One of the most unique regions of Russia is the Primorsky Territory. It is distinguished by a special variety of landscape and amazing nature. In this area you can find stony and wooded slopes, rocky peaks, calm rivers and turbulent mountain rivers with waterfalls, lagoon lakes. This region is rich in a variety of flora and fauna. Today we want to talk about the amazing inhabitants of Primorsky Krai - birds. Names, photos and interesting information about the representatives of avifauna - all this is waiting for you below!
Wintering birds
This is the name of the birds that live in their native land all year round. Wintering birds certainly must be able to earn their livelihood among the snows. We invite you to get acquainted with wintering birds living in the Primorsky Territory.
Sparrow
One of the most popular birds living with humans in the neighborhood. Belongs to the family of passerines. Sparrow is easily recognizable by its appearance and peculiar tweet. The upper part of the plumage of the bird is painted in brown-brown color with a splash of black feathers. The head, cheeks and abdomen are light gray in color. The tail of sparrows is small. Strong enough and strong beak.
The body length of the sparrow is on average about 16 cm, the weight ranges from 25 to 35 g, and the wingspan reaches 27 cm. The male sparrow is easily distinguished from the female by the black spot that covers his chin, neck, and breast (upper part). The head of the male is dark gray. The female sparrow is smaller, her throat and head are gray, pale yellow stripes are located above her eyes, almost imperceptible.
Bullfinch
The birds belong to the family finch, to birds of the genus bullfinches (pictured). In the Primorsky Territory, the bird is widespread. Bullfinches are small birds, in terms of size - they are slightly larger than a sparrow. On average, weigh 30-35 grams, have a dense physique. The body length is 18 cm, the wingspan is up to 30 cm. For this genus of birds, sexual dimorphism is characteristic of the color of individuals. The most interesting part in this bird is the breast, in females it has a pinkish-gray color, the males look much brighter: their breast is painted in carmine red. It is this characteristic feature that distinguishes bullfinches from other birds. Otherwise, the color of the plumage of the female and male is almost identical: the bullfinch's head is painted black as if wearing a black hat, then it smoothly turns into a small spot of black on the chin. The back of the birds is bluish-gray in color, the wings are very bright, they are an original combination of black and white colors, which alternate with stripes. The feathers under and above the tail are white in color. The bullfinch's beak is strong, wide, black in color.
Crossbill
You can find bird crossbills in the territory of the Primorsky Territory. It is considered unique in the following characteristics:
- cruciform beak;
- "Christmas chicks";
- imperishability after life.
Birds belong to the order of passerines. They are small in size (up to 20 cm), have a dense physique, a short forked tail, a large head and a cross-shaped beak. The breast of males is painted in bright red-crimson color, in females - in greenish-gray. The tails and wings of crossbills have brownish-gray hues. It is surprising that crossbills incubate their chicks in the coldest time of the year - in winter, often at Christmas. That is why the kids are called "Christmas chicks." By the way, this bird has no enemies in nature. Due to the fact that the main diet of a bird is the seeds of fir cones, they "embalm themselves" during life, become bitter, tasteless for predators.
In addition to the birds listed above, the following wintering birds live in the Primorsky Territory:
- waxwings;
- titmouse;
- woodpeckers;
- crows;
- nuthatch;
- owls
- pigeons.
Birds of Prey of Primorsky Krai
This region is home to several species of predator birds. Consider the family of falcon, hawk. The latter include the goshawk, the sparrowhawk, the small sparrowhawk.
Goshawk
Refers to the usual overflight wintering species. Weakly nesting, it builds nests only in inaccessible places, reserves, wildlife sanctuaries or in the border zone. The weight of the male is 500-600 g, the female weighs a little more - 800-950 g, the wingspan is 290-315 mm and 320-355 mm, respectively. It feeds on small birds and mammals.
Sparrowhawk
Passing and wintering species, common nesting. The average weight of the male is 150-165 g, the female is 225-245 g. Wingspan:
- male - 205-225 mm;
- female - 240-255 mm.
It can be found in nesting places near towns and villages. Granary and insectivorous birds are a favorite prey for gadgets.
Eagles
White-tailed and Steller's sea eagles visit every winter in the Primorsky Territory. You can find a bird even in the city of Vladivostok. They belong to the subfamily of buzzards, the hawk family. The length of the body of various species is from 70 to 110 cm, weight 3-7 kg, wingspan 2-2.5 m. In the main plumage, brown predominates. For different types of eagles, the head, tail, shoulders, and body can be painted white. All birds have a bright yellow beak.
Peregrine Falcon: Falcon family bird
You can meet this beautiful and amazing bird in Primorye. A distinctive feature of these birds is the high speed of flight. The peregrine falcon is no larger than a common gray crow. The bird has a dark, slate-gray plumage of the back, a bright motley belly. The upper part of the head of the bird is black. This species has the largest habitat, but despite this, it is a very rare bird.
Birds of the Primorsky Territory listed in the Red Book
First of all, rare species listed in the Red Book should be attributed to birds that need protection. We offer an overview of these birds:
- daur crane;
- whooper swan;
- dry goose;
- black crane;
- fish owl;
- shaggy nuthatch;
- red-footed ibis;
- Japanese crane;
- Far Eastern stork;
- variegated petrel;
- White stork;
- mandarin duck;
- scaly merganser;
- golden eagle;
- white-tailed eagle;
- Peregrine Falcon
- spoonbill;
- kingfisher;
- small grebe;
- silver gull;
- duck stone;
- white-winged dodger.
Grebe
The waterfowl - a small grebe - is listed in the Red Book of Primorsky Krai. In this region, there is a Chinese or eastern small grebe. It is distinguished from other subspecies by a pale yellow rainbow. This small bird attracts with its liveliness and briskness. The bird has a clear and high voice that resembles a flute trill. It lives in small overgrown lakes from the beginning of May.
Red-footed ibis
It is also called Japanese ibis. The bird amazes with its extraordinary beauty: the snow-white plumage is emphasized by the red color of the legs and the unopened head. She has a long black beak with a curved red tip. Around the eyes of the ibis there is a yellow ring, which gives completeness to the image of this outlandish bird. In adults, a large crest consisting of narrow feathers is clearly visible. By the way, such a snow-white type of plumage in birds is only in winter. By the spring, in adults, the back of the head, neck, back, and goiter become ashen-gray in color, and in the autumn after molting - light pink. It is believed that such seasonal color variability in the color of this bird is directly related to changes in hormonal levels during the breeding season. In the Primorsky Territory, the red-legged ibis can be found very rarely, according to some reports, this bird no longer nests in the Russian Federation.
Fish owl
A very rare bird, currently on the verge of extinction. The bird has another name - the Far Eastern fish owl. She has an unusually beautiful appearance: brownish, with the presence of dark longitudinal spots on the back, color, white spot on the neck, wide feather ears. The fish owl is considered one of the largest owls in the world, it is the largest representative of the family of owls. Its wingspan can reach 190 cm. A bird weighs more than 4 kg.
