European blue tit (lat. Parus cyanus cyanus, or princelings) tit family, genus blue tit.
Description
The prince is a close relative of the common tit, but differs from this species by the presence of a snow-white, and not a bluish cap in the head. This is a tiny, very mobile bird, which is characterized by a bluish-white color of feathers. She has a small body (about 12 cm), and a miniature weight of only about 10 g. The blue tit boasts a snow-white plumage on the head and a dark stripe that runs from the base of the beak to the back of the head. She has a gray-bluish back and blue wings, and the underparts are bright white with darker plumage on the chest and abdomen. They lack sexual dimorphism, and males and females look almost the same, but males may be characterized by darker plumage tones.
Appearance
The prince in the main part is a white bird interspersed with gray and blue (head, back, wings). Males are distinguished by a more juicy blue color than females, but in younger birds this bright color is usually replaced by a grayish one, and in some places there may even be a yellowish coating.
Lifestyle and behavior
The blue tit belongs to the sedentary nomadic subspecies of birds. After the nesting period, flocks of these birds actively move along forest floodplains and swamp thickets, across agricultural lands, and even come across in settlements. But during nesting, princelings prefer a hidden lifestyle. This bird nests in hollows.
Usually, during the nesting period, they choose floodplains, coastal shrubs of swampy reservoirs with reeds or reeds. They are happy to settle on the edge of swamps and in wetlands of mixed forest.
Where do they live
The habitat of the princeling includes a narrow strip of the territory of Central Eurasia: from Belarus to the Sea of Japan. As a rule, this is part of the southern forest zone and steppe regions. A large population of this species can be found in the east of the Urals and southern Siberia.
Lazorevka prefers a sedentary lifestyle, wandering in winter within the nesting range.
What do they eat
The blue tit eats mainly insects it feeds on pupae and larvae of butterflies, grasshoppers, flies, bees and beetles. In winter, this bird can also eat plant foods without problems: sea buckthorn berries, seeds of other plants. She is even able to store in the bark of trees. Unlike other birds, the princeling is able to split the stems of reeds and other umbrella plants in search of animal food, such as larvae.
reproduction
The blue tit usually starts breeding in mid-spring, although pairs of birds form as early as mid-February, at a time when flocks of blue tit begin to gradually disintegrate.
Males are characterized by demonstrative behavior during the mating season: they slowly soar from branches, clean feathers, and, of course, sing. The beginning of the formation of a pair symbolizes the feeding of the female. Starting to form a nest, the pair calms down, and behaves very quietly. So quiet that it is even difficult to notice them from a distance (given that these birds nest in deep thickets or hard-to-reach places).
Princelings prefer to build nests in the hollows of old trees, usually at a distance of several meters above the ground. Sometimes it can be single abandoned buildings or cracks in the rocks. The female is engaged in arranging the nest, laying it out of moss and wool with the addition of grass stalks.
During the season, blue tit can make up to two clutches, and each of them usually has up to 11 eggs, which the female incubates for two weeks. Both parents feed the chicks, and the chicks leave the nest after a few weeks.
