It is generally accepted that spring is a time of universal awakening and triumph of nature after a long winter hibernation. Of course, such a statement is quite true, but not always. The fact is that when asked about which bird hatches chicks in winter, the first to recall are representatives of birds living in distant warm countries.
However, almost everyone unanimously forgets that an amazing bird lives in our country, which can breed chicks even in the conditions of severe domestic winters. And her name is a crossbill, a mention of which can be found even in children's books telling about which bird hatches chicks in winter.
The crossbill is unique even with its unusual beak, the shape of which resembles spoiled scissors, whose blades are thrown over each other. Such an unusual form is associated with the nature of its nutrition: crossbills eat coniferous seeds, which are convenient to get from cones with just such a remarkable tool. By the way, even if you know which bird hatches the chicks in winter, do you know when the beak of the crossbill takes on such a famous shape? No, crossbill chicks hatch from eggs with perfectly normal, straight beaks. They acquire a characteristic form only in the third or fourth week of life.
The flow of these interesting birds begins in January. The male sits on the upper branches of the tree, whirls and runs along them, all the time calling the females with loud and not too melodic cries. A bird's nest is built on top of trees, always under the cover of dense branches. The nest itself is arranged near the trunk of the tree, using thick and reliable branches as the base.
The female is engaged in construction, she incubates eggs. However, the male is always in close proximity, guarding his girlfriend and feeding her. When the female sits on the eggs, all the care of feeding the family lies on the shoulders of the crossbill. These birds in winter, photos of which look beautiful and spectacular, manage even in cold weather at 40 degrees Celsius not to lose a single chick from the masonry.
However, the safety of the brood to a greater extent does not even depend so much on air temperature as on the amount of feed. Similar to proteins in this respect, crossbills are essentially nomads, the population of which depends on the number of spruce or cedar seeds. In one year, on a particular site of the forest, you can see dozens of crossbills, while the very next year you can no longer see a single bird in the same place, since they could all migrate hundreds of kilometers long in search of food.
By the way, if you wanted to know about which bird hatches chicks in winter, you will also be interested in the fact that the crossbill perfectly takes root in captivity. These birds quickly get used to their master and easily change their meager spruce diet to a varied diet, which can even include insects. Of course, you should at least occasionally give homemade crossbones pine nuts and spruce cones, since from them he receives a large amount of vitamins and minerals.
We hope that the article about which bird hatches chicks in winter has been useful to you!
