Wildlife around us: an ordinary sparrow ... Who is he? "The Smart Sparrow" is an interesting fairy tale for children. The story about the sparrow is fiction.
Tolstoy L.N.
Young sparrows jumped on the path in the garden.
And the old sparrow perched high on a tree branch and vigilantly looks to see if a bird of prey appears somewhere.
A robber hawk flies through the backyards. He is a fierce enemy of a small bird. The hawk flies quietly, without noise.
But the old sparrow noticed the villain and is following him.
The hawk is getting closer and closer.
The sparrow chirped loudly and anxiously, and all the sparrows at once disappeared into the bushes.
Everything was silent.
Only the sentinel sparrow sits on a branch. He does not move, he does not take his eyes off the hawk.
The hawk of an old sparrow noticed, flapped its wings, spread its claws and went down like an arrow.
And the sparrow fell like a stone into the bushes.
The hawk was left with nothing.
He looks around. Evil took the predator. His yellow eyes are on fire.
Sparrows poured out of the bushes with noise, jumping along the path.
Swans
Tolstoy L.N.
Swans flew in herds from the cold side to the warm lands. They flew across the sea. They flew day and night, and another day and another night they flew over the water without rest. There was a full moon in the sky, and far below the swans saw blue water. All the swans are tired, flapping their wings; but they did not stop and flew on. Old, strong swans flew in front, those that were younger and weaker flew behind. One young swan flew behind everyone. His strength has weakened. He flapped his wings and could not fly further. Then he, spreading his wings, went down. He descended closer and closer to the water; and his comrades further and further whitened in the moonlight. The swan descended into the water and folded its wings. The sea stirred under him and rocked him.
A flock of swans was barely visible as a white line in the bright sky. And it was barely audible in the silence how their wings rang. When they were completely out of sight, the swan bent his neck back and closed his eyes. He did not move, and only the sea, rising and falling in a wide strip, raised and lowered him.
Before dawn, a light breeze began to stir the sea. And the water splashed into the white chest of the swan. The swan opened his eyes. In the east the dawn was reddening, and the moon and the stars became paler. The swan sighed, stretched out his neck and flapped his wings, rose and flew, catching his wings on the water. He climbed higher and higher and flew alone over the dark rippling waves.
Starlings (Excerpt)
Kuprin A.I.
We were impatiently waiting for old acquaintances to fly into our garden again - starlings, these cute, cheerful sociable birds, the first migratory guests, joyful heralds of spring.
So, we waited for the starlings. They fixed the old birdhouses, twisted from the winter winds, hung new ones.
The sparrows imagined that this courtesy was being done for them, and immediately, at the first warmth, the birdhouses occupied.
Finally, on the nineteenth, in the evening (it was still light), someone shouted: “Look - starlings!”
Indeed, they sat high on the branches of poplars and, after sparrows, seemed unusually large and too black ...
For two days, the starlings seemed to gain strength and hung everything and examined last year's familiar places. And then the eviction of sparrows began. At the same time, I did not notice especially violent clashes between starlings and sparrows. As a rule, the Skurtsy, two by two, sit high above the birdhouses and, apparently, carelessly chatting about something among themselves, while they themselves, with one eye, sideways, gaze intently down. The sparrow is terribly and difficult. No, no - he will stick his sharp, cunning nose out of the round hole - and back. Finally, hunger, frivolity, and perhaps timidity make themselves felt. “I’m flying away,” he thinks, “for a minute and now back. Maybe I'll overreach. Maybe they won't notice." And as soon as he has time to fly off to a sazhen, like a starling with a stone down and already at home.
And now the end of the sparrow temporary economy has come. Starlings guard the nest in turn: one sits - the other flies on business. Sparrows will never think of such a trick.
And so, with chagrin, great battles begin between the sparrows, during which fluff and feathers fly into the air. And the starlings sit high on the trees, and even provoke: “Hey, you black-headed one! You won’t be able to overcome that yellow-breasted one forever and ever.” - "How? To me? Yes, I have it now! - "Well, well, well..."
And there will be a dump. However, in the spring all the animals and birds... fight much more...
Song of the Starling
Kuprin A.I.
The air warmed up a little, and the starlings had already perched on high branches and began their concert. I don't really know if the starling has his own motives, but you will hear enough of anything alien in his song. Here are bits of nightingale trills, and the sharp meow of the oriole, and the sweet voice of the robin, and the musical babble of the warbler, and the thin whistle of the titmouse, and among these melodies suddenly such voices are heard that, sitting alone, you cannot help yourself and laugh: a chicken will cackle on a tree , the grinder's knife will hiss, the door will creak, the children's military trumpet will turn down. And, having made this unexpected musical digression, the starling, as if nothing had happened, without a break, continues his cheerful, sweet humorous song.
lark
I. Sokolov-Mikitov
Of the many sounds of the earth: the singing of birds, the fluttering of foliage on trees, the cod of grasshoppers, the murmur of a forest stream - the most cheerful and joyful sound is the song of field and meadow larks. Even in early spring, when there is loose snow on the fields, but already in some places dark thawed patches have formed on the warming, our early spring guests arrive and begin to sing. Rising in a column into the sky, fluttering its wings, pierced through with sunlight, the lark flies higher and higher into the sky, disappears in the radiant blueness. Surprisingly beautiful, ringing song of the lark, welcoming the arrival of spring. This joyful song is similar to the breath of the awakened earth.
Many great composers tried to portray this joyful song in their musical works...
Much can be heard in the awakening spring forest. Fritillaries squeak thinly, invisible owls goog at night. In the impenetrable swamp, the cranes that have arrived in the spring lead round dances. Bees are buzzing over the yellow golden down-padded coats of the blossoming willow. And in the bushes on the river bank, the first nightingale sang loudly.
Swan
Aksakov S. T.
The swan, by its size, strength, beauty and majestic posture, has long and rightly been called the king of all water, or waterfowl, birds. White as snow, with shining, transparent small eyes, with a black nose and black paws, with a long, flexible and beautiful neck, he is inexpressibly beautiful when he calmly swims between green reeds on a dark blue, smooth surface of the water.
Swan movements
Aksakov S. T.
All the movements of the swan are filled with charm: if he starts drinking and, scooping up water with his nose, raises his head up and stretches his neck; whether he will begin to bathe, dive and splash with his mighty wings, far scattering splashes of water rolling down from his fluffy body; will he then begin to preen, easily and freely throwing his snow-white neck back in an arc, straightening and cleaning with his nose on the back, sides and tail crumpled or soiled feathers; if he spreads the wing through the air, like a long oblique sail, and also begins to sort through each feather in it with his nose, airing it and drying it in the sun - everything is picturesque and magnificent in it.
Sparrow
Charushin E.I.
Nikita went for a walk with dad. He was walking, walking and suddenly he hears someone chirping: Chilik-chilik! Chilik-chilik! Chilik-chilik!
And Nikita sees that this little sparrow is jumping along the road.
Fluffy, just like a ball is rolling. His tail is short, his beak is yellow, and he does not fly anywhere. Apparently, he still can't.
Look, dad, - Nikita shouted, - the sparrow is not real!
And dad says:
No, this is a real sparrow, but only a small one. It must have been a chick that fell out of its nest.
Then Nikita ran to catch a sparrow and caught it. And this sparrow began to live in our house in a cage, and Nikita fed him flies, worms and a bun with milk.
Here lives a sparrow with Nikita. He screams all the time - he asks for food. Well, what a glutton! A little in the morning the sun will appear - he will chirp and wake everyone up.
Then Nikita said:
I'll teach him to fly and let him out.
He took the sparrow out of the cage, put it on the floor and began to teach.
You wave your wings like this, - Nikita said and showed with his hands how to fly. And the sparrow galloped under the chest of drawers.
We fed the sparrow for another day. Again Nikita put him on the floor to teach him how to fly. Nikita waved his arms, and the sparrow waved its wings.
The sparrow has flown!
Here he flew over the pencil. I flew over a red fire truck. And as he began to fly over an inanimate toy cat, he stumbled upon it and fell.
You still fly badly, Nikita tells him. - Let me feed you for another day.
He fed, fed, and the next day the sparrows flew over Nikitin's bench. Flew over a chair. He flew over the table with the jug. But he couldn’t fly over the chest of drawers - he fell down.
It looks like you need to feed him. The next day, Nikita took the sparrow with him into the garden, and there he let it out.
The sparrow flew over the brick.
It flew over the stump.
And he began to fly over the fence, but he bumped into it and fell down.
And the next day he flew over the fence.
And flew over the tree.
And flew through the house.
And completely flew away from Nikita.
What a great way to learn to fly!
winter debts
N.I. Sladkov
Sparrow chirped on a dunghill - and jumps! And the Crow-hag croaks with its nasty voice:
What, Sparrow, rejoiced at, why chirped?
The wings itch, Crow, the nose itches, - Sparrow answers. - Passion to fight hunting! And don't croak here, don't spoil my spring mood!
And I'll ruin it! - Crow does not lag behind. - How can I ask a question?
In scared!
And I scare. Did you peck crumbs in the garbage in the winter?
Pecked.
Did you pick up grain from the barnyard?
Picked up.
Did you have lunch in the bird cafeteria near the school?
Thanks guys for feeding me.
That's it! - the Crow is tearing. - With what
Are you paying for all this? With your chirp-chirp?
Am I the only one using it? Sparrow was confused. - And the Tit was there, and the Woodpecker, and the Magpie, and the Jackdaw. And you, Crow, were...
Don't confuse others! crowed the Crow. - You answer for yourself. Borrowed - give back! Like all decent birds do.
Decent, maybe they do, - Sparrow got angry. - But are you doing, Crow?
I will cry first! Do you hear the tractor plowing in the field? And after him, I choose all kinds of root beetles and root rodents from the furrow. And Magpie and Jackdaw help me. And looking at us, other birds are trying.
You, too, for others do not vouch! - Sparrow rests. - Others may have forgotten to think.
But the Crow does not let up:
And you fly and check!
Sparrow flew to check. He flew into the garden, where Titmouse lives in a new nest box.
Congratulations on your new home! - Sparrow says. - For joy, I suppose I forgot about the debts!
Do not forget, Sparrow, that you are! - Replies Tit. - The guys treated me with delicious lard in the winter, and I will treat them with sweet apples in the fall. I guard the garden from codling moths and leafworms.
For what need, Sparrow, flew into the forest to me?
Yes, they demand a calculation from me, - Sparrow chirps. - And you, Woodpecker, how do you pay?
I’m trying so hard, ”the Woodpecker answers. - I protect the forest from woodworms and bark beetles. I fight them without sparing my stomach! Even got fat...
Look at you, Sparrow thought. - I thought...
Sparrow returned to the dunghill and said to the Crow:
Yours, hag, really! All for winter debts work out. Am I worse than others? How can I start feeding my chicks with mosquitoes, horseflies and flies! So that the bloodsuckers do not sting these guys! I'll pay back my debts!
He said so and let's jump up and chirp again on the dunghill. There is still free time. Until the sparrows hatch in the nest.
Arithmetic titmouse
N.I. Sladkov
In spring, white-cheeked titmouse sing the loudest of all: they ring bells. In a different way and manner. Some people hear it like this: “Twice two, twice two, twice two!” And others whistle smartly: “Four-four-re-four!”
From morning to evening, titmouse crammed the multiplication table.
"Twice two, twice two, twice two!" - shout out one.
"Four-four-four!" - cheerfully answer others.
Arithmetic titmouse. 
Brave duck
Boris Zhitkov
Every morning, the hostess brought the ducklings a full plate of chopped eggs. She put the plate near the bush, and she left.
As soon as the ducklings ran up to the plate, suddenly a large dragonfly flew out of the garden and began to circle above them.
She chirped so terribly that frightened ducklings ran away and hid in the grass. They were afraid that the dragonfly would bite them all.
And the evil dragonfly sat on the plate, tasted the food and then flew away. After that, the ducklings did not approach the plate for a whole day. They were afraid that the dragonfly would fly again. In the evening, the hostess cleaned the plate and said: “Our ducklings must be sick, they don’t eat anything.” She did not know that the ducklings went to bed hungry every night.
Once, their neighbor, a little duckling Alyosha, came to visit the ducklings. When the ducklings told him about the dragonfly, he began to laugh.
Well, the brave ones! - he said. - I alone will drive this dragonfly away. Here you will see tomorrow.
You boast, - said the ducklings, - tomorrow you will be the first to be scared and run.
The next morning the hostess, as always, put a plate of chopped eggs on the ground and left.
Well, look, - said the brave Alyosha, - now I will fight with your dragonfly.
As soon as he said this, a dragonfly suddenly buzzed. Right on top, she flew onto the plate.
The ducklings wanted to run away, but Alyosha was not afraid. No sooner had the dragonfly landed on the plate than Alyosha grabbed it by the wing with his beak. She pulled away with force and flew away with a broken wing.
Since then, she never flew into the garden, and the ducklings ate their fill every day. They not only ate themselves, but also treated the brave Alyosha for saving them from the dragonfly.
Jackdaw
Boris Zhitkov
My brother and sister had a hand jackdaw. She ate from the hands, was given to stroke, flew away into the wild and flew back.
That time the sister began to wash. She took the ring off her hand, put it on the washbasin, and lathered her face with soap. And when she rinsed the soap, she looked: where is the ring? And there is no ring.
She called out to her brother:
Give me the ring, don't tease! Why did you take it?
I didn't take anything, - answered the brother.
His sister quarreled with him and wept.
Grandma heard.
What do you have here? - He speaks. - Give me glasses, now I will find this ring.
Rushed to look for points - no points.
I just put them on the table, - the grandmother is crying. - Where do they go? How can I put a needle in now?
And screamed at the boy.
This is your business! Why are you teasing grandma?
The boy got offended and ran out of the house. He looks - and a jackdaw flies over the roof, and something glitters under her beak. I looked closer - yes, these are glasses! The boy hid behind a tree and began to look. And the jackdaw sat on the roof, looked around to see if anyone could see, and began to push glasses on the roof with her beak into the crack.
Grandma came out onto the porch, says to the boy:
Tell me, where are my glasses?
On the roof! - said the boy.
Grandma was surprised. And the boy climbed onto the roof and pulled out his grandmother's glasses from the crack. Then he pulled out the ring. And then he took out glasses, and then a lot of different money pieces.
The grandmother was delighted with the glasses, and the sister gave the ring and said to her brother:
Forgive me, I thought of you, and this is a jackdaw thief.
And reconciled with my brother.
Grandma said:
That's all they are, jackdaws and magpies. What glitters, everything is dragged.
Orphan
Georgy Skrebitsky
The guys brought us a small shirt ... He could not fly yet, he only jumped. We fed him cottage cheese, porridge, soaked bread, gave him small pieces of boiled meat; He ate everything, refused nothing.
Soon the chemise grew a long tail and its wings were overgrown with stiff black feathers. He quickly learned to fly and moved to live from the room to the balcony.
Only this was the trouble with him: our shirt could not learn to eat on his own. Quite an adult bird, such a beautiful one, it flies well, but everything, like a little chick, asks for food. You go out onto the balcony, sit down at the table, the magpie is already right there, spinning in front of you, crouching, puffing up its wings, opening its mouth. And it's funny and pitiful. Mom even called her Orphan. She used to put cottage cheese or soaked bread in her mouth, swallow forty - and again begins to ask, but she herself does not peck from the plate. We taught and taught her - nothing came of it, so we had to stuff food into her mouth. Orphan used to eat, shake herself, look with a sly black eye at the plate, if there is anything else tasty there, and fly up on the crossbar to the very ceiling or fly into the garden, into the yard ... She flew everywhere and was familiar with everyone : with a fat cat Ivanych, with a hunting dog Jack, with ducks, chickens; even with the old pugnacious rooster Petrovich, the magpie was on friendly terms. He bullied everyone in the yard, but did not touch her. It used to be that chickens pecked from the trough, and the magpie immediately turned around. It smells deliciously of warm soaked bran, I want a magpie to have breakfast in a friendly chicken company, but nothing comes of it. The Orphan sticks to the chickens, crouches, squeaks, opens its beak - no one wants to feed it. She will also jump up to Petrovich, squeak, and he will only look at her, muttering: “What an outrage this is!” - and walk away. And then suddenly he flaps his strong wings, stretches his neck up, strains, stands on tiptoe and sings: “Ku-ka-re-ku!” - so loud that you can even hear it across the river.
And the magpie jumps and jumps around the yard, flies into the stable, looks into the cow's stall ... Everyone eats by themselves, and she again has to fly to the balcony and ask to be fed from her hands.
Once there was no one to mess with the magpie. Everyone was busy all day. Already she pestered, pestered everyone - no one feeds her!
That day I caught fish in the river in the morning, returned home only in the evening and threw out the worms left over from fishing in the yard. Let the chickens peck.
Petrovich immediately noticed the prey, ran up and began to call the chickens: “Ko-ko-ko-ko! Ko-ko-ko-ko!" And they, as luck would have it, scattered somewhere, not a single one in the yard. Already the rooster is knocked out of his strength! He calls, calls, then grabs the worm in his beak, shakes it, throws it and calls again - for no reason does the first one want to eat. Even hoarse, but the chickens still do not go.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, forty. She flew up to Petrovich, spread her wings and opened her mouth: feed me, they say.
The rooster immediately cheered up, grabbed a huge worm in its beak, lifted it, shaking it in front of the very nose of the magpie. She looked, looked, then the worm's chop - and ate it! And the rooster gives her a second. She ate both the second and the third, and Petrovich himself pecked the fourth.
I look out the window and wonder how a rooster feeds a magpie from its beak: either he will give it to her, then he will eat it himself, then he will offer it to her again. And he keeps saying: “Ko-ko-ko-ko! ..” He bows, shows worms on the ground with his beak: eat, they say, do not be afraid, they are so delicious.
And I don’t know how it all worked out for them there, how he explained to her what was the matter, I just see a cock crowed, showed a worm on the ground, and a magpie jumped up, turned its head to one side, to the other, took a closer look and ate it right from the ground . Petrovich even shook his head in approval; then he grabbed a hefty worm himself, threw it up, caught it more comfortably with his beak and swallowed it: here, they say, as we like it. But the magpie, apparently, understood what was the matter - it jumps near him and pecks. The rooster also began to pick up worms. So they try to race against each other - who is faster. In an instant, all the worms were pecked.
Since then, the magpie did not have to be hand-fed. Once, Petrovich taught her how to handle food. And how he explained it to her, I myself do not know.
forest voice
Georgy Skrebitsky
Sunny day at the very beginning of summer. I wander not far from home, in a birch copse. Everything around seems to be bathed, splashing in golden waves of heat and light. Birch branches flow above me. The leaves on them seem either emerald green or completely golden. And below, under the birches, on the grass, too, like waves, light bluish shadows run and stream. And bright bunnies, like the reflections of the sun in the water, run one after another along the grass, along the path.
The sun is both in the sky and on the ground... And it becomes so good, so fun that you want to run away somewhere far away, to where the trunks of young birch trees sparkle with their dazzling whiteness.
And suddenly, from this sunny distance, I heard a familiar forest voice: "Ku-ku, ku-ku!"
Cuckoo! I've heard it many times before, but I've never even seen it in a picture. What is she like? For some reason, she seemed to me plump, big-headed, like an owl. But maybe she's not like that at all? I'll run and take a look.
Alas, it turned out to be far from easy. I - to her voice. And she will be silent, and here again: “Ku-ku, ku-ku”, but in a completely different place.
How to see it? I stopped in thought. Maybe she's playing hide-and-seek with me? She hides, and I'm looking. And let's play the other way around: now I'll hide, and you look.
I climbed into a hazel bush and also cuckooed once, twice. The cuckoo fell silent, maybe looking for me? I sit silently and I, even my heart is pounding with excitement. And suddenly somewhere nearby: "Ku-ku, ku-ku!"
I am silent: look better, don't shout at the whole forest.
And she is already very close: "Ku-ku, ku-ku!"
I look: some kind of bird flies through the clearing, the tail is long, it is gray itself, only the breast is covered with dark spots. Probably a hawk. This one in our yard hunts for sparrows. He flew up to a neighboring tree, sat down on a branch, bent down and shouted: "Ku-ku, ku-ku!"
Cuckoo! That's it! So, she is not like an owl, but like a hawk.
I will cuckoo her from the bush in response! With a fright, she almost fell off the tree, immediately rushed down from the branch, sniffing somewhere in the thicket, only I saw her.
But I don't need to see her anymore. So I solved the forest riddle, and besides, for the first time I myself spoke to the bird in its native language.
So the sonorous forest voice of the cuckoo revealed to me the first secret of the forest. And since then, for half a century now, I have been wandering in winter and summer along deaf, untrodden paths and discovering more and more new secrets. And there is no end to these winding paths, and there is no end to the secrets of native nature.
Friendship
Georgy Skrebitsky
Once my brother and I sat in a room in the winter and looked out the window at the yard. And in the yard, by the fence, crows and jackdaws dug through the garbage.
Suddenly we see - some kind of bird flew to them, completely black, with blue, and a large, white nose. What a marvel: it's a rook! Where did he come from in winter? We look, a rook walks through the garbage dump among the crows and limps a little - probably some kind of sick or old; could not fly south with other rooks, so he stayed with us for the winter.
Then every morning a rook got into the habit of flying to our garbage heap. We purposely crumble bread for him, porridge, cottage cheese from dinner. Only he got a little: everything used to be eaten by crows - these are such impudent birds. And some quiet rook got caught. Keeps on the sidelines, all alone and alone. And even that is true: his brethren flew south, he was left alone; crows - his company is bad. We see that the gray robbers offend our rook, but we don’t know how to help him. How to feed him so that the crows do not interfere?
Day by day the rook became more and more sad. It happened that he would fly in and sit on the fence, but he was afraid to go down to the garbage heap to the crows: he was completely weakened.
Once we looked out the window in the morning, and the rook lies under the fence. We ran, brought him into the house; he's barely breathing. We put him in a box, by the stove, covered him with a blanket and gave him all kinds of food.
For two weeks he sat like this with us, warmed up, ate a little. We think: how to proceed with it? Do not keep it in a box all winter! They decided to let him out again: maybe he will be stronger now, he will winter somehow.
And the rook, apparently, realized that we had done good to him, which means that there is nothing to be afraid of people. Since then, he spent whole days like that with chickens in the yard.
At that time, a tame magpie Orphan lived with us. We took her as a chick and fed her. The orphan flew freely around the yard, around the garden, and returned to spend the night on the balcony. Here we see - our rook made friends with the Orphan: where she flies, there he follows her. Once we look - the Orphan flew to the balcony, and the rook also showed up with her. It is important to walk around the table like that. And the magpie, like a mistress, fusses, gallops around him.
We slowly pushed a cup of soaked bread out from under the door. Magpie - straight to the cup, and the rook behind it. They both had breakfast and left. So every day they began to fly to the balcony together - to feed.
The winter passed, the rooks returned from the south, roared in the old birch grove. In the evenings, they sit in pairs near the nests, sit and talk, as if discussing their affairs. Only our rook did not find a mate, still flew everywhere for Orphan. And in the evening they will sit near the house on a birch and sit side by side, so close, side by side.
You look at them and involuntarily think: it means that birds also have friendship.
Sparrow- it's small birdie family of sparrows. Sparrows are the most famous birds that coexist with humans with great pleasure.
Sparrow Description
The sparrow is recognizable by appearance and for his characteristic chirp. The color of the plumage in the upper part is brown-brown interspersed with black feathers. On the head near the ears and the belly is a light gray shade. Sparrows have a small short tail and enough powerful beak. On average, the body length of a sparrow is about 16 cm, the weight is tiny - from 25 to 35 grams, and the wingspan is up to 27 cm.
How to distinguish a male sparrow from a female?
A male sparrow can be distinguished from a female by a characteristic black spot that covers the chin, throat, and upper chest. The head of the male is also dark grey. The female sparrow is smaller in size, the head and throat are gray, and gray-yellow stripes are located above the eyes, very pale, almost imperceptible.
Where do sparrows live?
You can meet sparrows almost everywhere. They massively populate the centers of cities and towns. The habitat is wide, the sparrow is found from Western Europe to the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, in East and Central Asia. It is distributed even on the territory of Siberia.
Features of the lifestyle and behavior of sparrows
sparrows lead a settled way of life, having chosen a territory, they nest. The grown offspring remain close to their parents, so the sparrows form large flocks. This is facilitated by the high fertility of the sparrow, the abundance of food due to the proximity of human settlements.
Ornithologists, observing sparrows, found out that these birds create a couple for almost a lifetime. Sparrows have an average lifespan of up to 5 years. But there were specimens of birds, whose age was about 11 years. The short life expectancy of sparrows is due to the fact that young growth often dies in the very first winter.
Sparrows nest almost anywhere where a nest can be placed. These are cornices of balconies, birdhouses, voids of wooden or stone buildings, sometimes pipes and even heaps of garbage. In our area, pairs form by the end of winter. At this time, sparrows (males) are lively, chirping loudly, lekking and even sometimes fighting.
sparrow breeding
A male and female sparrow build a nest together. As a rule, this is a rough structure made of feathers, straw, dry grass, with a small depression in the center. Nest building begins in March, and in April the birds start laying eggs. During the season, the female can lay up to 5 clutches. The clutch usually contains up to 7 white eggs with dark spots. The incubation period for hatching eggs lasts about two weeks. Chicks hatch slightly pubescent, almost naked. Feeding offspring takes approximately 14 to 17 days, both parents feed the chicks mainly with insects.
Approximately on the 10th day, the chicks try to fly. After a couple of days in late May - early June, they leave the nests. By the end of autumn, sparrows come to life again, chirp loudly and look after females.
Nest building begins. There will be no chicks in these nests until spring, and the place prepared in this way in winter will serve as protection for sparrows from autumn rains and winter frosts.
In cold winter, when there are very few birds, or in hot summer, when the voices of many birds are heard, a small, gray-brown bird is always near a person - a sparrow, to which people are so accustomed that they have not noticed it for a long time. And in vain.
Sparrow- small bird size up to 18 cm, and weighing no more than 35 g. But few people realize that this is an unusually smart, observant and cautious.
Otherwise, she would not have chosen such a smart, unpredictable and dangerous neighbor - a man. And the sparrow not only gets along easily, but also develops new lands with a person.
So, for example, after a person, this crumb moved to, settled in the north of Yakutia, even agreed to the tundra and forest tundra, although she was not at all comfortable living there. Now there are few places on the planet that would not be inhabited by sparrows.
Sparrow does not fly to warmer climes and, in general, prefers to lead a sedentary lifestyle. However, this does not prevent him from flying outside the already selected territories in order to look after new, unoccupied areas.
sparrow features
The main feature of this interesting bird is that it certainly settles near a person. This left its mark on her behavior and her whole lifestyle.
The bird has a superbly developed memory, it has new reflexes associated with human behavior, it can make decisions and even build logical chains.
Few people paid attention to this, however, if you recall, everyone will agree that birds are wary of cats, but they are not too afraid of her - they can wait for hours when she leaves away from the feeder.
But with horses, sparrows are not at all shy. They coexist magnificently with chickens, and with - from personal experience the bird knows that there is no danger from these animals, but you can always feast on their food.
They have mixed feelings about dogs. In village yards, where dogs are indifferent to the fluttering and chirping of birds, sparrows do not react to dogs too anxiously, but this can be explained by the fact that in one yard, as a rule, there is one and the same dog, whose behavior the sparrows already know. In cities where there are many dogs, sparrows are not so relaxed about dogs.
Another curious feature is that no matter how many centuries the sparrow has been the closest neighbor of man, it is more difficult to catch a sparrow than any other bird. And it is very rare to tame it. That's why sparrow photo rarely seen with a human.
The nature and lifestyle of a sparrow
It is worth saying that the character of sparrows is bad. They are jealous of their possessions, and every time they arrange serious fights (with the same ones) for their yard, park or other warm places.
By the way, if there is no encroachment from other birds, sparrows can easily make a scandal with their relatives.
Moreover, in terms of the intensity of passions, he will not yield to the fair upholding of his nest. Who hasn't heard sparrow voices especially in early spring.
A sparrow is completely uncharacteristic of a quiet and silent stay. Any movement of anyone causes a stormy wave of emotions in a flock of these pichugas.
And in the spring, during the creation of married couples, sparrows simply arrange bird fights. Fights can start on the roof of a house, on a tree branch, and continue high in the sky.
As a rule, it doesn’t come to bloody wounds, sparrows are too smart for this, after brawls, bullies scatter, but not for long.
sparrow species
There are many in nature sparrow-like birds, but it is not at all necessary that they belong to one of the species of this.
Scientists ornithologists have clearly identified the species and subspecies of this bird. There are a lot of species of this bird - there are about 22. In our climate, you can meet 8. These are:
- house sparrow;
- field;
- snowy (snow finch)
- black-breasted;
- ginger;
- stone;
- Mongolian earth sparrow;
- short-fingered.
Perhaps someone has heard of a strange bird "sparrow-camel". This bird has nothing to do with a sparrow, and is not any type of passerine.
This is the name of the well-known, which in translation means "sparrow - camel." All species of passerines have some features, but the main characteristic of this bird is common to all.
sparrow feeding
Sparrow can not be called a gourmet. Its menu is diverse - from insects to human food waste.
Moreover, modesty is also not their forte, in anticipation of a piece, they can jump near the table of a person ( open cafes, country terraces), and if he sits motionless, then jump on the table on his own and take care of himself.
However, at the slightest movement, the birds deftly disappear from the table, trying to grab a tasty crumb.
And yet, despite the pugnacious and quarrelsome character, these birds do not suit scandals over food. If one sparrow finds a lot of food, he flies for his fellow tribesmen, and only then will he start eating.
They are wary of unfamiliar food. The whole flock will not eat an unknown dish until one of the sparrows tries the food. And only after that all flock.
In the villages in the summer, these birds live freely. They peck seeds and grains of planted crops, feast on berries, and all kinds of scaring devices have little effect on them.
However, the villagers are forced to endure such a neighborhood, because sparrows destroy caterpillars and other insects.
In fact, if you watch the sparrows, then the bird is much more likely to feed in a cage with a rabbit or from a chicken cup than it will look for some larvae there.
But you shouldn't be offended by this. At the heart of the sparrow's diet, however, is plant food. sparrows eat only in spring, and when feeding chicks. However, without the help of these birds it would be difficult to get rid of insects.
Sparrow reproduction and lifespan
In spring, sparrows begin to build nests. These birds do not adhere to a pronounced form of the nest. Moreover, they seek every opportunity to adapt something suitable for their house or take someone else's nest.
You can see how sparrows fly out of birdhouses, from swallow nests. Any pipe, ledge, excavation of the house will do, but if nothing suitable is found, then the birds start building nests themselves. Most often, they are arranged under the roofs of houses, gazebos, in attics, or even just on trees.
Sparrow chicks in the nest
A female can breed three broods per season. The first laying takes place in April. True, these dates may vary depending on the climatic and weather conditions located .
Some females (especially one-year-olds) even prefer to lay eggs in May. Birds finish nesting in August, after which a post-nesting molt immediately occurs.
Usually the female lays 3-9 eggs. It is noteworthy that sparrows in countryside there are always more eggs than "city dwellers".
Above, we talked about the good memory of these birds, they know that near livestock, which contains villager all year round, feed yourself more birds will be easier than in questionable urban conditions.
Both parents share the care of the offspring equally. They both hatch chicks together and feed them together too.
Sparrows are not afraid of people and often build their nests near houses.
The time for these birds is clearly distributed - they need to have time to breed more than one offspring, so the female takes 4-5 days to lay eggs and incubate, then the parents feed the chicks in the nest for about two weeks, and it takes another two weeks to raise the chicks after they leave the nest. nests, and only after that begins preparation for the next clutch.
Sparrows feed their chicks first with insects, then with grains, and then with seeds and fruits of various plants.
Sparrow enemy or friend
So the sparrow fell into the "doubtful helpers." And yet, the benefits of this tiny bird are greater than the harm.
Suffice it to give a classic example - once it seemed to the Chinese that sparrows were destroying their rice crop, so the bird was declared the main enemy, they were exterminated, knowing that sparrows could not stay in the air for more than 15 minutes.
The Chinese simply did not let them sit down and the birds fell to the ground already dead. But after this, the real enemy came - insects.
They multiplied to such an extent that there was no rice crop left at all, and almost 30 million people died of starvation.
So is it worth puzzling over what history has already covered. Small bird sparrow occupies a worthy place in nature, and man only needs to protect it.
A description of a sparrow for children will help you write an essay and prepare for the lesson.
Sparrow Description
Have you ever paid attention to sparrows? It would seem that these are ordinary birds, always in sight, nothing special.
As a rule, a sparrow can be found near human habitation. This very small and fast bird has a rather cocky character. You can often see an ambitious fight of sparrows for the last grain or piece of bread.
The sparrow has small black beady eyes. Its beak is conical and strong enough. This helps the bird quickly and securely grab its trophy: an insect, or a grain. The coloring of the sparrow is gray with a black neck and brown wings, which easily camouflages it in the trees. The legs of the bird are small and thin with barely noticeable tiny claws. Therefore, sparrows move funny, jumping from branch to branch.
These sparrows are interesting! They chirp merrily to themselves from under the roofs over human dwellings. And gladly accept any treat.
Scientific description of the sparrow
The sparrow weighs 23-35 grams, and the body can be up to 16 centimeters long. Its plumage is brownish-brown above and whitish below. The male, unlike the female, has a large black spot dark gray on chin, throat, crop and upper chest and top of head. The female has a gray head and throat and a pale gray-yellow stripe above the eye. Sparrows have a small short tail and a fairly powerful beak.
Dzhandzhugazova E.A.
In wildlife, people are fortunately not alone, they have satellites. One has only to look out the window to see how noisy sparrows divide a crust of bread on the snow. Both summer and winter they are always near people, their whole life is adapted to this sometimes very difficult neighborhood. Nimble and cautious tits, talkative pigeons, cunning and intelligent crows, swallows, storks, starlings and many other representatives of the animal world live next to people. They are dedicated scientific works, long stories, stories and very short essays. It is very interesting to write about animals, but at the same time it is difficult, you need to make observations for a long time and carefully, and only after you have accumulated impressions and sufficient experience, you can begin to describe what you have seen and experienced.
Today's our story about sparrows - yes, yes, it is about the most ordinary sparrows that live side by side with us, but sometimes we don’t even suspect what an interesting bird it is.
sparrows- These are songbirds from the tropical weaver family. Not everyone knows that two species live among us, noticeably different from each other, but seeming the same to an inattentive eye. The first species - the house sparrow - is the most common, although not the most numerous in our villages and cities. It is distinguished by a large spot under the beak in males and the absence of special spots - brackets on the cheeks. These brackets immediately distinguish another species - the field sparrow, which is more common in rural areas.
Unfortunately, house sparrows are gradually dying out, their number is noticeably reduced. Once upon a time, two or three decades ago, their numerous flocks soared from the roadside grass into the sky with a rumble like a light peal of thunder. Today, civilization is inexorably pushing wildlife, although some of its inhabitants are desperately fighting for their place, like house sparrows, which most likely will not rare birds- too bold and inventive. They have already adapted to begging for food from cafes, shops, along with pigeons - traditional city beggars.
Wildlife in the modern city: sparrows and doves
At the same time, there is no more useful bird than a sparrow. A voracious sparrow family from early spring to the first snow looks at each blade of grass, looking for pests. They briskly jump around the beds, and when the old sparrow catches the beetle, he busily drags it to the yellow-mouthed sparrow, fluttering with short wings. Still, the sparrow has to be agile and troublesome, because during the summer it is necessary to feed two, or even three broods. It is also very funny to watch sparrow weddings. Sparrows are desperate "cavaliers", they chase sparrows, push, fight and, twisted into balls, fall right under the feet of passers-by. 
easy prey
Carried away by the struggle for superiority, they, unfortunately, become easy prey for cats that are closely following these interesting events from secluded places. The sparrow, for all its attachment to people and human habitation, is still an independent bird and even to some extent “impudent”. He has a fairly large supply of vitality. He endures cold winters, despite the fact that he once lived in Africa, then he reached the Mediterranean, met people, and this was the beginning of his journey around the world.
sparrow dinner
When Siberia was being mastered, he boldly followed the settlers, even moved to the tundra after them. Today, the sparrow no longer separates itself from people, settles under the roofs of houses, under the cornices, behind the window frames. Sometimes it is arranged in an old drainpipe or in the hollow of a tree growing in the garden. There are times when sparrows try to brazenly seize birdhouses or swallow nests, then a real “communal war” opens. Flocks of sparrows take "living space" in number, an unbearable hubbub and noise opens up, sparrows behave like real "raiders" and sometimes even gain the upper hand, driving the owners out of their nests.
Sparrows are social birds, and this is easy to see, often a picture catches your eye when flocks of sparrows flock to one bush or tree, making desperate noise and fuss. Friendly chirping looks like "collective singing", which is an important part of the pre-breeding behavior of birds. Collective singing ends with a courtship procedure: the male lowers his wings, lifts his tail, chirps and jumps around the female like a cockerel.
"Collective Singing"
In general, sparrows are faithful birds, they nest in pairs and, as a rule, are monogamous. Very often, the male and female remain faithful to each other not only during the entire nesting period, but also throughout their lives.
A person knows and writes a lot about sparrows, but perhaps no one can tell about this bird in such an interesting and figurative way as Vasily Mikhailovich Peskov, a wonderful journalist, writer, traveler, writing about his native nature, its riches and secrets.
Sparrow. Feature article
Frosty. A trickle of heat flows out into the ajar window. Who adapted it, warms up? Quietly I move the curtain aside. A sparrow sits on a branch near the window. He fluffed up, absorbed his head, looked like a gray fluffy ball. Only glass separates us. Sparrow caution should make this ball of life flutter, connect with a flock of frozen brothers. But it's very nice and warm by the window. The sparrow watches with one eye. I try not to move. And the sparrow begins to doze off. The small eye closes. And I remember how many times from the frost, tired, I fell asleep near the stove ...
Every person from childhood knows these little thieving birds. Near us they feed and keep warm. Their song - a simple strike - we often do not notice at all. But as soon as it subsides for some reason, we feel that we are accustomed to these simple sounds, to the lively, fussy manifestation of life. And if we part with our native places, the memory of the house is certainly associated with this gray bird.
I recently recorded a sailor's story about a sparrow that took root on a ship and sailed from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. The sailor told me how much joy and pleasant worries this devoted traveler brought to the sailors. The ship was sailing in full view of foreign shores, but the bird never tried to fly to the ground. And in the Mediterranean, when an American missile carrier came close to our ship, the sparrow suddenly decided to stretch its wings. “The sparrow fluttered, and we held our breath on deck. He landed on the mast to the Americans. We saw well through binoculars: it sits, looks around ... Those who have not gone to sea, perhaps, will not understand how many experiences a simple sparrow can deliver. Not a very pleasant thing when an alien warship is sailing next to you. But here we all passionately wished: if only he didn’t leave ... It can be seen that a bird, just like a person, gets used to his place. Our sparrow sat for about five minutes on someone else's mast and, we see, took off. Flies! We all yelled "hooray"! The boatswain jumped out: what's the matter?! But he also smiled when he found out ... "
Sparrows are attached to humans. In frosts, I watched: they fly into the subway, settle under the glass roof of the Moscow GUM. In Kuznetsk, I was struck by the dark color of the birds. It turned out that sparrows climb into the pipes on frosty days to warm themselves. The bird willingly uses our bread and our warmth. But try to lure the sparrow into the palm of your hand. An almost impossible case! The tit sits down, and the sparrow will keep at a distance, it will stealthily, jump with caution, but will not want to sit on the hand.
A person has a special relationship with sparrows ...
Literature
1. Drozdov N., Makeev A. Secrets of wildlife. From the pages of the program "In the world of animals." M.: Veche, 2007. 270 p.