One of the largest families of songbirds is considered to be warblers. These birds prefer to build their nests in dense thickets of grass and shrubs. Mostly live in forest-steppe and steppe zones. The warblers, mockingbirds and warblers also belong to the family of the Slavic.
For wintering, birds fly to warmer climes and return to their homeland in late spring. In Russia there are a large number of representatives of this family. But the most melodious among them is the gray warbler. She is also affectionately called a talker, as the bird sings short songs resembling a dialect.
Description
The birds of the family Slavkov are small in size. Their body length is approximately 14-20 cm. The smallest of them is considered to be a gray warbler, a description of which we will consider in more detail:
- The bird does not have a bright color, which allows it to camouflage well in dense thickets of shrubs.
- The back and tail of males has a brown hue, but the plumage of the head is ash-gray in color. Thoracic region and abdomen of whitish color. On the plumage of the wings visible red stripes with a slight pink tint. The outer tail feathers have white marks.
- The color of the females is less noticeable. The head is brown, the rest of the plumage is gray.
- Gray warbler is found in the western regions of the Eurasian continent. One of the subspecies lives on the Crimean peninsula and the Caucasus.
- For the winter, birds go to Africa.
Mating season and nesting
Upon returning from the winterhouse, the mating season begins at the warblers. Males arrive at nesting sites before females. Preparations for this important procedure include partner chants. The trill of a male at this time can be heard from morning to evening - so he attracts a female. Among all the representatives of the family, one unique feature is the gray warbler - the song of the bird does not fall silent even during the flight. The trill contains short stanzas and a bright, expressive ending.
Nest construction begins as soon as foliage appears on the bushes. For this, dried leaves and stems of cereal plants are used. Both partners are engaged in construction. The gray warbler, unlike its relatives, grows deeper nests, placing them at a height of 20-50 cm above the ground. Sometimes you can find bird buildings, which are covered with cobwebs and cocoons of various insects.
Progeny
In one season, the bird manages to make 2 egg laying. The first falls at the end of spring (May). In clutch there can be from two to four eggs. The second falls on the month of June-July. Cuckoos very often throw their eggs in the nests of warblers, and they, in turn, raise other people's offspring. The hatching period is 11 days. The eggs of the bird are whitish in color with numerous specks of lilac-gray and yellow-brown.
After the appearance of the chicks, the parents take care of their offspring for 10-12 days. Having fledged, the kids begin to fly out of the nest in search of food. At this time, parents feed the chicks for a week. From September to November there is a migration period. Birds travel south to tropical regions of Africa. After the wintering, which ends in April, they fly to their native land.
What does a bird eat?
Gray warbler has a varied diet. It includes:
- cicadas;
- various types of beetles;
- small flies;
- butterflies and caterpillars;
- arachnids;
- locust;
- bedbugs;
- hymenoptera insects;
- berries and juicy fruits.
Parents feed small chicks with soft food: larvae, caterpillars.
