Biography of a wagtail

Why are wagons needed in the garden? What kind of birds? About wagtails than a wagtail is good - recognition. It is impossible to confuse this bird with some other. True, she cannot boast of noticeable dimensions. The most common Motacilla Alba white wagtail in Russia is only 18 centimeters long, of which almost half is a tail. Therefore, the weight in it is less than in a sparrow, there are 20 grams in total.

Manipulations with a tail are the main cause of the Russian name of the bird: it constantly moves up and down to them. It is believed that for balancing. In the process of moving along the ground, a wagtail and head constantly nods, as if bowing, for which she is considered a polite bird. Mobile, in a frozen state and it is problematic to see it. The color of the white wagtail is discreet: a combination of gray, white and black.

White belly and head, but with a black hat and a shirt. The back is gray. The wings and tail of designerly are painted with black, gray and white colors. The legs of the bird are relatively long and she prefers to jump on the ground, but walk and run. Therefore, she deftly manages to catch terrestrial insects. In the air, the wagtails also quite successfully hunt, especially focusing on mosquitoes and flies.

There are three more species about other birds useful for the garden and how to attract them here: how to attract birds to the garden in Russia, in addition to the white wagtail: the yellow motacilla flava widespread, which includes the European part and Western Siberia; The yellow -headed wagtail of Motacilla Citreola, nesting about the same, and the Motacilla cinerea mountain wagtail.

They differ in color - in all three types of yellow color instead of white, in the mountains, the sides remained white. Mountain, as the name implies, prefers a mountainous area. The way of life and nutrition is similar. Yellow wagon Motacilla Flava. Arriving in the spring in the northern regions, wagons try to settle with view of the lake. Or on a river, a pond, a pit, a reservoir.

Near water, in general. At the same time, pursuing completely utilitarian goals: on shallows and in shallow water, birds collect a large number of worms, larvae, insects, small mollusks - to feed the kids. Ruchanikov is very fond of. Curses usually wipe near the water, where they pass the stages from the egg to an adult insect. Birds are quite calm about human housing and people, they do not avoid, and even vice versa, all kinds of buildings are often used as a convenient place to build a nest.

The lifestyle of a wagtail is a saying: "A wagtail with a tail of ice on the river breaks." This is just the time of the arrival of birds from the southern wintering. First of all, after arrival, males begin to sing, and females - listen. So accepted. With songs, the wagtails do not particularly bother, they are quite simple - hasty chirping. But there are fans for such options.

As already mentioned, near people they settle quite willingly. The nests can be found under the cornices of buildings, in attics, in wood.

In cities - in the most unexpected places: in metal pipes, in ventilation, under the cornices, balconies, loggias, under fed or composed concrete slabs. In general, where they will find a place that is suitable in their opinion, they are being built there. Outside the city, often on the ground, in holes and coastal cliffs. They do not like a forest thicket, but otherwise without special complaints.

By the way, not only wagons willingly settle next to people, but if you make some efforts to make the garden comfortable for bird stay, the variety will increase, and the number of pests will decrease. You can read more about how to attract birds to the garden here: birds in the garden - how to create a favorable environment for them? As a building material for a nest of a wagtail, small branches, stems of grass are used.

Both are dragging building materials, but the female is engaged in the construction of the nest: it does as it will be convenient for her. Outside-soaked twigs, laid quite loosened, inside-dry grass and something soft and warm. In our conditions, all birds, including a wagtail, are popular with dog and cat hair. The animals are shaggy, this good is enough on the site.

In the peak season, the buildings of the bird bravely drag the part of the wool directly from the dog’s street rug. For all events from the arrival to the end of the construction of the nest, two or three weeks are leaving, and the females sit on eggs. The eggs are small, approximately less than the quail, white with gray spots, in the masonry there are usually 5 pieces.

The female sits on the eggs for two weeks. When we just moved to the Kuban, under a canopy of the house on a crate we found a nest. In the spring, wagtails settled there, but the female sat on the eggs somehow unstable, which surprised us very much. We climbed to see - the eggs lie and the heat there from the heated corrugated board are incredible. Natural incubator. It was worth it to come to the nest, the parents immediately appeared to defend their offspring.

We, of course, did not begin to nervous again. Then they watched that the female sits in the evening and flies out to dinner when the roof heats up.The hatching chicks there, apparently, was very hot, because they quickly left the nest and no one appeared there until autumn. In the fall, we made a bell at the canopy and the next year the wagtails settled under the overhangs of the roof of the outbuilding, there is slate, and it’s not so hot.

Blagles often settle near each other in order to protect the territory from predators together. Special aggressiveness differ during nesting. After the chicks have been withdrawn, the hardest work begins - feeding. For six four -day chicks, parents bring food until one day, eight -day - almost once. From dawn to sunset. It is clear that in such conditions there is simply no time to fly far to parents, and they collect food no further than meters from the nest.

In addition, young chicks constantly strive to get out of the nest - you need an eye and an eye! According to the numbers of feeding and the feed range, it is clear that the family of bastards near the house is very good. A list of preferred feed - balm on the soul of a gardener: the scoops of most species, both adults and larvae, tree -shackles when they are in the state of butterflies, stem sawers, indoor flies, mosquitoes, fruit flies, caterpillars of sawdrops, subcutages, ants and many no less unpleasant gardeners.

The beneficial ones are also caught, of course. Dragonflies, spiders and caves are especially worth it, but it is not possible to prohibit wagons. The diet of a wagtail includes treewriters, stem sawmakers, indoor flies, mosquitoes, fruit flies, caterpillars of sawmills, perch, ants. And in wagons at this time, kids require the maximum amount of food. In the middle lane and south of wagtails, the second batch of chicks often remove.

The first brood leaves the nest half a month after hatching, but the parents feed the chicks for some time, then the young wagons begin independent feeding, holding, as a rule, with a flock. The second masonry and feeding of the chicks falls on the second half of the summer, plentiful both by larvae with all kinds of and adults already insects. And the second brood is not superfluous.

Since younger kids will also eat insects nearby, there is a hope that they will greatly suck the populations of pests. We never noticed a wagon of berries and fruits and fruits, apparently, they have enough insects. The berries of our jackets peck, and very inventive. You can read more about Soyk here: Jay - friend to the gardener or not? Observations of the researchers behind the wagtails indicate that the main food of wagons: adult insects, larvae, spiders.

Fruits, berries and seeds are not interested in them. If the wagons have not yet settled on the site, you can try to attract them by building a special house for them. In design, such houses from the birdhouses differ: they are shallow and with adventure ledges. Read more on this topic: headings.