Why do birds fly away? Seasonal bird migrations - why birds fly to warmer climes.
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 takes a course to the south, and after him all the other birds rush to the 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 the food that a person gives them, and these species of birds will never fly away to hot countries. However, the vast majority of birds tend to fly away.
Reasons for winter migration of birds
And you never thought why birds fly south and come back back? After all, they could stay in one place and not make long and exhausting flights.
There are several theories about. One of them is because winter has come - you will say and you will be partially right. It gets cold in winter and they are forced to change the climate.
But the cold itself is not the reason why the birds leave their native lands. Plumage adequately protects birds from frost. You will probably be surprised, but you are able to live at a temperature of -40, unless, of course, there are problems with food.
Another reason for the flight is the lack of food in winter. The energy received from food is consumed very quickly, it follows that birds need to eat often and in large quantities. And since not only plants, but also the earth freeze in winter, insects disappear, so it becomes difficult for birds to find food.
Evidence that why do many birds fly south due to the lack of food is that when there is enough food to overwinter, some migratory during the winter cold remain in their homeland.
However, of course this answer cannot be final.The following assumption is also controversial. 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 after a few months. Of course, the behavior of birds is not fully understood and hides many mysteries, the answers to which scientists have not yet found.
There is another interesting opinion why do birds fly south in autumn and return 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 encourages the birds to go on a long journey home.
The last assumption about why they want 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, the long day provides them with more opportunities 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 one or another 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 heat.
Tropical birds in winter are not threatened by either cold or lack of food, but after raising their offspring, they fly to distant lands. So, the gray tyrant, (can be confused with our shrike) annually flies to the Amazon, and when the marriage time comes, it flies back to East India.
It is generally accepted that upon the arrival of autumn for the southern birds, they do not come quite comfortable conditions. For example, in the tropical zone, as well as at the equator, there are often thunderstorms, and those that you will not find in countries with a temperate climate. Birds migrating to places of subtropical climate, in summer period leave areas with a dry season.
So, for a white, the optimal place for nesting is in the tundra. Cool summers and enough food, for example, makes the tundra perfect place her habitat.
In winter, the range of snowy owls changes to the forest-steppe middle lane. As you may have 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 time 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, do they certainly return back?
Migratory birds
Birds are warm-blooded creatures. Their body temperature is forty-one degrees. Thanks to this, they would feel great even on frosty days. So why do they fly away? Birds cannot stay over the winter because in the cold seasons it is almost impossible for them to get food. Some fly away because of the cold. They migrate to warmer climes to keep 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, as well as chiffchaff.
When and how do birds fly away
At the moment when the birds leave our region, the weather can influence. However, as a rule, this happens at the same time. Autumn departure begins only when young birds get stronger.
Most birds gather in flocks. But there are those who fly in groups. Some species fly singly.
Cranes line up in a beautiful wedge in the sky. But crows are usually placed in a chain. There are species of birds in which males fly away later than females. In some birds, the young immediately leave the inhabited area. Older individuals follow them after a while.
Birds try to move during the day and rest at night. For some species, the flight time is night.
settled birds
Not all representatives of the feathered world leave the inhabited area. Some stay over 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 capercaillie does not leave their places. He eats pine needles and therefore in winter he does not have to look for food. they eat hazel grouse and black grouse. They are also not going anywhere in the fall to fly away. Is the jay a migratory bird or not? This species of birds belongs to the sedentary. Jay eats plant and animal food. She loves acorns. With its beak, the bird easily splits the shell of these oak fruits. In autumn, jays harvest acorns in large quantities. One bird, according to some reports, makes reserves weighing up to four kilograms.
The settled also include woodpeckers and titmouse. But the crossbill even incubates chicks in winter. At the same time, it feeds on spruce seeds.
wandering birds
There are such types of birds that transfer to another place if, for some reason, they have developed in their native area unfavourable conditions. These are, as a rule, birds that live in the highlands. With the onset of severe cold, 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 lands are the 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 bird migration? Birds fly away with the onset of cold weather. However, the main reason for their migration is not the change of season. The decisive factor is the lack of food. So, a cuckoo eats up to a hundred caterpillars in one hour, and during cold weather insects disappear. Most of them die, leaving a large supply of eggs, from which offspring will appear in the spring. Some insects hide in secluded warm places.
The stork feeds on small fish and frogs in summer. In winter, he is unable to get his own food, which is under the crust of ice that covers the reservoirs. Birds that cannot find food for themselves fly south. They don't have any problems with food.
Annual cycle of birds
The life of birds, as well as other animals, on greater territory our planet goes through the 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 one is the breeding season. Then comes the molt, the seasonal migration of birds. The last step is wintering.
As for seasonal migrations, they are not a continuous period in birds. There are flights in spring and autumn. At the same time, they are separated from each other by the wintering stage. The spring migration of birds can be considered as a phenomenon that is partly associated with the preparation for the breeding stage. Autumn migrations are a search for food to preserve the species.
Migration paths
Where do birds fly in autumn? Ornithologists were able to answer this question in detail. Ringing migratory individuals, they established wintering grounds various kinds. What warm places do birds fly to? The suitability of an area for wintering is determined, of course, by its ecological situation. However, birds do not always fly to places that are located close to their nesting and have favorable conditions. V more Here, competition with other populations of a similar species plays a role, which tend to occupy areas that are most convenient for wintering. Thus, birds that have arrived 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. England gives shelter to many northern and central European birds. 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 by the Mediterranean and southwestern regions of Europe.
Wintering places
What warm places do birds fly to? A large accumulation 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. Quails fly to the northern regions of Africa and the way of some species of birds to the wintering areas is very far. Thus, Icelandic sandpipers and East Siberian anemones reach the shores of New Zealand.
Research by ornithologists helps answer the question of where birds fly for the winter. So, ringing birds, they found that our thrushes and starlings rest in the south of France and in Portugal. They settled 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 species of waterfowl do not leave the territory of Russia. In cold seasons, they settle in the reserves located in the South Caspian. Mallard ducks can be found in the winter in Transcaucasia. They rest on the Azov and Black Seas.
To what warm climes 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 that live in the north of America settle down for wintering in the south of the continent. Sometimes these birds migrate to the Antarctic. They also fall into the Antarctic.
What wintering places do birds prefer?
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 the conditions of steppes, meadows or fields will look for 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 grounds thanks to a superbly developed navigation system. For some birds, mountains, sea coasts, and so on are major landmarks. There are species that calmly cross the undiversified water surfaces ocean.
Those kinds of birds that fly by 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 warmer climes will return home again. They will announce the arrival of spring with fervent trills and will prepare for the next stage of their lives.
Now you know what warm climes birds fly to. Good luck with your further study of birds!
The issue 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 flights of birds were explained by only one thing: they are cold in winter and need to change the climate. However, oddly enough, the temperature itself is not the cause of flights. Feathers can protect a bird well from the cold. For example, a canary can survive in temperatures down to -45°C if it has enough food.
It is now believed that in winter the birds fly away to warmer climes from winter starvation. Birds very quickly use up the energy they get from food, which means that they need to eat often and a lot. Therefore, when the ground freezes and food is hard to find, especially for insectivorous birds, many of them head south.
The proof that birds are "driven" south by a lack of food is this fact: if food is in abundance, some migratory birds even in frosts they do not leave the places where they were born.
For example, the swallow leaves the cold regions to spend the winter in Africa or Asia, under a cloudless summer sky. But why does it fly over all of Africa, while it can find warmer climes and closer?
It also happens like this: petrels fly from Antarctica to the North Pole. What a search for warmth!
And many tropical birds, which are not threatened by either cold or hunger, having fed their chicks, go on long journeys. The gray tyrant, for example, (it looks a bit like our shrike) visits the Amazon jungle every year and returns back to the West Indies when it comes time to breed.
If scientists still do not understand everything about the reasons why birds break away from their homes in warmer climes, then the question of why they return back to the north from the fertile south is even more complicated.
It is believed that when the autumn season comes 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 countries simply do not know. temperate climate. In addition, the number of thunderstorm days there is much more than here, ten times. Birds that migrate to India and the subtropics are forced to flee the dry season in summer.
The snowy owl nests in the tundra, where summers are cold, the climate is humid and there are many lemmings on which the owl feeds. She spends the winter in the forest-steppe of the middle zone. Can this owl stay for the summer in the hot, dry steppe, where there is little of its usual food? Of course not. She flies to her native tundra.
Part of the craving to return home can be explained by internal changes in the body of the bird. When the breeding season 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, encourages birds to fly.
Another reason for the birds to return home is that it is more profitable for birds to breed in the middle latitudes in summer, because here in summer the days are longer than in the south. And migratory birds are diurnal, and the long day gives them more opportunities to feed their offspring.
In autumn, watching flocks of migratory birds with their baby, loving parents tell the child what kind of 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 not all birds can survive the coming cold. But this is not entirely true. So how do you answer your little one's why?
Birds fly to warm lands not because they are very afraid of the cold. Feathers and warm fluff between them protect the bird as well as your jacket and pants protect you from 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. And 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 until they can easily find food for themselves, and then they 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 are cooked in long journey finches, siskins, buntings. After all, if 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 dwellers 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 remain to winter. For example, crossbills living in the forest feed on seeds from cones. coniferous trees: firs, pines. Sparrows, crows, pigeons, tits have long adapted to life in cities, where it is easy to find something to eat.
People help birds survive the cold and hungry season: they make feeders where they put seeds and grains. Do you remember when we used to treat the pigeons with crumbs in the park? Many people do this, so the city birds are not afraid to stay winter with us.
Something like this you can have a conversation with an inquisitive baby. 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 them to independent study and analysis of the environment.
Shishkin school. Natural history. Migratory birds
In the video, we will find out which birds fly south and why they do it. And we will also learn how to keep track of migratory birds:
Even children know that cold period years, many birds go to warmer climes. However, not every person is capable of giving an accurate, reasoned answer to the question of why birds fly south in the fall. Today we will help you deal with this situation in our article.
Why do some birds fly away in autumn
First you need to deal with the question of why some representatives of birds go to warmer climes in autumn, 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 autumn. 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 to warmer climes in autumn?
If you selectively ask a large number of people about why birds fly south in autumn, the vast majority of people who took the survey 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, to be honest, 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 the winter, as you know, everything starts to go into sleep mode: trees shed their leaves 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 the winter. Thus, the flights of birds to the South, to warmer climes, can be called a forced measure, to which they are pushed by the instinct of self-preservation associated with the reluctance to starve.
What birds fly to warmer climes in autumn
Paying attention to the winter sky, tree branches or even the ground, during this period you can always find pigeons, sparrows, crows on the streets. These birds are among those that do not fly to warmer climes even in harsh winters. As for the permanent inhabitants of our territories, who fly away to winter in warmer climes, these are, for example, swallows, rooks, nightingales, swifts, starlings.
