Belarus is a country with rich, untouched nature. Having been in this area, each person is simply amazed by the magnificence and diversity of fauna.
What are the famous birds of Belarus? Description of birds we begin with the main representative. This bird is a symbol for many Belarusians. It's about the stork. These proud birds of rather large sizes prefer to nest near residential buildings. Very often storks build their nests right on the roofs of houses, on pillars or on trees.
Both males and females of storks have large red beaks, long paws of the same color and sweeping wings with black plumage at the ends. The body of storks is snow-white.
These birds of Belarus feed mainly on invertebrate animals, for example, worms. Also included in their diet are toads, frogs, mice, grasshoppers, and even vipers.
The voice of the storks is quite loud, but they serve him only when they meet with a female. The sounds coming from the chicks are more similar to the meowing of cats.
Black-throated Diver
Another rare bird found in large reservoirs and swamps is the black-throated loon.
In the warm season, the feathered one can be recognized by the black plumage of the head, noticeable white stripes running on both sides of the neck, as well as by small snow-white specks located on the back of the bird.
During the winter period, these birds of Belarus acquire a brownish-gray color, and color changes apply to both females and males.
The loons feed on invertebrates living in water, as well as small fish.
Nests such birds of Belarus prefer to build right near the water or on small islands. The voice of loons is very diverse, but in most cases it sounds like female exclamations.
Toadstools - unusual birds of Belarus: photos and description
There are four species of toadstools in Belarus:
- Small Named so because of its small size. A distinctive feature of these grebes is a small spot on the yellow beak. As feeding birds use crustaceans, tadpoles, mollusks, and in some cases small fish. Small toadstools make their nests in almost any water reservoir, regardless of their size or location. You can recognize them by voice, which sounds smoothly and resembles the repetition of the syllable "brie".
- Seroschekaya. The bird is named so because of the fact that in the warm season its cheeks have a light gray color. In comparison with the small toadstool, it is much larger in size. Birds feed on insects and larvae living in the water, as well as tadpoles and small fish. You can meet nests of gray-necked toadstools in any reservoirs in which there are reed or reed beds. The voice of these birds resembles a pig squeal, but it can be heard only in the breeding season.
- Big. This bird can be recognized by white cheeks and the same neck, as well as by black-red "whiskers" and by black forelock. Food for large toadstools are frogs, tadpoles and insects living in the water. These birds have very interesting nests, resembling platforms afloat. They make them in standing bodies of water, on which there are reed or reed mace. The voice of these toadstools is hoarse, and the sounds are similar to the syllable “ker”.
- Black-necked grebe differs from other birds of this species by its unusual eye color. They are red with black and golden plumage.
These grebes are eaten by small fish, tadpoles and other inhabitants of water bodies.
They nest, like the rest of the toadstools, in small bodies of water overgrown with reeds or cattails. You can rarely hear the voice of these birds - it resembles the syllable “bi”.
What other birds are known in Belarus? Also in this country there are large cormorants, distinguishing features of which are white spots on the sides and head. If you look closely at this bird, you can see a greenish tint on the plumage of cormorants. Fish are preferred as food.
Cormorants nest on trees, as they are able to fly in search of food up to several kilometers. Less often, cormorants nest on small islands of land located on reservoirs.
If a person managed to hear the voice of this bird, resembling cawing, then you can be sure that a cormorant nest is located not far from this place.
Other birds
Of course, to describe all the birds living in Belarus will have to spend a lot of time. Therefore, the above list is far from complete. In this country, there are two varieties of swans (mute swan and screamer), which proudly float on the surface of small rivers and lakes.
In the forest often found hoblock, derbnik, red-footed falcon, peregrine falcon and several varieties of harriers. All birds differ in the color of their plumage and voice.
What birds are found in Belarus
Today in Belarus there are about 300 species of birds (including migratory birds). According to official data in Belarus for 2015 lived exactly 325 species.
Birds living in Belarus belong to 20 orders. Unfortunately, the 3 species that are found on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, in fact, no longer live in Belarus. The description of all types can take more than one book, so we will touch only the most famous.
Also, two more species disappeared in Belarus: the bearded partridge and the kukš left the territory of Belarus in search of a better life in distant lands.
Storks and pigeons
What birds (including migratory birds) live in Belarus today? First of all - it's a stork. The stork is not only the most graceful bird of the Belarusian sky, but also one of the symbols of the country.
It is difficult for storks to find a better territory for life than Belarus, because their long paws allow these unusual birds to move through the marshland, and the long beak allows you to hunt for frogs and fish right in a small pond.
Storks in Belarus can be found everywhere. They do not hesitate to live even on the roofs of houses.
But storks are rare in big cities. Minsk and the regional centers of Belarus are the refuge of pigeons, ravens, forty, sparrows and tits. It is these birds that make up the main “pool” of the Belarusian “feathered” world.
These birds have long been included in the number of permanent inhabitants of Belarus. The number of pigeons in Belarus is amazing: they can be found anywhere and everywhere where a person lives. "The bird of the world" is another name for pigeons.
Not less in the country and sparrows, which have a more arrogant character. Pigeons and sparrows are wintering birds of Belarus. Photos and images of these birds can be found in Belarus, even on billboards.
These are representatives of pelicans. A distinctive feature of local cormorants is the white feathers on the head and sides of the bird. The main plumage has a light greenish tide. They feed mainly on fish.
You can learn about the presence of a bird by a characteristic sound, something resembling a croak. Most often, you can find the nests of these birds in the trees, located near water.
Owls are another inhabitants of the Belarusian forest, especially its coniferous part. Light-eyed owls are one of the symbols of reason and science in the Belarusian popular culture. These intelligent birds live in the forests and are nocturnal.
Owls are night hunters who have sharp-sharp eyesight and excellent hearing. All this allows them to quickly find their prey. Birds of Belarus live in forests in small flocks, and sometimes in pairs.
What kind of names do not call the birds ... The cuckoo is from the famous "cuckoo". That same sound that these resourceful birds make.
Cuckoo is another bright representative of Belarusian birds. The cuckoo's voice is a real symbol of the Belarusian forests and fields, to which the monotonous “ku-ku” is heard.
Cuckoos are immensely intelligent birds that are no more stupid than the already mentioned owl. They are able to find food everywhere, even where many other birds cannot.
Birds in pictures will let you know exactly how Belarusian birds look in their habitat. Watch a video about a bird of Belarus jay.
Songbirds of the Voronezh Region
Nightingale ordinary
Not everyone knows that songbirds are a suborder of songbirds and there are about 4 thousand species. Of these, more than 300 species of songbirds, belonging to 28 families, inhabit the territory of Russia: lark, wren, sireistellevy, thrush, korolkovye, Slavkovo, flycatchers, nuthatch, titmouse, oatmeal, oriole, starling, etc.
Typically, a small size is characteristic of songbirds: the smallest representative - the kinglet weighs only 5 g. Also, songbirds have a small beak, which may be conical in shape, or it may be thin.
The next sign is well-developed toes, of which three are directed forward and one backward. Also, singing birds are characterized by dense plumage with a rare downy coat.
Many species have pronounced sexual dimorphism in the plumage coloration.
singing birds are a distinctive feature. This is the privilege of the males, while in females the apparatus has the same structure. Contrary to popular belief, males sing not to attract females and not to delight our ears, but in order to designate their territory in front of other males.
Songs from songbirds are very diverse. So the pied flycatcher has about 50 different sound signals, sometimes poorly distinguished by the human ear.
Mockingbirds add their own stanzas from other people's songs to their own song.
Despite the same device of the larynx within the species, among the feathered singers have their talents, who own a whole octave and even a wider range.
Orange happiness
Were the other day in London. The second time and again raid on business. And there you need to be there for a long time, at every step there is “Ah!”, And how many attractions, this is not to be considered! For two days and one night they only managed to: take a ride on a tour bus around the night city, admire the luxury of the Christmas showcases of the famous Harrods, laugh at the catch-up games between dogs and squirrels in Hyde Park, take a look at the Duke of Kent, flying away on taxi-helicopter cases, bypass both sides of Oxford Street and not buy anything.
But the most interesting and impressive was a trip to Kensington Palace, which surprised by the variety of expositions and non-standard solutions. A succession of kings and queens, in different centuries lived in the palace, presented briefly and very personally. The exhibits exist in the same space with the works of modern designers and together they create a special atmosphere, a feeling of belonging to the lives of those people. And as an exhibition of dresses of Queen Elizabeth, her sister, Princess Margaret and all the beloved Princess Diana. Almost every woman wants to see them!
And the most important impression awaited us in the garden of the palace. More precisely, in a hedge. It sat there and did not know that there are people who, at the sight of his beads-eye and orange breast, begin to make sounds uncharacteristic for a reasonable person, stretch their palms towards them (without food!) And really count on reciprocity! Well, I can not, I can not easily walk past the robins! And in this case, the miracle almost happened. The orange ball showed curiosity, jumped out of the bushes, sat down on the fence and. started talking to me. About something his, Kensington-autumn, moving from the trill in full voice to a quiet whisper. Oh, if the Chinese tourist had not come around the corner, he would have crouched on my palm, as if he were crouching! He came back after the tourist to define what was there further, but wherever the tourists went and went, breaking the intimacy of the moment. We could not get to know each other closer, but the brave photo was left for memory. Well, if not handsome.
