Waxer a bird that belongs to the detachment of sparrows and the family. The size of a bird is almost like a starling. The length of the waxwood body varies from 18 to 22 cm, while the mass ranges from 40 to 83 g. Wingspan about 30 cm.
The physique of this bird is dense. The plumage is quite thick, and the wings are pointed at the ends. The tail is shortened, the cut straight open. It is easy to notice a bird in the distance due to sharp crest and a “mask” of black color that comes from the beak to the back of the head.
Description and appearance
Sluming plumage has a wine tint. The head is painted in red, back in brown. The lower back of the bird is gray, ka and tail, and its bastard is dark. Brown wings, their pickets are painted in yellow. There are also red plaques on them. Radules Kariai, dark beak. Male individuals are distinguished by a stain on the throat, its boundaries are strictly outlined. Females also have such a stain, but its boundaries are blurred. The females and young animals are not such a bright pattern on the boots of feathers. Birds who are still years old have no red plaques. Young waxwicks have dull plumage, it is brown. Sands on the belly of young animals are blurred, and the crest is small.
In the flight, the silhouette of a bird looks like a silhouette of a starling, a crest is tightly pressed to the body. This representative of the vountry has a short beak, bent claws on his feet, which he uses for better adhesion to the branches. However, walking with such claws is inconvenient. The wax of the wax flies straight, it usually does not make sharp turns.
Voice
Waxer is capable of singing a trembling barrel “Svir-Ryr”. In winter, birds are actively singing and therefore it is easy to identify their flock or individual individuals that sit on the branches.
Listen to how the waxing sings
Migratory or not
Waxing is not a migratory bird, but it wanders out in the nonenrolling season. But it is important to note that only individuals who inhabit the northern territories migrate. They often migrate south, when in their native parts there is not enough food and it becomes cold. The wax of the gurney does not fly away very far several hundred km. The bird flies away either after the first snowfall or in December. Waxworms fly away as part of large flocks, return home in the spring, but in small groups. During nomadic, the birds are quite secretive.
Where it lives
Waxer nesting view. These birds are found in North America, Asia and Europe. They prefer mixed forests, but live in coniferous. Birds love forests where spruce and birch grow. These representatives of the sparrows are often seen in the mountains overgrown with various representatives of the flora. The waxworms are not picky to climatic conditions, they can live both in lowlands and at the peaks.
When choosing a habitat, the waxwell primarily looks at the presence of a good feed base the stocks of berries. This bird can also appear in the gardens to shove berries, moreover, even one hungry individual often causes a lot of harm.
Types of waxworms
To date, there are 3 subspecies: ordinary, Amur and American waxworms. Individuals of the Amur subspecies are distinguished in that at the end of their tail there is a strip of red color. Birds nest in larch forests, where there is spruce and fir. Representatives inhabit the coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Zei River basin and the ridge of Jagda. The subspecies is guarded in the Zeisky Reserve.
Amur Waxworm
Amur Waxworm
American Waxworm inhabit Canada and the USA. These birds love cedar nuts and fruits. The color of individuals is orange, they have a bright yellow belly.
American Waxworm
American Waxworm
Ordinary waxworms in the summer inhabit the taiga zone and terrain, which adjacent to this territory, namely Europe up to Siberia.
Ordinary Waxworm
Food
This bird is omnivorous. In summer, individuals feed on animal food, during this period, birds are more actively hunting for insects. Waxerrs feed on mosquitoes and butterflies, beetles and their larvae.
Waxwiring voracious birds. Often they go to the places of feeding, one can kill a huge part of insects in the district. These representatives of the vowel are useful, as they destroy many midges and other pests. Waxworms are more actively destroying insects when they must feed the chicks. Kids cannot eat plant food, because parents feed them with insects all day. These birds also feed on berries, seeds and kidneys. They prefer mountain ash and juniper, lingonberry with bird cherry, barberry with mulberry. Often these birds eat pears and apples.
More terrible individuals living in America. They fly into the gardens with huge flocks, because farmers do not like these birds. Data of via are real gluing, quite often they do not even chew berries, but this is useful for plants: it helps to spread their seeds.
Waxer loves berries
Lifestyle and features
The waxworms live in packs. Communicate with relatives in their voice: they whistle loudly. Vocalization takes place all day, birds do not fall silent for a second. Basically, the waxworms sit on the bush and enjoy the berries, the rest of the time communicate with each other and rest. Sometimes these sparrows fly. On sunny days, they usually hunt for insects that “rest” on the grass.
On the hunt, the flock only interferes with individuals, because they move away, but do not go far. Having eaten to the dump, they return and continue to communicate with their brothers. The waxed is quite dexterous, is able to catch bugs on the fly, so it is difficult to fly away from him.
When the air temperature drops below zero, these birds also go hunting and are actively looking for berries. In a cold and blizzard, waxworms gather in flocks and set off in search of shelters that are found under branches or a layer of snow.
Reproduction
Usually the waxworms are friendly and are not afraid to fly to a person. However, from May to June, they lead a secretive lifestyle. This is due to the onset of the nesting period. By the beginning of this season, birds create couples and are preparing for the appearance of offspring. Every year, birds choose the same half. Moreover, each time the male should present the female a gift in the form of berries for many days in a row, until she accepts the courteousness of the male. So the female checks the future father for whether he is able to feed the whole family while his mother will hatch eggs.
Waxworm eggs
The nest is usually located near the reservoir, because the water is very important for the waxwoman. Almost always, birds are found in the edges, on spruce branches. “House” is located at an altitude of 7 to 14 m. At this height, ground predators will not be interested in a nest, and other birds are not destined to notice the nest.
During the nesting period, the waxworms can settle as a flock, so separately. In the first case, the nests of the packs of packs will be located in the relative proximity of each other.
When creating the waxwerh nest, blades and moss are used, trees. The bottom of the “house” birds are covered with wool and feathers, so that the chicks are comfortable. When everything is ready for young animals, the female makes a masonry of 3-6 eggs. They have a gray shell, which is covered with specks.
The female hatches eggs for 14 days, the male provides a brood for food and therefore the mother does not leave the kids anywhere. When born, the chicks are helpless, but voracious like adults. Due to the constant squeak, which the chicks emit, the predators arrive, so parents have to defend themselves. When one flies to hunt, the second sits in the nest. The first 14 days of life are the most dangerous, then the waxworms are covered with feathers and gain independence. Already in August, the plumage finishes the formation, because the waxwives learn to fly and hunt. During this period, they go to the winter flock. Puberty in birds comes closer to the reproduction season, and the life expectancy of the waxwoods is 10 years old.
Enemies
Waxworms have many natural enemies. Among them there are birds of prey, such as hawk, owl and raven. All of them attack representatives of sparrows in the air or, when they rest, sitting on spruce branches. At night, owls are usually hunted on waxwives, which are not averse to enjoy young. Crows also bring many problems, as they also often steal chicks or eggs. Moreover, this bird can ruin many nests at once, despite the fact that it has already eaten. She can just kill chicks and break eggs. Kunits also often ruin the nesting of the waxworms, they can also attack adults. Another enemy is a squirrel, the affection attacks these birds.
Swamp owl enemy of waxwoods
Population and status
Waxwirings are listed in the red list of MSOP. The Amur Waxworm is listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Sakha, Primorsky Territory and Sakhalin Region. At the moment, scientists are not concerned about a decrease in the number of populations, but the birds are threatened with forests of forests. And the Japanese subspecies suffers due to a person’s development of his habitats, but he is carefully guarded. All subspecies are also subjected to capture in the territory of North China, where they fly to winter.
Interesting Facts
- These birds can be kept in houses, but the waxworms are difficult to tame. Where it is better to start them with chicks. However, you can not keep the waxwoods in the cells they can become very lethargic. To make the individual feel good, you need to settle 2 birds together in a spacious cage.
- Sometimes the waxworms eat all the berries that they see, and some of them may be fermented. Because of this, the waxwear can get intoxicated and cease to control its movements. Such cases are frequent in winter, because at this time of the year frozen berries heat up a little.
- If the bird is contained in captivity, it should be fed by carrots so that the color does not become paler. It will be useful to eat birds and cottage cheese with meat or insects.
- During the meal, the waxworms never go down from the branches, moreover, they always remove the remnants of the food.
- The couple can raise 2 broods at once in the summer.
- A huge part of the population of these vagues does not create steam in the summer and continues to live in a pack.
