Today is what. At the exits, we are increasingly meeting these amazing creatures of nature - Snakes. This is what happened this time:

The sun was hot and, walking along the dirt road, we met vipers every now and then, which languidly warmed themselves and were not going to leave, despite our approach! This impudence surprised us a little - it had never happened before. Especially one, rather large viper, did not pay attention to us at all, having mellowed under the sun and did not want to crawl away. We didn't need to hurt her. We had provisions, thank Heavens, so this subject was not considered as food. And yet, it was necessary to pass, but she did not crawl away !! Only after we began to throw bumps at her, the beauty reluctantly crawled out of the way, so I want to note, comrades: now you need to walk very carefully even along the road, and look under your feet, since the vipers merge very well with the road and it is difficult to notice them peripheral vision. I even had to jump over one, instantly reacting to my husband's warning when I gape, admiring the nature around ..

in this regard, it is good to know

1. HOW IT LOOKS AND WHERE IT GOES

2. CALENDAR OF ACTIVITY OF THE VIPER BY THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR.

3. HELP WITH A VIPER BITE. ANTI-SHOCK KIT.

SO, LET'S BEGIN...

1. VIPER ORDINARY.

In forests middle lane quite often you can meet a small, colorfully colored snake - an ordinary viper.

Usually its length is about 50 centimeters, but there are specimens that even reach 90 centimeters.

As a rule, vipers have a characteristic zigzag pattern on their backs. The general color background can be gray (light and dark shades), brown, red, cherry red.

The zigzag pattern on the viper's back is very similar to the broken shadow from fern leaves and various small bushes. This coloration allows the snake to blend in with the pattern of sun highlights and shadows.

Neither man nor animal notices the viper lying motionless, and they approach it at too close a distance. A frightened snake resorts to self-defense - it bites an unexpected guest.

In what other cases can a viper bite?

Unless, of course, she is suddenly pressed by hand or foot.

In general, the behavior of snakes when meeting with a person depends largely on the degree of heating.

In cool, cloudy or rainy weather, when the vipers are cool, their movements are sluggish, slow, uncertain.

They do not pose a serious danger, because they are easy to dodge.

Another thing in dry and hot weather. However, even an active snake, upon noticing a person, usually tries to crawl away to the nearest shelter. Soon she reappears and, having looked around, fits into her original place.

When an active snake is pursued, and there is nowhere for it to hide, it begins to defend itself: huddling into a ball, with a hiss throws its head towards the pursuer. But even in this case, she tends to approach any shelter and slip into it.

With persistent pursuit, the viper becomes ferocious and becomes quite dangerous. Quickly shrinking into a ball and immediately straightening out at full length, as if jumping above the ground, she tries to get closer to the person. Her movements are so fast that it is difficult to follow them.

To avoid an unwanted meeting, then when walking through the forest and through dense thickets, have a stick in your hands with which you can push them apart in front of you. the snake will crawl away and the meeting will not happen. anyway, unexpected.

It so happened a long time ago that everyone who sees a viper passes her a merciless death sentence. But does he have the right to do so? Of course not!

First, wonderful medicines are made from viper venom.

In addition, this snake is a natural regulator of the number of rodents: forest and field mice - carriers and keepers of a dangerous disease - tularemia.

In our country, a law has been passed prohibiting the aimless extermination of poisonous snakes, including the common viper.

To avoid unpleasant clashes, you need to know where they settle, where they crawl to feed, in what places they like to bask in the sun - in a word, know the calendar of their life. Here he is.

2. VIPER CALENDAR:

JANUARY FEBRUARY. Vipers are found in shelters located in moss hummocks of raised bogs, rotten stumps and trunks of long-fallen trees, burrows of mouse-like rodents, rotten roots, heaps of rotten hay, crevices of rocks ... Usually snakes choose places where the soil cannot freeze and where spring waters are terrible. For wintering, vipers hide both one at a time and in whole groups.

MARCH. In the last ten days of the month, the first snakes appear in the thawed areas of forest glades and clearings, on moss swamps, on the slopes of hills, near heaps of stones, in areas heated by the sun and sheltered from the wind. They are inactive, sometimes lying in groups.

APRIL. Snakes lie on tussocks, dry leaves and dry grass, along forest roads and clearings, in glades, moss swamps, clearings, along the edge of the forest, along the banks of rivers and lakes. On clear sunny days, snakes get out to bask in the morning, before about 10 o'clock, and in the evening, after 18 o'clock.

In the second decade, snakes begin mating time. Vipers gather in dry clearings among willow bushes, open raised moss swamps with rare small pine forests, clearings in the forest, heaps of stones on the slopes of ravines, hills and mountains.

MAY. Vipers crawl to feeding areas. Near the summer stay of snakes there is always a source of water, comfortable spot for warming up, a reliable shelter - heaps of rotten hay, dry branches, high dry tussock, stump.

JUNE. All snakes are in feeding places. At this time, you can stumble upon a "snake path" that runs along the manes on the banks of a river or lake, along a clearing in the forest, the edge of a swamp or a clearing in a damp forest. On such "paths" vipers appear daily.

The snakes come out to warm up early in the morning before the dew dries and in the evening before sunset. After rain, they lie in the sun for 15-20 minutes, crawling out for this on bumps, heaps of dry branches, stumps, hillocks.

They even love dirt roads, where there is rarely traffic. if the sun is hot and the snake is exhausted, it reluctantly leaves the road .. On cloudy days and before the rain, vipers bask for a long time on open places. There is a massive molt of snakes and creeps are common.

JULY. The snakes are still in their summer habitats. In meadows during haymaking, they often use windrows and haystacks as temporary shelters, so if you decide to rest in such places, be careful. You must also be careful when picking strawberries: vipers often lay in strawberry clearings and hillocks.

AUGUST. As raspberries, blueberries and gonobobel ripen, some of the snakes move to the berries. Here, vipers prey on grass frogs, which in turn are attracted by the abundance of insects that flock to the aroma of ripe berries. Berries are usually heavily overgrown with grass, and before picking a berry, feel the grass with a stick.

In the second half of the month, offspring begin to appear in vipers. On average, one female gives birth to 8-10 vipers, but it happens that large females bring more than 20 of them. Usually, births occur on the ground, but sometimes vipers crawl into low bushes.

SEPTEMBER. The bulk of the snakes gradually move to the wintering grounds. Young animals leave first for wintering, then adult snakes. If wintering places are located in moss tussocks on a raised bog, then you can stumble upon groups of snakes. In autumn, vipers have the same clusters as in spring during the mating season.

Puffin (Fratercula arctica). Order Charadriiformes, family Auks. Habitats - Atlantic and Arctic Oceans Alina 32 cm Weight 620 g

Puffins inhabit the northern coast and islands of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. For nesting, they need areas with soft peat soil, in which they break through long and branched burrows. permanent residents bird colonies in which they occupy the uppermost tiers.

Translated from Latin, the name of the dead end is "Arctic Brother". The plumage of the puffin is contrasting - black and white; it resembles the cassock of a servant of God draped over his shoulders. However, the first thing that catches your eye when you look at this bird is a strange motley beak and an “eyebrow”, as if brought up by deliberate make-up. The beak is very large, wide with might and main head, red-yellow. It is not pulled forward, hence the name - a dead end. For a compact small body and not too slender contours, the British call puffins "fatties" - puffin.

The paws of the puffin are quite large and bright orange. Looks like clown shoes. Puffin has been compared to a clown more than once. The bird looks very comical. He walks the earth in a quick, funny transshipment, like Chaplin, a classic of cine humor. When landing, it puts its paws forward and quickly flaps its short wings. It seems that now it will flopping hard and roll over over the head. The impression is deceptive. Puffins are good flyers. They can take to the air from both water and land. They swim and dive well.

Since the life of birds is inextricably linked with the sea, for the winter the birds migrate to areas where the water does not freeze. Puffins feed on small fish, a small part of their diet is mollusks and crustaceans. These birds feel great in the air (the flight speed record is 82 kilometers per hour) and in water (they dive to a depth of over 60 meters), but are clumsy on land. However, birds come to it only during the breeding season, spending the rest of the time at sea. Puffin birds settle on the rocks in huge colonies. Since it is easier for predatory seabirds to attack loners while foraging, puffins always leave the colony in groups.

With their beaks, puffins dig rather deep holes on the northern cliffs of the Atlantic coasts. Then the female lays one egg in the depths of the shelter, in the hole there is a lining of dry grass, feathers and algae. Dead ends prefer to settle on small islands sticking out of the sea, on the tops of which there is land. Arctic foxes or ermines cannot penetrate into such donjons. Puffins live in stable pairs and can fly to the same hole for years. And to stretch, if life develops successfully, a dead end can last more than two decades. There are also tragic endings. Large gulls prey on puffins. On the Faroe Islands, in Iceland and Norway, puffins are hunted by people. It's good that this is not a mass hunt.

A puffin colony is easily recognizable by the birds circling above it. Some birds come with prey, others fly away to hunt. Many flyers are constantly in the air. Before landing, they always lay a few circles over their homes. Why do they do it? Hard to say...

Feeding a chick, a puffin can capture several fish like capelin or gerbil with its beak at once. Or rather, it can grab a new fish without letting go of the one already caught from its beak. A unique ability among birds. A kind of record - several dozen small fish in the beak.

In Russia, a large colony of puffins nests on the Murmansk coast, the rest are smaller; there are only dozens of nests on Novaya Zemlya.

The Atlantic puffin is a funny bird with an unusual name and no less remarkable appearance. Despite their apparent clumsiness, puffins are excellent swimmers and spend most of their time hunting. It may seem that these birds are close relatives of penguins, because there is definitely some similarity in appearance. In fact, the puffin is in the auk family (order Charadriiformes).

Appearance of puffin bird

The puffin is a small bird, about the size of an average pigeon. Its size is about 30 cm, the wingspan is about half a meter. The female weighs 310 grams, the male is slightly larger - 345 grams. This bird belongs to the order Charadriiformes and the Fawn family. The body is dense, similar to the body of a penguin, but these two individuals are not related to each other. Main Feature and a bright touch in the image of a puffin is its beautiful beak. It is triangular in shape, strongly compressed from the sides, resembling a small hatchet. During the breeding season, the beak becomes bright orange.

The bird's head is round, black on top, the rest is white, with gray spots on the cheeks. The eyes are small, and are as if in a fold, moreover, they are highlighted by a bright orange eyelid and gray leathery formations. The body on the back is painted black, the belly is white. The legs are webbed, like those of waterfowl, also in the color of a bright beak. For such an appearance, the puffin is also called a sea clown or a parrot, which is quite justified, judging by the photo.

Atlantic puffin spread

Atlantic puffins nest on the coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. Their range includes the coasts of northwestern Europe, the Arctic, and northeastern North America. The largest colony in the world is in Iceland, where 60% of the total puffin population nests. Puffins prefer to nest on islands; mainland coasts are less attractive to them. Outside of the breeding season, puffins can be found in the Arctic Ocean, including the North Sea, sometimes appear above the Arctic Circle.

Lifestyle

Most of the year - about 7 months - puffins spend in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, swimming and diving in pursuit of prey. The dead end feeds mainly on small fish: gerbil, capelin, sprat, fry of herring, mackerel and cod. In summer, the menu of puffins is complemented by crustaceans and molluscs. When chasing fish, the puffin dives and swims underwater; at the same time, the wings serve as oars for it, and the paws as rudders. This style of swimming is a lot like flying. Moulting at puffins occurs in winter, on the high seas. First, the birds shed their old underfur, then the plumage of the head, neck, shoulders and abdomen sheds. Since all the coverts and tail feathers fall out at the puffins at the same time, the birds are not able to fly for several weeks. After the change of plumage, puffins return to their nesting sites. Taking care of reliable thermal insulation, dead ends all year round they carefully look after the plumage and lubricate it with fatty secretions of the coccygeal gland. The natural enemies of puffins are raptors: falcons, hawks, sea eagles, snowy owls and gulls.

Food

Birds are excellent at diving and swimming. Swimming in the water, they reach speeds of up to 20 meters, and they can dive to a depth of up to 70 meters. Since the birds are sea birds, their diet consists of fish:

• herring;
• capelin;
• sand eels;
• gerbils.

Puffins also occasionally feed on shrimp and small clams. The skill of swimmers helps them a lot during the hunt, they use their paws as a rudder. Usually their prey is not large in size and rarely exceeds 8 cm, but sometimes it happens that they manage to catch fish up to 18 cm long. They eat smaller fish without floating out of the water, and carry larger ones ashore. Adult birds can eat up to 40 fish per day. The approximate daily weight of their food is from 100 to 300 grams.

reproduction

Between March and April, puffins return to their nests. This is where the mating season takes place. Dead ends of opposite sexes rub against each other, thus expressing their sympathy. During this period, the beak of puffins changes its color from yellow to red.

Most often, new pairs dig their own nests (the length of which reaches about 2 meters), and do not return to last year's places. A couple of dead ends is, as a rule, loyalty for life. However, they are together only during the mating season, most of the time they are far from each other.

Females lay one egg in their burrows. And his partners incubate in turn. The hatching period reaches 38 - 42 days. After the chick is born, the parents feed it together.

Puffins have their enemies in the form of birds of prey. Therefore, during the day, puffins hide their chicks in holes, and at night they take them out so that the kids can swim.

Little puffins leave the nest when they already know how to fish and fly. However, every spring, the babies return to the nests where they were born. Thus, as if visiting their parents.

Enemies of the Atlantic Puffins

Most often hunted predator birds, such as:

• Falcon
• Skua
• Hawk
• Gull
• Orlan

Seagulls mostly eat eggs with chicks, but are sometimes not averse to eating adult puffins.

People are not afraid of these birds, as they meat is rarely eaten by humans.

This bird listed in the Red Book and protected by law. AT recent times The population of ipatok has declined quite a lot and, according to scientists, it will continue to decline.

Puffin flight features

These birds also fly fast. In the air, they reach speeds of up to 88 km / h. True, with takeoff and landing they have a hard time. The puffin bird is forced to jump from a steep bank in order to be able to fly, while it has to make up to 10 flaps of its wings in a second. When landing, our flyer amusingly puts forward its paws and becomes like an airplane releasing its landing gear, and landing is often made on its stomach. By the way, the head of a careless relative can also act as an airfield for a dead end.

It is very interesting to observe how the parent who arrived with prey behaves. For some reason, he does not immediately go to the nest, but circles over the colony for 15-20 minutes, while making sounds similar to rumbling. Then the breadwinner rushes to the hole, which serves as a signal for the second parent to start. Due to the fact that in the colony someone is constantly taking off and someone is landing, it looks like some kind of bird carousel. What causes puffins to behave this way is not clear. Perhaps they are drying their feathers or celebrating a successful hunt, or perhaps confusing predators that hunt them. These amazing birds still have many mysteries to solve for those who love nature.

• The Russian name for the bird species "tupik" comes from the word "blunt", which indicates a massive rounded beak, characteristic of this species. The Latin name of the species "Fratercula arctica" is translated as "Arctic nun. The bird was so named because it looks like a monk in a cassock. But the English name of the puffin "puffin" means "fat", and speaks of the clumsy appearance of the bird on land.
• The Atlantic puffin has long been considered a species with a stable population, but in 2015 the bird was listed in the Red Book, and today the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature is classified as a species that is in a vulnerable state. According to scientists' forecasts, it is possible to reduce the number of the European puffin population by 50-80%, which is a cause for concern and protection of these birds.
• Puffin meat is eaten by people. Smoked meat of birds of this species is considered a delicacy. People often hunt puffins in their distribution areas, but now in many countries hunting for birds is officially prohibited due to a decrease in the population.
• There are reserves in the UK where the puffin is a protected species. For example, protected puffin colonies live on the island of Burhu in the English Channel, and on the islands of Noss and Foula in Scotland.
• The Atlantic puffin is the official symbol of the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Norwegian municipality of Verøy.
• Puffins are often depicted on stamps from various countries. Thus, stamps with dead ends were printed in France, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Great Britain.

Video

Atlantic puffin - sea ​​birds from the auk family of the order Charadriiformes. They live on the coasts of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

Appearance of the Atlantic puffin

Body length 30-35 cm, wingspan about 50 cm. Weight 450-500 grams. Males are usually slightly larger than females. The back, throat collar and head are black. There are large light gray spots on the sides of the head. The eyes look small, almost triangular, due to the red and gray leathery structures around them. The underside of the body is white. Paws orange-red

The main expressive feature of his appearance is the beak. It has an unusual triangular shape, flattened laterally. The appearance of the beak is a bit like an ax, or a blunt instrument, most likely because of this the bird was called a dead end.

During the onset of the mating season, the beak of the Atlantic puffin becomes bright orange.

The top of the beak is bright red and the base is grey. They are separated by a light yellow crest, the same one is located at the base of the beak. There is a small yellow fold of skin at the junction of the two jaws. The size and shape of the beak changes with age: in a young bird it is narrower than in an adult, but has the same length. With age, the beak becomes wider. By old age, furrows may appear on the red part of the beak. The beak and skin around the eyes are brightly colored only during the breeding season.

During the subsequent molt, the multi-part horny covers of the beak fall off, and the beak becomes less wide. Its tip becomes faded, the base is dark gray. The light gray feathers of the head and neck also change to darker ones. The triangle of skin formations around the eyes also disappears.

The head of the Atlantic puffin is painted black, but it has blotches in the form of grayish spots (on the cheeks). For their multi-colored appearance, puffins received a popular “nickname” - “sea parrot”.

Dead ends walk quickly (they can run on flat surfaces), but waddle. They swim and dive well, can hold their breath for about a minute.

They row in the water with wings and webbed feet. To fly, puffins must beat their wings very quickly, about a few times per second. Before taking off from the water, they can “run” along it for several seconds.

Puffins fly low (at a height of about 10 meters above the water), but quickly, at speeds up to 80 km/h. Puffins sit awkwardly on the water. They either crash into the crest of a wave or fall on their belly.

Puffin colonies are usually quiet, sometimes in flight, puffins make sounds similar to purring, or, most often entering the hole, growl.

Atlantic puffin spread

Atlantic puffins nest on the coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. Their range includes the coasts of northwestern Europe, the Arctic, and northeastern North America.

The largest colony in the world is in Iceland, where 60% of the total puffin population nests. Puffins prefer to nest on islands; mainland coasts are less attractive to them.

Outside of the breeding season, puffins can be found in the Arctic Ocean, including the North Sea, sometimes appear above the Arctic Circle.

Lifestyle and nutrition of the Atlantic puffin

The Atlantic puffin is a freedom-loving bird. The puffin spends most of its adult life alone. But before the onset of the mating season, the population gathers to build nests and create families.

The puffin feeds on fish, crustaceans, and molluscs. The Atlantic puffin obtains food through hunting skills, which it receives in its youth. A favorite delicacy of puffins is loach fish.

Reproduction of the Atlantic puffin

In March-April, puffins flock to their nests. They will meet the mating season here. Females and males of puffins get to know each other, begin to rub against each other, thus expressing their sympathy. By the end of spring, puffin beaks will change color from orange to bright red. This is a clear signal of readiness to start a family. As a rule, new couples are independently engaged in arranging nests. But in rare cases, they can return to last year's houses or take one of the empty ones.

Pairs of dead ends create for life, partners change extremely rarely. However, when the mating season is over and the babies are strong enough, the parental couple will part. Each of them will live alone until next spring, to meet again to build a new nest.

In the vast majority of cases, the female brings one egg. Hatching is done by both partners, replacing each other. The average hatching period is 40 days.

The puffin father also takes part in the upbringing of the chick. Parents alternately hunt, getting food for themselves, a partner and a baby. Almost from the first days, chicks are taught to swim.

It is noteworthy that during the day puffins prefer to hide offspring from natural enemies in the folds of coastal rocks. Children are taken out to swim at night. In this mode, the life of babies proceeds for the first 40-50 days. And when this period expires, the parents leave the nest, leaving the chick already able to hunt, fly and swim alone.