Most migratory birds are insectivorous creatures whose diet in winter is reduced to zero. That is why migratory birds go to places where snow never falls, and their food remains full. Migratory birds include thrushes, rooks, jackdaws, finches, larks, ducks, starlings, swallows. In summertime, these birds feed on large insects (May beetles, dragonflies), but in the winter it is simply unrealistic to meet them in northern latitudes. For example, many swallows generally fly to the Mediterranean coast, and the most desperate of them - straight to Africa! The beautiful cranes fly to the south. Already in September, they are going on a long journey. These beautiful and graceful birds say goodbye to people until the very spring, at which time their beautiful and guttural cry, heard throughout the fresh and autumn air, is clearly heard in the sky.
The reasons why some birds fly to the south are obvious: in winter it is difficult to find food under the snow and the temperature of the surrounding air becomes too low. The fact is that birds are warm-blooded animals with an average body temperature of 40 ° C. When the cold comes to the region, some birds lack heat because their feathers and down are not enough to survive the severe frosts.
Swallows.
These are one more “early birds”, marking with their appearance the retreat of frosts and the approach of spring. The swallows are called the first heralds of spring, and many of these folk features will be associated with these birds. For example, if the swallows fly low, then rain is expected, if the swallows settle near the window, it means that good people live in the house.
Rooks
These birds are often confused with ravens. Indeed, they are very similar to each other, since both species of birds have a rather formidable severe look. Their most important distinction is the wintering place: crows are sedentary birds wintering in their homeland, and rooks are migratory, hibernating winter time in the south. People at all times regarded the return of rooks from the south as a commemoration of the beginning of spring and heat. Rooks always bring good news - the news of the end of winter, for which they have the reputation of popular favorites. People try to feed good messengers and praise them for the spring mood they carry on their tails.
Larks
Often the larks are the pioneers of the warm season. The fact is that they do not fly away too far from the places of their nesting sites, therefore, they return to their native land among the very first. The massive arrival of these birds begins even before the snow completely melts, i.e. in the beginning of March. The first to arrive home are males, since they play the role of intelligence officers. It is the larks who occupy the first thawed spots warmed by the sun. On them birds gather in whole groups and bask in the spring sun. A little later, female larks arrive in their native lands and begin to look for places convenient for nesting.
Starlings
These birds, like the larks, return to the places of their nesting places very early - when there is snow in the fields. Ornithologists recorded the fact when the first starlings flew home in the second half of February. However, the bulk of these birds returned home by the end of March. As in the case of the larks, the starlings first fly the males, and then the females.
Ducks
These waterfowl return home early in April. Of course, swallows, rooks, larks and starlings already have time to fly to their homeland at the time, but this does not prevent ducks from being one of the “earliest birds” of the year. Every spring, many residents of rural areas are looking forward to the arrival of ducks and geese. They have and the corresponding omen, which always and at all times works: the ducks come back - spring has come
March brings early thaws in central Russia, in some places the snow begins to melt. But the time when spring will go on the earth as a full-fledged mistress is still far away. In mid-March, the first birds return from hibernation, they arrive with the spring wind, delighting people with their appearance.
Rooks fly the very first
Rooks return home after a long winter, starting in the second half of March. In the folk calendar there is the day of Gerasim the rookery - March 17th. From this time on, the earth begins to thaw, and birds have the opportunity to get food, looking for insects.
Rooks immediately begin to build nests. The old houses in winter come into disrepair, so there is enough work for everyone. On one tree, birds can build up to 15 nests. The rooks prepare the place for hatching chicks thoroughly, constructing them at a height inaccessible to predators.
Nesting rooks have existed for many years, acquiring a fancy multi-tiered form. Both parents build houses, and at the end of March or at the beginning of April the female lays eggs. Chicks are born in 18-22 days, mom and dad feed them a month.
The matured rooks master the sky gradually, at first not flying away from the nests. Then they gather in flocks and travel through the fields in search of more varied food.
Rook is omnivorous, it feeds on insects, grain and small rodents. Birds kill pests, but sometimes damage crops and vegetables. Despite this, I forgive the rook, for he is the first spring warbler.
The beginning of the mass arrival of birds
Starlings fly after the rooks, filling the nesting boxes with empty crowns and life from the winter. This happens at the end of March. First, the males fly in and prepare the houses for the arrival of the females, expelling the uninvited guests. Then the females return, and the new family is breeding and feeding the offspring.
Then the larks return from wintering. They begin to settle at nesting sites in early April. Then fly sneaks, chaffinches and linnets. The spring sky comes to life, and the air is filled with the joyful singing of the flocks of birds.
Mass arrival of birds to the birds in the summer takes place in mid-April and early May. Chargers, ducks, geese, cranes return to summer apartments. Gulls and sandpipers also inhabit their former habitats.
The return of birds from wintering makes people happy after long colds, gives hope for the best and the feeling that spring will certainly come, and hot summer will come after it.
Spring is the beautiful morning of the year, it is like the dawn leading the clear Sun from the dark shutters of the night. This is a time of purification and rebirth, restoration of peace and harmony, resurrection of the deceased heroes. The air is filled with a unique aroma, bright and joyful feelings are waking up again in us, nature comes to life - this means that spring has come. There are spring and special messengers - birds.
According to Slavic beliefs, they fly away for the winter to “grow out” - a distant warm land near the sea - and in the spring they return. People say: “The swallow starts spring, and the nightingale finishes.” Golden keys, which unlock the summer, brings a swallow, and the keys to the vyreya keeps cuckoo. In the autumn she flies there first and the last comes back in spring.
According to other ideas, birds hide for the winter under the ground or under the water, where, like the Sun leaving for the underworld, they sleep until spring. It was even thought that the winter lark turns into a mouse for the winter, and the swallow turns into a frog. There is also such an option in tradition: in winter, the skylark flies high up into the sky and stays there until the first lightning flashes and the skies open, into which he will be allowed to look at this time.
Spring does not come by itself, it must be called upon. To this end, in ancient times, they burned sacred bonfires, led round dances and sang spring trees - hymns to the new Sun, which descended to earth in the form of a cuckoo. Birds were baked from dough - they were called “larks” (less often “waders” and “swallows”) - and threw them up with the words: “Larks, larks, fly, bring spring with you!” It was believed that the Lark would definitely squeak , even if at risk of freezing, having arrived at this time. With their singing the birds help the Sun in its battle with the darkness, proclaim its victory.
From time immemorial, people have seen in winged creatures not only a beautiful poetic image, but also a sacred symbol. Birds are special creatures. Due to their ability to fly, they are less attached to the earthly, material world. Tearing off the earth, they easily rush upwards - wherever we, the people, always strive, wherever our eyes and the most intimate dreams are directed, towards Heaven, towards the abode of gods and heroes. Man has always dreamed of wings, sought to free himself from earthly gravity, from everyday, transient, to touch eternity and find true freedom. He dreamed of getting to the place where his soul lives, which also seemed winged.
In birds, a person is inspired by many things: the beauty of flight, ease, speed, fascinating singing, extraordinary vigilance, the ability to be in all four elements - earth, water, air and fire.
Rising high above the ground, the bird is able to see the true goal, thanks to the fast flight, it keeps up with the thoughts of the gods, which means that it is given the ability to connect the world of Heaven and Earth, to become a conductor of divine principles.
In the symbolism of the bird there is a kind of duality. In the legends we meet the bird of joy and the bird of sorrow, the white and black crow, the golden (red) and black rooster, the bird of the day and night. This dualism reflects the connection of the Earth’s world not only with Heavenly, but also with the afterlife plan, which in some traditions was presented as a third world - the Underground.
The interaction between these worlds is carried out through transformations: gods incarnate into birds in order to descend to the earth, and people in order to ascend to heaven or to descend into the earth. Sometimes both gods and humans are transported by birds, for example, the mythical Garuda, huge eagles or vultures.
All the abilities of birds and their attributes - feather, wings, egg, nest, etc. - are symbolically reflected in myths, fairy tales, superstitions, signs and mysteries of all nations. They talk about both mythical and real birds.
Mythical birds are often of enormous size and carry elements of other animals and humans. Thus, the Sumerian Anzud has a lion's head, and among the Slavic Gamayun, Alkonost and Sirin, the upper parts of the body and the head are female. Mythical birds display ancient layers of prehistory. The bird personifies natural and cosmic forces here, acts as a demiurge along with the gods or even before their birth (Stratim, Phoenix), keeps secrets of the universe, knows the past, present and future of the Earth and the Universe (Gamayun).
The most mysterious and mysterious bird of Slavic mythology - Stratim - did not even have an image. She, like the Indian Garuda, was the progenitor and master of all birds. The Stratim bird lived in the middle of the sea — the first, primordial, like the Persian Ruh, controlled the winds and storms, hid the Sun at night, rescuing it from universal ills, and could hide the Earth.
Many cosmogonic myths about the creation of the Universe, the Earth and man claim that the world originated from an egg. Often the egg is laid by a waterfowl (goose or swan). In the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala” there is a mention that it is a duck that blows an egg. According to Herodotus, the egg is laid by the mythical Phoenix in the sanctuary of Helios. In some Slavic tribes, the golden egg-sun was blown away by a fiery cock (divine kochet), and among the Indians a great raven.
Many nations identified the sun with a bird. In ancient China, it was believed that inside it was a golden raven. Legends say that when ten suns appeared in the sky, the legendary Hou Yi, in order to save people, shot them with magical white arrows, and all the sky and the whole earth were filled with golden feathers. There is a myth about the bird-sun, which sits on an old oak tree and brings white and black eggs - days and nights. The morning dawn appeared as a bird with golden wings, and the day seemed like a bird of prey sticking its claws into the darkness of night. In ancient myths, the sun travels at night in the waters of the world's oceans, or descends into the underworld or fights with any chthonic animal. In the morning, the rooster, with its singing greeting the Sun, proclaims its victory over the darkness, just as the spring thunder, the heavenly bell, proclaims the victory over the winter; morning dew - living water - gives strength to the new day.
The symbolism of the annual solar cycle also expresses the principle of fire. "Fire" birds are associated with a new impulse of sunlight. Among them are fantastic: Phoenix, Garuda, Anzud, Firebird, Fenghuang - and the real ones: eagle, falcon, raven, woodpecker, stork, rooster.
In the confrontation of the gods-creators with the dark at the very beginning of the struggle they are often helped by eagles. It was believed that the eagle is able to reach the Sun, look at it without blinking and connect with it. By resorting to or using the eagles, the gods steal a drink of inspiration (amrita). Thus, the falcon extracts soma for Indra, the eagle brings divine nectar to Zeus, the supreme deity of the Scandinavian peoples. One, turning into an eagle, steals honey. Having drunk this drink, the gods gain power and with their fiery club break the darkness-cloud, release the Sun, give life to the world, start the mechanism of time.
A number of myths are associated with fire birds that explain the world order, the movement of the Sun, celestial phenomena, etc. In archaic myths and an epic, these birds combine the qualities of a demiurge and a cultural hero, bringing fire to the earth, helping a certain people, sometimes being its first ancestor. In fairy tales, they are found in the way of a hero who performs a difficult task.
The created, fully manifested world is symbolized by the World Tree, on top of which sits a bird - an eagle or a falcon, and among the Sumerians - Anzud. Next are the animals, such as deer, and below - the snake, personifying the underworld of darkness, winter and night. The fire bird comes to grips with the snakes.
This struggle, constant renewal, change of darkness and light sets the rhythm of life, its cyclical nature. At the zero moments of the cycle, communication with the mythical time, with eternity, comes to life. One of these moments is the day of the vernal equinox, which in many ancient cultures: in Greece and Rome, in Babylonia and Sumer - was a New Year holiday. The New Year rituals of these cultures carry the element of the struggle between light and darkness, death and resurrection. Spring in the annual cycle corresponds to the passage through the elements of fire, which symbolizes the transformation and purification, the renewal of life, the destruction of the old and the birth of the new. Every creature as the restoration of the original unity, reunion with the divine, receiving a spiritual impulse for creative activity implies sacrifice.
The universal symbol of immortality, death and rebirth is the Phoenix. This mythical bird, burning and remaining dead for three days, then rises from the ashes.
An eagle is also associated with the spring renaissance of nature. In winter, everything stops in nature, the black cloud covers the sun, the eagle grows old and blind, its eyes no longer throw lightning. With the arrival of spring, he rises high into the sky, lights up with a stormy flame and, having washed himself in the living water of the spring thunderstorm rain, gains sight and youth. Other legends speak of a raven nesting in a thundercloud and bathing in the spring rain. It is he who brings the hero dead and living water.
There are many beliefs about the rooster - the bird, closely related to the calendar cycles. They say that once the earth was empty and hard as a stone (winter). God sent his cock to give life to the earth. Kochet laid down a wonderful egg - the Sun - and the rivers flowed, everything turned green (spring came). High in the sky sat the divine kochet, told mortals how and what to do, and strictly followed the rhythm of life. People are tired of living measuredly, and they asked God to remove the cock. And now the kochet disappeared from the sky, the order of life was violated, and again, bound in winter, the earth became empty. Realizing their mistake, people began to pray for the return of the rooster, that the Sun would rise again with his first cry.
Having washed by the lively spring water, nature is reborn, he sees the sky, the lightning breaks the cloud, and the Sun comes out. Clear and bright, it is often likened to a snow-white swan bathing in the waters of the cloudy sea. In Russian fairy tales, the image of the Swan Princess, which owns the secrets of transformation, creation, renewal and love, is associated with the spring morning Sun. Spring thunderstorm clouds were depicted as virgins, pouring rain and hurling lightning arrows, or birds. Swan-maidens flew to the river or lake and, having thrown off shirts from feathers, turned into marvelous beauties.
Birds are flying across the spring sky. Taking our eyes off the earth, we see off their flight with our eyes, and our soul again spreads its wings, throwing off the ice that held it and rushing towards the Sun. Spring came!
Spring Messengers (supplement)
Spring song (song thrush)
In addition to recording "Spring Messengers", I propose a small selection
photos of birds that are not included in the post. Here and sedentary birds that delight us in the spring
with their singing, and migrants, carrying spring to our lands on their wings ...
Common Oatmeal -
Oatmeal is a resident bird. Jumping oatmeal on the road can be found
during a walk out of town. Taking off on a bush or tree, she sings her
simple but pleasant song: "qi-qi-qi-qi-qi".
Goldfinch
Bright, beautiful bird! A flock of goldfinches sitting anywhere on the bush seems to be
beautiful flowers. But if you scare them away, the “fresh flowers” quickly flutter
and fly away. Goldfinches are sedentary and irregularly migrating birds. Ringing song
Goldfinch sounds at a very fast tempo and is quite pleasant.
Crossbill
Crossbones nest here in summer and winter.
Ducks
Partially migratory species ... In many large cities, including Moscow
and St. Petersburg, populations of sedentary urbanized
ducks nesting in the city or its surroundings.
Mallard
Ogar
Blacken
Crow
Crow accustomed to be considered a sedentary bird, because all year round they see it
in the same place. In fact, crows all the time until they nest,
make migrations, and with the onset of cold weather they produce real
flights south or southwest. All ravens are alike, but those birds
which you see in the winter, could nest anywhere far to the north or
northeast.
Hoodie
Black Crow
Cuckoo
Cuckoos are mostly solitary, do not build nests,
eggs do not hatch. Females lay their eggs in the nests of birds of other species.
In Russia, the first birds appear only at the end of April.
Lark
The Lark is one of the earliest heralds of spring. A lot more
of snow, and only in the fields here and there begin to appear thin lines.
Going out in the field in the early morning, you can hear somewhere high-high voiced,
long song
Field lark
Crested lark
Seagulls
In most of the area it is a migratory bird. In the spring, the seagulls arrive early,
when water bodies begin to open and snow has not completely melted.
Gray Heron
The first herons arrive in the spring very early. Snow is still around at night
there are noticeable frosts, and herons have already appeared.
Wild geese
Geese live in pairs, and during flights they gather in large flocks.
In their native lands geese appear with the first thawed patches.
White stork
In Russia, the arrival of storks occurs in late March - early April.
Cranes
In April, the beloved birds, the cranes, arrive in their native lands.
Jay
In the majority of the range, the jay is a migrating bird; some birds migrate in places,
and sedentary in the south.
Kestrel
The kestrel can be both a sedentary bird, and a nomadic as well as migratory.
Redstart
One of the most beautiful birds of the European part of Russia. Winters in Africa
and southern Arabia. In the spring arrives in mid-April - early May.
Lentils
Lentil arrives in late April. Males are distinguished by bright red
head and chest, pink belly and brownish-gray back. Lentils
quickly learn to learn by voice. Her song: "bye-iti-twi-bye" - very
recalls the phrase: "Vityu saw?"
.
Kingfisher
This bird moves only with the help of the wings, as the legs are short
and are not intended for long moving. In late April - early
May the kingfisher arrives in central Russia.
Landrail
A small bird reddish-brown color. Most of the life corncrake
holds on the ground in the thickets of tall grasses. In central Russia they
appear in mid-may.
Flycatcher
Exceptional catchers of flies, and birds with unusual dexterity overtake
prey right in the air. Flycatchers arrive at the end of April - May. Nest
built in various recesses or in hollows of trees, in cracks of walls or
rocks, on thick branches or on the girder overlap of buildings.
Gray flycatcher
Flycatcher - pestle
Swallows
Who does not know swallows? These birds are not only very famous
but also deserved love. How impatiently await spring arrival
swallows agricultural workers: swallows arrived - it means that
Spring, you can start the field and garden work.
Swallow
City Swallow
Shore swallow
Roller
One of the last, at the end of May, the most elegant bird arrives - the roller roller.
She is a dove-sized, bright greenish-blue, with a brown back and blue
by wings. You can't confuse this bird with anyone.
Swifts
Swifts were the first to fly south and the last to return home.
Flying south no later than the end of August, they appear in the spring, May 20-25.
With the advent of swifts, the arrival of birds can be considered complete.
Sources:
1. Wikipedia website
2. Yandex pictures, Yandex pictures
Loading...