of birds - why birds fly away to warmer regions.
The nights are getting longer, the air is filled with freshness and frost, the plants are covered with the first frost, and the birds are preparing for long journeys. Yes, autumn has come and with it it is time to go to the warm shores.
Only not to us, but to our feathered brothers. They eat more and diligently accumulate fat, which will save them from the cold air and saturate the body with energy.
At one fine moment, the leader of the flock soars up and heads south, and after him all the other birds rush south. Some birds travel alone, because their natural instinct knows where to fly.
Of course, not everyone wants to fly south. So, such sedentary birds as, and feel great in the cold in winter.
They can fly to cities and feed on food that humans give them, and these species of birds will never fly away to hot countries. However, the overwhelming majority of birds tend to fly away.
Causes of winter migrations of birds
Have you ever wondered why do birds fly south and return back? After all, they could stay in one place and not make long and exhausting flights.
There are several theories about this. One of them is because winter has come - you say, and you will be partially right. It gets cold in winter and they have to change the climate.
But the cold itself is not the reason why birds leave their homelands. Plumage sufficiently protects birds from frost. You will probably be surprised, but you are able to live at a temperature of -40, if, of course, there are no problems with food.
Another reason for the flight is the lack of food in winter. The energy received from food is consumed very quickly, from this it follows that birds need to eat often and in large quantities. And since in winter not only plants, but also the earth freeze, insects also disappear, so it becomes difficult for birds to find food.
Evidence that why do many birds fly south due to lack of food is that when there is enough food to spend the winter, some migrants stay in their homeland during the winter cold.
However, of course this answer cannot be definitive.The following assumption is also controversial. The birds have a so-called natural instinct to change their habitat.
Some scientists suggest that it is he who makes them make long and dangerous journeys, and then return back a few months later. Of course, the behavior of birds is not fully understood and hides in itself many mysteries, the answers to which scientists have not yet found.
There is another interesting opinion why do birds fly south in autumn and come back. The desire to return home is associated with changes in the body during the mating season.
The glands begin to actively secrete hormones due to which the seasonal development of the gonads occurs, which prompts the birds to go on a long journey home.
The last assumption about why they seek to return home is based on the fact that for many birds it is much easier to raise offspring in the middle latitudes than in the hot south.
Since migratory birds are naturally active during daylight hours, a long day presents more opportunities for them to feed their offspring.
Mysteries of bird migration
Reasons why birds fly south have not been fully studied, and it is unlikely that there will ever be a scientist who can prove the unambiguity of this or that theory of winter migration. Judge for yourself the absurdity of flights of some species of birds.
For example, he prefers to spend the winter on the African continent, where the sun warms in winter. Why would a swallow fly across Europe and Africa when there are warm places much closer? If you take such a bird as, then it flies from Antarctica to the North Pole, where there can be no talk of warmth.
Tropical birds in winter are not threatened by the cold or lack of food, but having raised their offspring, they fly to distant lands. So, the gray tyrant (can be confused with our shrike) flies to the Amazon every year, and when the marriage time comes, he flies back to East India.
It is generally accepted that upon the arrival of autumn for southern birds, not quite comfortable conditions... For example, in the tropical zone, as well as at the equator, there are often thunderstorms, and those that cannot be found in countries with a temperate climate. Birds flying to places of a subtropical climate, in summer period leave territories with a dry season.
So, for the white, the optimal nesting place is in the tundra. Cool summers and enough food, for example, makes the tundra ideal place her habitat.
In winter, the range of snowy owls changes to the forest-steppe middle lane... As you probably already guessed, the owl will not be able to exist in the hot steppes in the summer, and therefore in the summer it returns to the tundra again.
WITH long ago the first sign of the coming autumn cold was considered a truly beautiful sight when the birds, gathered in flocks, flew away to warmer climes... Why are they leaving us? And why, with the onset of warm spring days, they certainly come back?
Migratory birds
Birds are warm-blooded creatures. Their body temperature is forty-one degrees. Thanks to this, they would feel great on frosty days. So why do birds fly away? The birds cannot stay for the winter because in cold seasons it is almost impossible for them to get food. Some fly away due to cold weather. They migrate to warmer regions in order to preserve most of the individuals.
Migratory birds, that is, those who leave our area in winter and fly south, include many species of birds. Among them are lapwing and swallow, wagtail and chaffinch, robin and oriole and redstart, forest pipit and lark, and chiffchaff warbler.
When and how birds fly away
At the time when the birds leave our region, the weather can influence. However, this usually happens at the same time. Autumn migration begins only when young birds get stronger.
Most birds gather in flocks. But there are also those who fly in groups. Some species fly away singly.
The cranes are lining up like a wedge in the sky. Ravens, on the other hand, are usually placed in a chain. There are species of birds in which males fly away later than females. In some birds, young animals immediately leave the inhabited area. Older individuals follow them after a while.
The birds try to move during the day and rest at night. In some species, the flight time is night.
Sedentary birds
Not all representatives of the feathered world leave the inhabited area. Some stay for the winter and delight us with their songs on frosty days. They live in their homeland all year round, which is why they are called sedentary. The wood grouse does not leave its places. He eats pine needles and therefore does not have to look for food in winter. eat hazel grouses and black grouse. They, too, are not going to fly away in the fall. But is the jay a migratory bird or not? This species of birds is sedentary. The jay eats plant and animal food. She loves acorns. The bird easily splits the shell of these oak fruits with its beak. In autumn, jays harvest acorns in huge quantities. One bird, according to some reports, makes stocks weighing up to four kilograms.
Woodpeckers and titmice are also sedentary. But the crossbill even incubates chicks in winter. At the same time, he feeds on spruce seeds.
Nomadic birds
There are such species of birds that will be transferred to another place, if for some reason they have developed in their native area unfavourable conditions... These are, as a rule, birds living in the highlands. With the onset of severe cold weather, they migrate to the valley.
Birds are amazing creatures. In some places they can live as sedentary, while in others they can be migratory.
Why do birds fly away
Our land is the very first to leave the cuckoos. Behind them - swallows, and a little later - swifts. From the end of August to September, several species change the climate to a warmer one.
What are the reasons for the migration of birds? The birds fly away with the onset of cold weather. However, the main reason for their migration does not lie in the change of season. The decisive factor is the lack of food. So, the cuckoo eats up to a hundred caterpillars in one hour, and during the cold weather the insects disappear. Most of them die, leaving a large supply of eggs, from which offspring will appear in the spring. Some insects hide in warm secluded places.
The stork feeds on small fish and frogs in summer. In winter, he is not able to get himself food, which is under the crust of ice that covers the reservoirs. Birds that cannot find food for themselves fly south. They have no problems with food there.
The annual cycle of birds
The life of birds, like other animals, on more territory our planet takes place in the face of changing seasons. The only exceptions are those areas where tropical forests are located.
The annual cycle of birds consists of four main stages. The first of these is the breeding season. Then comes molting, seasonal migrations of birds. The last stage is wintering.
As for seasonal migrations, they are not a continuous period in birds. There are spring and autumn flights. Moreover, they are separated from each other by the wintering stage. Spring migration of birds can be seen as a phenomenon that is partially associated with preparation for the breeding stage. Autumn migration is a search for food to preserve the species.
Migration paths
Where do birds fly in the fall? Scientists-ornithologists were able to answer this question in detail. By ringing migratory individuals, they established wintering sites different types... What warm lands do birds fly to? The suitability of a particular area for wintering is determined, of course, by its ecological situation. However, birds do not always fly to places that are located near their nesting sites and have favorable conditions. V to a greater extent here competition with other populations of a similar species plays a role, which seek to occupy the most convenient areas for wintering. So, birds arriving from areas located to the north can be located in more southern latitudes.
From Europe, birds can fly not only in a southerly direction. They also arrange wintering in the west. Many Northern and Central European birds are sheltered by England. This country has favorable climatic conditions for birds, which are characterized by light snowfalls and mild winter... Lapwings and sparrows, woodcocks and other birds fly to England in autumn. but large quantity birds are attracted to the Mediterranean and southwestern regions of Europe.
Wintering places
What warm lands do birds fly to? A large concentration of birds is observed in winter in the Nile Valley. Some Arctic and Siberian birds fly to African wintering grounds. Their numerous flocks are also located in the southern regions of China, in India, on the islands of the Indo-Australian archipelago. In the northern regions of Africa and in quails fly and the path of some species of birds to the wintering areas is very far. Thus, Icelandic sandpipers and East Siberian windmills reach the shores of New Zealand.
Research by ornithologists helps to answer the question of where birds fly for the winter. So, ringing birds, they found that our blackbirds and starlings rest in the south of France and Portugal. They are based in Spain and Italy. Ducks and cranes love to travel to the banks of the Nile. Hoopoes and nightingales winter in the African savannah.
Some types of waterfowl do not leave the territory of Russia. In cold seasons, they settle in reserves located in the South Caspian. Mallard ducks can be found in Transcaucasia in winter. They rest on the Azov and Black Seas.
To what warm lands do birds living in the north of the American continent fly away? Here, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, their migration goes only in a southerly direction. So, Arctic terns, which live in the north of America, settle for the winter in the south of the continent. Sometimes these birds migrate to Antarctica as well.
What places do birds choose for wintering?
As a rule, birds settle where the habitat is similar to that in which they live in their homeland. If birds choose forests for their nesting, then they will look for such zones in areas with a warm climate. Birds living in steppes, meadows or fields will seek habitual conditions for settlement. This will allow them to find their usual food. Thus, the birds fly away to those regions, the living conditions in which differ little from their usual ones.
They find their way to wintering sites thanks to a superbly developed navigation system. For some birds, the major landmarks are mountains, sea coasts, and so on. There are species that calmly cross not distinguished by their diversity water surfaces ocean.
Those species of birds that fly during the day, Those birds that travel in the dark, rely only on own system navigation.
The winter cold will recede, and the birds that have flown to warm lands will return home again. They will announce the arrival of spring with perky trills and will prepare for the next stage of their lives.
Now you know to which warm lands the birds fly away. Good luck in your further study of birds!
The question of bird flights can be divided into two:
1. Why do birds fly away to foreign lands every year?
2. Why do they come back, do not stay where they were not bad at all?
The questions are as interesting as they are difficult to answer!
For a long time, the migration of birds was explained by only one thing: in winter they are cold and it is necessary to change the climate. However, oddly enough, temperature alone is not a reason for flights. Feathers can provide good protection from the cold. For example, a canary can survive in freezing temperatures down to -45 ° C if it has enough food.
Now it is believed that in winter birds fly away to warmer regions from the winter lack of food. Birds use up the energy they receive from food very quickly, which means that they need to eat often and a lot. Therefore, when the ground freezes and food is difficult to find, especially for insectivorous birds, many of them go south.
Evidence that food shortages are driving the birds south is the fact that if food is plentiful, some migratory birds even in cold weather they do not leave the places where they were born.
For example, a swallow leaves cold lands to spend the winter in Africa or Asia, under a cloudless summer sky. But why does it fly over the whole of Africa, then how can it find warm lands and closer?
It also happens: petrels fly from Antarctica to the North Pole. What kind of search for warmth is there!
And many tropical birds, which are not threatened by either cold or hunger, after feeding their chicks, go on long journeys. The gray tyrant, for example, (it looks a bit like our shrike) visits the Amazon selva every year and returns back to the West Indies when it is time to breed.
If scientists still do not understand everything about the reasons why birds break from their homes to warm lands, then the question of why they return back to the north from the fertile south is even more complicated.
It is believed that with the onset of autumn in the south, unfavorable conditions arise for birds and their offspring. For example, in the tropics and at the equator such thunderstorms are frequent, which the countries simply do not know. temperate climate... In addition, the number of thunderstorm days there is much more than ours, dozens of times. Birds that fly to India and the subtropics are forced to flee from the dry season in the summer.
The snowy owl nests in the tundra, where summers are cold, the climate is humid and there are many lemmings that the owl feeds on. She spends winter in the forest-steppe of the middle zone. Can this owl stay for the summer in a hot dry steppe, where there is little food it is used to? Of course not. She flies off to her native tundra.
Part of the urge to return home can be attributed to internal changes in the bird's body. When the breeding period begins, the endocrine glands, under the influence of external stimuli, secrete special substances into the bird's body - hormones. Under the influence of hormones, the seasonal development of the gonads begins and passes. This, apparently, prompts the birds to migrate.
Another reason for birds to return home is that it is more profitable for birds to breed in mid-latitudes in summer, because here in summer the days are longer than in the south. Migratory birds are diurnal, and a long day gives them more opportunities to feed their offspring.
In the fall, watching flocks of migratory birds with their baby, loving parents tell the child what journey awaits the birds to warm lands. And having heard the question why ducks and storks do not want to spend the winter with us, many mothers and fathers think. The most obvious answer seems to be that just not all birds can survive the coming cold weather. But this is not entirely true. So how do you answer the question of your little why?
Birds fly away to warmer regions not because they are very afraid of the cold. Feathers and warm down between them protect the bird as well as your jacket and pants protect you from the frost.
But there is something that not only our little flying friends, but also all animals and people cannot live without. That's right, no food. What do birds eat? Insects, grains, some even frogs and rodents. Have you seen flies and butterflies in winter? Because insects hide in the cold season and fall asleep until spring.
The birds stay with us as long as they can easily find food for themselves, and then begin to gather for departure.
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- Insectivorous birds are the first to leave us: rooks, swallows, wagtails, etc.
- Then, when it becomes difficult to find grain and fruits of trees for food, they cook in long journey finches, siskins, oatmeal. After all, if the snow covers the ground, it will be very difficult for our feathered friends to find food.
- The last to fly away are waterfowl: ducks, geese, swans. Because in winter all reservoirs freeze, and it is almost impossible for feathered lake inhabitants to find suitable food. At the same time, cranes and storks leave us, whose habitual diet includes frogs and rodents.
Only those birds that can get food for themselves without much difficulty remain to winter. For example, crossbills living in the forest feed on seeds from cones conifers: spruce, pine. Sparrows, crows, pigeons, tits have long adapted to life in cities where it is easy to find something edible.
People help the birds to survive the cold and hungry season: they make feeders, where they put seeds and seeds. Do you remember when we treated pigeons with crumbs in the park? Many do this, so the city birds are not afraid to stay with us for the winter.
Something like this you can have a conversation with an inquisitive kid. Do not forget that sometimes it is very useful for a child to first think about his own problem in search of an answer. Your leading questions can help him get to the bottom of the problem. This will have a good effect on children's self-esteem, create an experience of success, and encourage in the future to self-study and analysis of the surrounding world.
Shishkin school. Natural science. Migratory birds
In the video, we will find out which birds fly south and why they do it. We will also learn how to watch out for migratory birds:
Even children know what is on cold period years, many birds go to warmer regions. However, not every person is capable of giving an accurate, reasoned answer to the question of why birds fly to the South in autumn. Today we will help you deal with this situation in our article.
Why do some birds fly away in the fall
First, you need to understand the question of why some representatives of birds go to warmer regions in the fall, and not in winter, as is commonly believed. The fact is that many birds, in order to ensure their survival in winter period, it is necessary to prepare for the flight not directly in winter, but in advance, that is, in the fall. Most people are used to saying without hesitation that birds fly away in winter, but in reality their migration is scheduled for autumn.
Why do birds fly away to warmer regions in autumn?
If you selectively ask a large number of people about why birds fly to the South in the fall, the overwhelming majority of those surveyed will answer with confidence and without much hesitation that our climate is to blame. Therefore, birds are not able to survive in a harsh winter, which, I must admit, in some parts of the country shows really colossal temperature conditions... Yes, this is partly true, many species of birds are very uncomfortable with the transfer of cold weather, however, according to by and large, such an answer can be called incorrect.
The thing is that in winter, as you know, everything starts to go into sleep mode: trees shed their foliage and they only have enough resources to survive, animals hibernate, water in lakes and reservoirs freezes. All this leads to the fact that it becomes difficult for birds to eat, because it is almost impossible to find suitable food, worms and other elements of the diet of many species in winter. Thus, the flight of birds to the South, to warmer regions, can be called a forced measure, to which they are pushed by the instinct of self-preservation associated with the unwillingness to starve.
What birds fly away to warm lands in autumn
Paying attention to the winter sky, to the branches of trees or even to the ground, during this period you can always find pigeons, sparrows, and crows on the streets. These birds are among those that do not fly to warm regions even in severe winters. As for the permanent inhabitants of our territories, who fly away to winter in warm regions, these are, for example, swallows, rooks, nightingales, swifts, starlings.
