Squorses grow up to 22 cm in length and weigh from 50 to 100 g. Males and females have overflowing green feathers, black wings with a green and purple tint. In winter, on a dark background, first of all, white or cream spots appear on the chest. The shape of the feathers is rounded at the base and a jazzubren to the tip. Males have feathers on their chests long. The femoral feathers are short and rounded.
The paws are reddish-brown, the eyes are dark brown. In the wedding season, the beak is yellow, the rest of the time is black. Males have a bluish stain at the base of the beaks, and the female has reddish-pink spots. Young birds are pale brown, until adult feathers are fabricated, and they have a brownish-black beak.
- Where the starlings live
- What kind of habitat is needed by starlings
- How the starlings propagate
- How often the propagation occurs
- The behavior of starlings
- How starlings communicate with each other
- What they eat
- Natural enemies of starlings
- What role do starlings play in the ecosystem
- How starlings interact with a person
Where the starlings live
Birds are found in all biogeographic regions of the world, with the exception of Antarctica. Mostly starlings live in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The natural area from Central Siberia in the east to the Azores in the West, from Norway in the north to the Mediterranean Sea in the south.
Strvorets migratory bird. Northern and Eastern population migrates and spends the winter in Western and Southern Europe, Africa north of Sahara, Egypt, North Arabia, Northern Iran and Plains of Northern India.
What kind of habitat is needed by starlings
These are lowlands. During the propagation period, the starfish require nests and fields for feeding. In the remainder of the year, starlings use a wider range of habitats, from open heather wasteland to salt marshmallows.
Squorses use birdhouses and hollows for nests on trees, as well as crevices in buildings. They are more aggressive than other birds and kill rivals to get a place for a nest.
Squorses get food in open habitats, such as meadows and pastures. Since they, as a rule, feed and travel openair flocks, all members of the group make sure that the predator does not attack, and scare away him.
How the starlings propagate
Squorses build nests of herbs, branches and moss, lieter with fresh leaves. The leaves are periodically replaced and serve as antibiotics or antifungal agents.
The reproduction season begins in the spring and ends in early summer. Its duration changes from year to year. All starlings lay off 4 to 7 glossy blue or greenish-white eggs for a week.
Both parents force in turn until the chicks hatch. Females spend more time in the nest than males. Chickens are excreted after 12-15 days of incubation.
How often the propagation occurs
Squorses can lay more than one masonry in one reproduction season, especially if eggs or chicks from the first masonry did not survive. Birds living in the southern regions are more likely to make more than one masonry, probably, because the period of reproduction longer.
Squur’s chicks are helpless at birth. At first, parents feed them with soft animal food, but as they grow up, expand the assortment with plants. Both parents feed the cubs and remove their fecal bags. Young animals leave the nest in 21-23 days, but parents still feed them for several days after that. As soon as the starlings become independent, they form flocks with other young birds.
The behavior of starlings
Squorses are social birds that communicate with relatives all the time. Birds multiply in groups, eat and migrate flocks. Squorses are tolerant of human presence and feel good in urban areas.
How starlings communicate with each other
Squorses produce loud sounds all year round, with the exception of cases when they are fed. Songs of males are changeable and contain many components. They are:
Squorses also copy the songs and sounds of other birds and animals (frogs, goats, cats) or even mechanical sounds. Skvortsov is taught to imitate the human voice in captivity. During the flight, Square made the sound “queer”, the metal “chip” warns of the presence of a predator, and the roar is published when attacking the flock.
What they eat
Squorses eat different plant and animal products at any time of the year. Young birds eat mainly animal products, for example, soft invertebrates. Adults prefer plant foods, extract, looking on Earth in open places with short or rare vegetation. Squorses sometimes follow agricultural equipment, since it raises the soil. They also feed in litoric zones, in treatment facilities, garbage, on farms and in places of feeding livestock. They fly to trees where there are ripened fruits or many caterpillars.
Food Skvortsov consists of:
The starlings are climbing:
From plant foods prefer:
The shape of the skull and muscles allows the starlings to penetrate with beaks into the ground or hammer solid food and open holes. Birds have binocular vision, see what they do and distinguish the types of products.
Natural enemies of starlings
Squorses gather in large groups with the exception of the reproduction period. Walking behavior protects, increases the number of birds that observe the approach of the hunter.
They hunt on the starling:
What role do starlings play in the ecosystem
The abundance of starlings makes them important prey for small predators. The starlings multiply rapidly, arrange new areas, produce large offspring every year, eat various food products and in different habitats. They have a significant effect on seed and fruit crops and insect populations. In areas where starlings are not local appearance, they replace other birds if they compete with them for nests and food resources.
How starlings interact with a person
Squorses are useful for the environment because they eat plant pests of plants. Squorses reduce the number of insects that damage agricultural crops. Squorses also prepare dishes in the Mediterranean countries.
