From ancient times, people loved to observe the life of birds. Not all of them are distinguished by bright colors and outstanding vocal abilities. Nevertheless, their habits and behavior are of interest not only to ornithologists, but also to many nature lovers.
Our today's heroine (small flycatcher) is a very small bird. Back in the sixties of the last century, it was considered very rare in the Central Black Earth Region, and today it has become a familiar inhabitant of reserved forests. Moreover, the little flycatcher is a bird that now feels quite comfortable in city parks. In recent years, this gray bird has begun to settle on city streets.
Small Flycatcher spreading
This bird is widespread in Europe. In almost every country, these small gray birds settle in open spaces, preferring light forests, glades, open forest clearings. Often they choose to live in the countryside. They are not at all afraid of being close to people, moreover, their favorite food is in abundance in villages and villages -flies.
In Russia, the small flycatcher (pilot) nests north of the Leningrad region. In the south, it occurs up to the borders of the treeless steppe parts of Ukraine and in the Lower Volga region. In addition, there are populations in the forests of the Caucasus, in Northern Iran, on Kopet-Dag.
Small flycatcher, the distribution of which is most often due to the reduction in the area occupied by spruce, prefers coniferous plantings. In spruce-deciduous forests, spruce forests, sometimes overgrown and deaf, these birds nest.
The Little Flycatcher, described in many publications on ornithology, flies to North Africa for wintering.
Small flycatcher: external features
The little gray bird belongs to the order Passerine, family Flycatcher. Its size is small (no more than 12 cm), the plumage is rather dull, which is more of an advantage than a disadvantage: it is not so easy for birds of prey to notice.
The Lesser Flycatcher has a slender, slightly elongated, oval body. The tail is thin and long. The head is large with large dark eyes. Black beak is medium in size. Paws are dark with short claws. The small flycatcher, whose voice is rather sonorous, makes quite original sounds. The song of this bird consists of two or three repeated "zircons" and four or five whistling sounds, which follow further, with a decreasing pitch. This simple melody does not mix with the voices of other birds, it is long and easy to remember.
Color of males
In an adult male, the sides of the head and the upper part of the neck are brownish-gray or dark gray. Uppertail and back greyish-brown. The upper tail coverts are velvety black. The small flycatcher of the European subspecies has a large spot of bright red or ocher color on the goiter, neck, and upper chest. The color intensity of the spot and its size depend on the age of the bird. It is larger and brighter in older males.
From the neck, the gray color extends to the sides of the breast and wraps around the edges of the red spot. The lower part of the chest and the lower tail coverts, the abdomen are white. The underwing coverts are white to light buff. The upper and wing coverts are brown. The central helmsmen are black, the rest are two-tone: white at the bases and black at the tops. The beak is brown-brown, slightly lighter at the base of the mandible. Legs brown-black. The iris is brown.
How are females colored?
Adult female has a grayish-brown or brownish-brown plumage in the upper body. The rudders and upper tail coverts are the same color as the male. The sides of the head are slightly lighter than the top. The underside of the body is white with a pale buffy tint. On the tail, the undercoverts are white. The upper coverts and flight wing are brown, with a slight admixture of brown.
Food
The Little Flycatcher is not picky about food at all. According to ornithologists, these babies eat everything that can fit in their miniature beak. The food of the small flycatcher largely depends on weather conditions: on a fine clear day, these birds catch flies,small butterflies, dragonflies. The flycatcher will not refuse a horsefly that has flown into the zone of its hunting grounds.
In bad weather, when it is impossible to fly, the bird feeds on caterpillars, small bugs and other insects that hide from the rain in the foliage of trees. Our heroine also takes shelter from the rain there. Flycatchers prey on almost all insects that are in the air, however, they do not ignore creeping species.
It is interesting that the flycatcher can deftly lift the fallen leaves with its beak and under it it will definitely find some kind of food for itself. It can be spiders, ants, small bugs, etc.
Building a nest
Interestingly, the nest flycatcher (female) equips only their natural materials. She carefully weaves it from moss, thin grass stalks, wood fibers, bird fluff. Outside, the bird sometimes lines it with lichen and thin twigs.
Inside the tray is lined with moss, hairy tendrils of climbing plants, a small amount of horsehair is used. An open nest (not a hollow) is usually in the shape of a small bowl. In diameter, it does not exceed 50 mm, depth - 45 mm. Finding the nest of the Little Flycatcher is difficult because it is well camouflaged and the birds are very careful and stay in the upper branches of the trees.
Reproduction
The flycatcher can nest very close to a person: under the roofs of houses, on lampposts, in gardens. This bird is notwill refuse to live in abandoned nests of other birds. These small gray birds arrive at their nesting sites rather late.
The mating season of these birds is interesting: the male flycatcher finds an empty hollow, settles down near it and starts to play mating serenades. Hearing love trills, the female flies to her "groom". But there are also small overlays, when the male manages to occupy not one, but several empty hollows. Then he lures the “brides” first to one dwelling, then flies to the next, where he also emits wedding trills and the next female flies to him. So, the male flycatcher becomes the owner of the "harem".
But we must give him his due: the male performs the role of father and head of the family with full responsibility. During nesting, he guards the nest and his offspring. The male helps the females to feed and care for yellow-mouthed chicks. To do this, the father of many children flies from one nest to another. Ornithologists have established an amazing fact: during the nesting period, a family pair of flycatchers makes up to five hundred flights a day for food and back to the nest to feed their yellow-mouthed chicks.
No wonder the flycatcher is considered a very useful bird: the extermination of such a huge number of insects is an undeniable advantage of these birds.
Chicks appear
In June, eggs appear in the nest, which usually do not exceed six. The shell is painted in a bluish color interspersed with dark shades. The female incubates the eggs herself for two weeks. The dimensions of the eggs are 19 x 14 mm. Feeling the dangerbirds with restless cries fly around the nest, sometimes they can even imitate an attack on an uninvited guest who is trying to inspect the nest, they fly at him, turning right in front of him.
Both parents feed the chicks. The offspring grows very quickly, and by the age of one month they become independent. And during this time, the parents manage to make the second clutch.
Chicks: Plumage
The first plumage of chicks is brownish-brown above with light buffy spots on the feathers. The goiter, throat and upper breast are pale buff with a scaly brown pattern. Its intensity decreases in the upper part of the abdomen. On its lower part, the drawing is completely missing.
Undertail coverts are white. The first post-nesting (winter) outfit of young birds is very similar to the color of an adult female. However, on the upper and primaries coverts, the borders are less pronounced. The change of nesting attire in young birds from early broods begins in mid-June. This partial molt covers almost all small plumage, excluding outer upper coverts and secondaries.
In offspring from late broods, the first molt, as a rule, ends in late August or early September. During wintering, only rare first-year-olds have individual red feathers on their throats. Adults molt twice a year: completely in the pre-nuptial period at the wintering grounds and post-nuptial time at the nesting sites.
