And there are migratory ones. Everyone knows that some of them fly to warmer regions for the winter. But where the bullfinches fly away in the summer and, in general, whether they fly away - not everyone knows about this. It is in this that we will now figure it out.
Appearance
Before figuring out where the bullfinches fly in the summer, it is worth deciding what this bird looks like. So, in size it is somewhat larger than a sparrow, the plumage is rather fluffy. It will seem interesting that a bright red breast is characteristic exclusively for males of these birds, while females have a grayish-brown breast. As for the habitat, these birds live in a strip of coniferous and mixed forests, and the very name "bullfinch" comes from the word "snow".
About winter life
What do these birds do in the winter, cold season? So, they live in small flocks with an average of 7-10 individuals. The colder it is outside and the more frost, the less mobile these birds are. They just sit on a branch, flying away from time to time to get their own food. And so the whole day. As darkness approaches, birds look for bushes or hidden tree branches to spend the night. As for the first half of winter, the birds at this time are mostly silent by nature, from them you can only sometimes hear a quiet “du-du”. When winter crosses its half line, the sun begins to shine brighter, you can hear a simple song from the bullfinches. As the warmth and spring approach, these are more and more often and louder, and around the middle of April they simply disappear, and before the onset of cold weather, few people see them, and not everyone knows where they have gone.
Summer time
Many people may be interested in the question of where the bullfinches fly in summer and whether they fly at all. So, it may seem to someone that they, according to the principle, can go to colder regions. But this is absolutely not the case. Bullfinch by nature is a sedentary bird, and for the summer it simply hides from human sight, hiding in dense forests and thickets. However, it should be said that all the same bullfinches fly away for the summer from cities and densely populated areas to more secluded places. They make nests in dense branches or on the highest branches of trees where no one can reach or see them. Therefore, in the summer it is rather difficult to observe these birds, because they skillfully hide from a person, practically not giving themselves away.
Why are bullfinches closer to people in winter?
Having figured out whether bullfinches fly to colder regions for the summer, it is also worth saying a few words about why these birds are drawn to crowded places in winter. It's simple: in search of food. For birds, the worst thing is not the cold (after all, their temperature, on average, is 41-42 degrees), but hunger. Lack of food badly affects the body of birds, they freeze faster, and even a healthy bird can die. At this time, it is very difficult to find food in the forest, so bullfinches fly to where there are people and where you can profit from something. The most difficult time for these birds, when it is the shortest - in December-January, and then you can see the first bullfinches on the streets of cities. When food can be found without any problems in the forest thicket, the birds return to a more convenient environment for them, leaving crowded cities and villages.
Bird feeding
Having figured out where the bullfinches fly in summer, it is also worth saying a few words about what these birds eat. Some conclusions can be drawn simply by looking at their beak. So, it is quite massive and is intended for tearing various seeds and small nuts. However, not for catching worm bugs. Also, these birds feed on the buds of trees, various berries, eating seeds from them and completely throwing out the pulp.
Captivity
Having answered the question of where the bullfinches fly after winter (just to the forest, remaining in the same strip), it is worth saying a few words about whether these birds can be kept in captivity. So, this is allowed, however, for a bullfinch, the cage should be spacious, high, at the bottom there should always be fresh sand and water. It is important to say that these birds are very fond of swimming, so a small bath should be provided for them. As for feeding in captivity, it can be a variety of berries and seeds, but, in addition, it is also important to provide fresh greens, as well as grated carrots. As for the temperature regime, it is easy to guess that these birds love coolness and hide from the heat. Therefore, it is better to place the cage in a cool place, however, where there is also a bird it is very, very important. Also, bullfinches can be kept in pairs or even in groups, placing birds and a slightly different species to them.
Benefit
After all of the above, a logical question may arise: what benefits does a bullfinch bring? First of all, these are, of course, pleasant sounds from his singing. But that's not all. For example, a bird ate berries and sat on the top branch to clean its beak. Several rowan seeds were cleaned out and fell to the ground, after a while giving birth to a new tree. And so on to infinity, because the bird eats quite often.
When winter comes, small red-breasted birds fly into the cities. These are bullfinches flying in a ringing flock. Today we will tell you what kind of bird is a bullfinch - whether it flies where in the summer, why in the winter in the city and why its breast is red.
Who are called "living lanterns"
In winter, the forest cannot boast of a special variety of colors. All around are blue-white snows and the dark green of coniferous trees. And suddenly, among this diversity, lights flash - these are red-breasted bullfinches flying from branch to branch.
Are all bullfinches the same?
All types of bullfinches are similar in size. The birds are small, slightly larger than a sparrow. All have a slightly elongated black tail, a short thick beak and a black cap on their heads.
But the color of the thick fluffy plumage in the rest of the body may vary. In males, the entire chest is bright red, almost scarlet in color. Females are colored more modestly - their breasts are brownish.
There is a kind of bullfinches, in which the back is white at the bottom, and the entire front part, shoulders and neck are gray, which is why they are called so - gray bullfinches. Others have a yellow color on their back, and their name is yellow-backed. The red-headed bullfinch has a red cap on its head. Here are how different bullfinches can be.
The red-headed bullfinch (Pyrrhula erythrocephala) is the most abundant species of this genus in the Himalayas In total, 9 species have been identified, and the shades of plumage are different for everyone, so the opinion that all bullfinches have red breasts is erroneous.
Where do bullfinches live
Bullfinches inhabit the entire forest zone of Europe and most of Asia. In Russia, they can be found in all forests where conifers grow, and even in the forest-steppe zone.
The bird is sedentary, but you can watch it only in winter. Often they fly to city parks and gardens to feed themselves, then they can be seen well. Bullfinches hang on the branches like living lanterns.
Bullfinches are calm and friendly birds, fights between them very rarely occur, and the whole flock flies to the squeak of a bird in trouble But in the summer it is difficult to notice them, so some people think that bullfinches fly away to other lands. They do fly, but only deep into the deep spruce thickets, where they will build their nests.
Listen to the voice of a bullfinch
The flock flies very beautifully, its flight resembles iridescent river waves.
Breeding bullfinches
As soon as the frosts recede, and the sun warms up more, so immediately in February-March, bullfinches begin to attract each other with their songs. Their soft melodic whistling is heard far away. And what is interesting, unlike all birds, females also sing among bullfinches. True, their song is unsightly, like a creak.
These birds form a pair in April and begin to build a nest in a hidden, secluded place. Impenetrable thickets of spruce are just suitable for this. A nest is built from small twigs and roots on the thin ends of spruce branches, less often pine. Therefore, the number of bullfinches in spruce forests is much higher than in some others.
Closer to summer, when the chicks are already hatching, the parents begin to molt, so down and small feathers are also added to the nest.
The female incubates eggs, and the male brings her food for the entire nesting period.
The chicks differ in color from their parents, the color of their feathers is rich brown and there is no black cap on the head.
Towards the end of autumn, the family begins to wander in search of food. And when the snow falls, you can see them well. That is why they say among the people: "Bullfinches have arrived - they brought winter on their wings."
Do bullfinches eat only rowan berries?
Most often, in photos or paintings, these birdies are depicted sitting on rowan branches. Its berries are their favorite food. Moreover, they do not eat the pulp, but only peck out the seeds. Because of this, gutted red crumbs of berries are always scattered under the tree in the snow.
In general, their nutrition, despite the fact that it is only of plant origin, is quite diverse. In winter, these are seeds of alder, maple, ash, hornbeam, elderberries. In the summer, in the fields, they feast on the seeds of quinoa, burdock, horse sorrel and other herbs.
In winter, most of us notice the appearance of beautiful red-breasted birds - bullfinches in the city. Mostly they are clearly visible on leafless tree branches and snow-covered ground. The appearance of a large number of bullfinches is due to the lack of sufficient food for survival in forest zones, which leads them to urban areas, where people, hearing their sonorous singing, feed them seeds.
Bullfinch in may By their nature, bullfinches are gullible and not whimsical, therefore they feel comfortable among people. If you wish, you can get such a bird to keep it on the balcony or garden plot, after taming or catching it on the street. Keeping, at first glance, freedom-loving birds will not at all affect their condition as a whole. But you should not go against nature and specifically catch bullfinches for yourself, it is better to feed them sometimes in a hungry winter.
Appearance
The size of a bullfinch is slightly larger than a sparrow. The feather color of birds is quite bright and memorable:
- the head, except for the cheeks, is black;
- tail and wings are also covered with black feathers;
- the undertail with the loin is white;
- the cheeks, lower neck, abdomen and sides are colored bright red. Males have a distinctive gray color on the back, neck and neck.
Depending on the species and region of habitation, bullfinches have slight differences in color. The shoulders on the back of the neck, in the female, may have gray plumage, while the back is colored brownish brown. Sometimes females have a change from red to gray-brown plumage.
Bullfinch on a branch 
Chicks, irrespective of sex, are ocher-brownish, without highlighting individual body parts as in adult birds.
Habitat
Bullfinches are common throughout Europe, except for southern and upper Asia. According to the high-altitude level of settlement, they are not picky and calmly build their nests in low-lying regions and mountainous terrain, allocating places for themselves with a sufficient number of trees and forests. These birds do not settle in areas with few or no trees. The northern part of the forest is rarely populated with bullfinches due to cold winters.
Bullfinches are chosen to settle in places with a clean ecology, so in winter they can be admired by residents of cities with a minimum or complete absence of industry. Birds feel quite comfortable next to people, so they calmly settle within the city, next to residential buildings.
The summer forest does not allow seeing the birds, even despite their distinctive color. In winter, trees empty of foliage and a white background of snow reveals the beauty of their plumage.
Birds live in nests that build on trees (firs), at a height of no more than 5 meters. They build the nests themselves from improvised natural material: twigs, leaves, dry grass and live in them, leaving only for feeding.
To create nests and lay eggs, bullfinches choose spruce trees located near water bodies. The general behavior of birds is calm and poorly oriented in the new area, which allows both humans and domestic cats to catch even an adult.
It is worth noting that bullfinches can be overlooked in a region with severe winters. Although they are frost-hardy, the difficulty of wintering in open nests and a reduction in food lead to migration to warmer regions. Unlike migratory birds, bullfinches do not fly south and are good at changing seasons, subject to mild winters.
What does a bullfinch eat in summer?
In summer, bullfinches spend most of their time in fields and meadows. Adequate amount of meadow grass seeds - provides a well-fed summer. In winter, the fallen seeds are hidden under a layer of snow and it is difficult for the birds to feed themselves, forcing them to fly to places inhabited by people for the winter period.
In addition to a sufficient number of seeds donated by nature, bullfinches love orchards and bushes with berries. Juicy berries in summer or drying up in autumn, birds peck up regardless of their place of growth.
The fields sown with sunflowers attract, perhaps, all birds with juicy and nourishing seeds. Unlike other birds, bullfinches very rarely catch midges and other seasonal insects as food, but they do not refuse completely.
What does a bullfinch eat in winter
In winter, most often bullfinches can be seen on the branches of mountain ash and viburnum. Red bright berries not only successfully emphasize the red breast of birds, mountain ash is also their favorite delicacy.
Seed residue on maple, ash, alder trees supports birds until suitable seeds appear on meadow grasses or buds on trees. In parks, bullfinches do not refuse to visit feeders built by people, only they linger in them in the presence of sunflower and pumpkin seeds, oats and millet.
All these delicacies keep the bullfinches until the onset of spring, which gives many leafy buds. But often the winter is hungry and due to a small amount of food, which has a strong effect on the decline in the bird population.
Bullfinch with tree seed. What the bullfinch feeds its chicks
In the first half of May, female bullfinches lay eggs, from which chicks appear in a few weeks. For the first few weeks, the chicks are next to the female, fully fed by her. For the next 10-15 days, the chicks learn to fly and get their own food. For young individuals, midges, small spiders and bugs must be present in the diet; coma, the females begin to accustom them to collecting seeds from herbs.
In winter, beautiful small birds with red plumage on the chest can often be found on the branches of trees. They are known as bullfinches, which, unlike many other birds, lead an active lifestyle during the cold season. How do they look? What do they eat and where do they live? Do they fly away for the summer? Details will be given below.
Description of bullfinches
You can often observe how a sonorous flock of bullfinches flies from branch to branch. So, bullfinch refers specifically to songbirds kind of bullfinches, family of finches.
Bullfinches are very noticeable and attractive, it is not for nothing that their photos are actively used to create New Year's cards, calendars and other winter-themed products.
The size of these birds is very small, they are only slightly larger than ordinary sparrows. The constitution of this winter feathered one is dense, strong, but, despite this, its weight is small - about 35 grams. The body is approximately 18 cm long and has a wingspan of 30 cm.
For all bullfinches dimorphism, that is, differences by gender. Distinguishing a female from a male is very simple here:
- the plumage on the breast of the female is paler than that of the male; it is gray with a slight pink tint;
- in males, the breast is always bright red (the so-called shade of carmine).
The color of the rest of the plumage in both males and females is identical. There is a so-called black cap on the bird's head, which goes down and forms the same black chin clearly under the beak.
The back of the bullfinches is painted gray with a slight bluish tint. The wings of these birds have only two colors - black and white, but at the same time they are very bright, since these colors alternate with stripes.
The tail of the bird is short, rounded at the end, always painted black. The tail feathers, on the other hand, are white.
The cheeks, sides and neck of the bird have a gray tint, its intensity varies depending on which subspecies the bullfinch belongs to. As a rule, the plumage of chicks is always paler than that of adults.
The bullfinch's beak is small, wide and very strong, black. The paws of the bird are painted black, they are tenacious, strong, have three fingers on each, which, in turn, have sharp claws.
According to such a description, it will be easy to recognize bullfinches among other birds, and also to discern who is a female and who is a male.
Singing bullfinches
Bullfinch easy to recognize by special singing, because they make sounds that are difficult to confuse with the sounds of other birds. The bullfinch's song resembles a sonorous almost metallic whistle (sometimes it resembles a creak).
These birds sing especially loudly during the mating season, and what is most interesting here, not only males, but also females sing.
As already mentioned, a bullfinch is winter bird, which means that she settles in the appropriate area - these are mixed and coniferous forests. The habitat of these birds is very wide; they can be found in the taiga massif of Europe and Asia from the Atlantic to the Pacific shores. By the way, on the territory of Russia they can also be found in the forest-steppe.
Sometimes birds can be seen in city parks, but this is more the exception than the norm. Often these birds fly to residential areas to find food. For the same reason, they often enjoy themselves from the feeding troughs on the windows of houses.
Bullfinch is sedentary representative of the feathered family, but, as you know, it only shows up in winter. You won't see them in summer, so many believe that bullfinches fly away to winter in other regions. This opinion is erroneous, since these birds simply fly into the depths of the forests and equip their nests there.
Since these are winter birds, it is no wonder that their favorite delicacy is red rowan... By the way, it is on mountain ash branches that bullfinches are most often depicted in various photographs and paintings. When a whole flock of these birds sits on a rowan branch, you can observe how the males behave nobly: they let the females pass ahead and allow them to choose the largest and juicy berries.
By the way, if you take a closer look, you can see that they do not eat the pulp of mountain ash berries, but only choose seeds from them.
In addition to mountain ash, these birds also eat alder, elderberry, maple, hornbeam, ash, and again they choose the seeds of these trees.
In summer, these birds fly to the fields and find seeds of horse sorrel, burdock, quinoa and other field grasses there.
Sometimes they do not disdain insects and. By the way, nimble and nimble by nature, bullfinches become completely clumsy during feeding, which can be dangerous if they fly into the village to eat from the feeder: often these birds fall into the clutches of domestic cats, which can take advantage of the awkwardness of their prey.
About breeding bullfinches
During the mating season, bullfinches sing melodiously, and it is the males who do this in order to subdue the females, and they, in turn, respond to them with quieter whistling. Couples are already forming by March. It is interesting that in the family of bullfinches, it is the female who plays the main role.
These birds arrange their nests mainly on conifers, at a height of at least 1.5-2 m and away from the trunk. The nests themselves are woven thoroughly: the birds, with the help of their paws and beak, skillfully weave together thin twigs and dry grass. Lichen, dry leaves of trees and even animal hair are covered at the bottom of such a nest.
In May, the female lays blue eggs in a brown speck (about 4-6 pieces), then incubates them for about 2 weeks. The newly born chicks are incredibly gluttonous and constantly demand food, so their feathered parents fly for berries and insects without interruption.
Chicks grow very quickly:
- at two weeks of age, the chicks make their first attempts to get out of the nest and even learn to fly, but at the same time they continue to eat what their parents bring them;
- already at the age of one month, young animals become completely independent.
In the wild bullfinches live about 15 years but they often die earlier. This happens due to unbearable temperatures, as well as due to lack of food.
Surprisingly, such a bird, which is accustomed to living in the wild, may well feel great next to a person, provided that all the necessary conditions of detention are met. These calm and balanced birds are not very active in the presence of people, especially females. But if you treat them with a delicious treat, then they will be very grateful and will gladly start the meal.
If you have an idea to have such a bird as a pet, then it is worth remembering that it does not tolerate high temperatures, therefore it is necessary to provide her with a comfortable place to live, where cool air will be maintained.
It is interesting that these birds are quite friendly and, with careful handling, they quickly lend themselves to taming, and can also delight a person with simple onomatopoeia and whistling of memorable melodies.
A small red-breasted bullfinch is a symbol of winter and New Year's holidays, adorning postcards and calendars. Translated from Latin, the name of this feathered sounds like "fiery". But the origin of the Russian name is not completely clear. According to one of the versions, it is formed from the ancient Turkic "snig" - red-breasted. Hence the ancient spelling of the word - "snigir". In Russia, this bird was often brought up in houses and taught various songs. She is great at imitating sounds and voices.
Bullfinches belong to the finch family, the genus bullfinches. The oldest representative of this genus is considered to be the brown Nepalese buffalo finch. This bird lives in South Asia. Outwardly, it looks like young bullfinches - fledglings.
From this species, 5 modern bird species originated.
There are several types of birds on the territory of Russia:
- bullfinch ordinary;
- Gray;
- Ussuriysk.
A characteristic feature of the whole genus is a black cap of feathers around the eyes, beak and on the crown. It appears in adults. Chicks are usually buffy-brown in color. The bullfinch looks like this:
- tail and flight feathers are bluish-black with a metallic sheen and white stripes;
- the loin and the area under the tail are white;
- the back and back of the bird's neck are bluish-gray;
- the breast has a characteristic red color - this feature is most often mentioned in the description of a bullfinch.
Birds are distinguished by a dense constitution. They are slightly larger in size than sparrows. Some individuals can grow up to 18 cm. In severe frost, they bristle their feathers, trying to keep warm. This makes the birds look even more round and thick.
The bullfinch's beak is strong and thick. With its help, the bird easily crushes strong berries and nuts to get seeds.
The area of bullfinches
Bullfinches live in all European forests. You can find these birds in Japan, Front and Central Asia. In Russia, the gray species lives in the mountains of Siberia and the Far East. The Ussuri species lives on Sakhalin and the Kuriles.
Representatives of this family prefer coniferous and mixed forests.... They never leave their familiar habitat. In winter, the birds flock into flocks and become clearly visible. With the arrival of cold weather, the inhabitants of the northern territories fly closer to the south - "bring winter." With the onset of warmth, they lose their bright color and become inconspicuous.
Lifestyle and habits
In flocks of these birds, the laws of matriarchy reign. The females have a rather heavy, quarrelsome disposition, and the males obey them in everything.
Usually it is the "ladies" who start scandals in the pack.
True, it almost never comes to fights. Females express their displeasure with their wide-open beak and threatening hiss. Males are more phlegmatic and less mobile.
At the end of winter, it's time for the bullfinches to sing... At this time, males begin to actively publish intricate trills. Females sing much less often. With the arrival of nesting time, the singing subsides. The songs of the bullfinches are quiet, but long. They make whistling, buzzing and squeaking sounds. There is a ringing melodic roll call between neighboring flocks all the time.
In nature, these birds live on average 10-13 years. In captivity, with proper care, they can live up to 17 years.
Power features
With their massive beaks, bullfinches split berries and extract seeds from them. If you look closely, you will notice that their beaks are stained with rowan juice. They love birds and other plant foods:
- linden and bird cherry buds;
- lionfish of ash and maple trees;
- lilac seeds;
- weed seeds.
Adults eat only plant foods. Chicks are fed with small insects.
Nesting and breeding
