common oatmeal - one of the birds most often found in Central Europe. Representatives of this species have very strongly developed sexual dimorphism.

Row - Sparrow-shaped
Family - oatmeal
Genus / Species - Emberiza citrinella

Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Length: 17 cm.
Wingspan: up to 27 cm.
Weight: 30 g.

BREEDING
Puberty: per year.
Nesting period: April-July.
Carrying: 2 per year.
Number of eggs: 4-6.
Incubation: 12-14 days.
Feeding chicks: 12-14 days.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: during the nesting period they are kept in pairs, the rest of the time - in flocks.
Food: grains, green parts of plants, insects.
Sounds: "Circus" or "tris", in flight - "tiar".
Life span: up to 12 years.

Related species
About 200 species of birds belong to the oatmeal family.

common oatmeal- a frequent guest on the fields. The favorite habitats of this bird are young coniferous growth and overgrown clearings. In spring, males, adorned with a lemon-yellow outfit, climb trees as high as possible and sing mating songs, calling for a female and scaring off potential rivals.
Common oatmeal food. Often, common buntings, along with other small birds, fly to fields where crops grow to feast on grain. In addition, birds eat other foods such as berries and insects. Bunting, like other granivorous birds, has a specially shaped beak - short, but very strong. With its help, the bird easily cleans the grain from the husk. Buntings feed their chicks with insects, mainly caterpillars and butterflies. Parents first soak the food in their crop, then give it to the chicks. Like other granivorous birds, ordinary oatmeal swallows small pebbles along with food, which, like millstones, grind the food in the bird's stomach. In search of food, buntings are in flocks.
Habitat of the common bunting. Bunting keeps in open spaces where single trees grow, in fields and edges near fields. In the south, the bird inhabits steppe shrubs. Oatmeal is also found in the mountains. Only in some cases does it settle in dense forests and cities. Oatmeal visits only those gardens that are located on the outskirts of the city. This bird is migratory only in the northern parts of its range, and in the southern parts of its range, the bunting is a sedentary bird. This means that in the south buntings are found all year round. In areas where there is a lot of snow in winter, they stay near human habitations, since here they find enough food. Migratory birds winter in Western Europe or in the Mediterranean countries. They return to their nesting sites in March-April.
Sometimes buntings, along with birds of other species (chaffinches and sparrows), unite in large flocks and go in search of food.
Reproduction of oatmeal ordinary. The breeding season of the common bunting begins in early spring. It is proclaimed by the uncomplicated, somewhat melancholy song of the male "s - s - s - s - ziiuuu". In the southern parts of the range, birds form pairs already at the end of March. In other territories it occurs in April. At this time, buntings perform mating dances, while the male flies over the female and makes complex pirouettes in the air. Nuptial flight ends with mating, which takes place on the ground. Common bunting nests mainly on the ground and only in exceptional cases nests in bushes. The nest of this bird is cup-shaped, carelessly woven from stems, sometimes with an admixture of moss. The oatmeal tray is lined with horsehair.
The female bunting lays 4 to 6 white or gray eggs, speckled with thin rusty-brown veins. The eggs are incubated by one female, the male only briefly changes her in the nest. After 12-14 days, chicks hatch from the eggs. Both birds feed them. Often, the chicks fly out of the nest already on the 9-10th day of life. It happens that they leave the nest, not yet able to fly. In this case, the chicks stay close to the nest, and the parents continue to feed them. Common bunting makes two clutches during the summer. The second laying of eggs occurs in June, the chicks appear in early or mid-July.
Ordinary buntings are rare in gardens. Most often, these birds keep in the countryside, in the fields. During the nesting period, you can see how the male of the common bunting sits on low bushes and trees, on the wires of the lines; high-voltage transmissions or on fences - here he sings his spring song, which attracts a female and informs rivals that this territory is already occupied. In autumn, this bird is found in the fields, where it feeds on grains of cereals. Young birds have the same plumage as females. Their plumage is rather dull, yellow color is practically absent in it. Other representatives of the genus also live in Europe - millet and garden oatmeal.
OR DO YOU KNOW THAT...

Like other songbirds, buntings, seeing the enemy, attacking them, make circles in the air, raise an "alarm". When the birds are soldered in dense bushy vegetation and "sound the alarm", it is very difficult to understand whose voice is actually heard: bunting, dubrovnik, blackbird or robin.
Relatives of ordinary oatmeal - garden oatmeal - in the Mediterranean countries are considered a delicacy. They, like other small birds that wander south in winter, despite the protests of environmental organizations, are caught with nets and sold in the markets.
Common buntings are called granivorous birds. This name indicates what food this bird prefers in total.

Characteristics of oatmeal
Beak: short, strong, conical. Well adapted to feeding on grains and berries.
Male: The breeding attire of the male is quite bright. The top of the head, cheeks and abdomen are yellow, the chest is chestnut, the back is brown, with spots, the rump is red.
Flight: In flight, the white side feathers of the tail become visible. The spots on the back are clearly visible, which form a striped pattern.
Female: The plumage of the female is duller. There is very little yellow in it. The head and chest are covered with spots.
Laying: 4-6 white or gray eggs mottled with rusty-brown veins. During the summer, the bird manages to make two masonry.

Living place
common oatmeal found in the temperate zone of Europe and Asia. Its range stretches from Norway, Ireland and Portugal in the west to northern China in the east.
Preserving oatmeal
In Europe, oatmeal is quite common. However, due to the intensive development of agriculture, it is threatened with the destruction of living space.

Bunting bird ... A small representative of birds with a rather unusual name. What is she? Where and how often can it be found? It is about this beauty that we will talk today.

Section 1. Bunting bird. general description

First of all, it should be noted that this is a rather small representative of birds with a thin beak and a slender body. But the wings can be of different lengths and shapes. The feathers are thick and soft; some species may have a crest on the head.

Oatmeal, belonging to the family of the same name, live in fairly open spaces. In principle, they can be found in the steppe, and in the tundra, and on the forest edges, and clearings.

Scientists say that in nature there are several types of oatmeal: migratory, nomadic and sedentary. Bunting is a bird whose singing is mostly monotonous: it tends to repeat the same sounds.

It should be noted that they practically do not hide their nests, but they build them right on the ground and only very rarely in some secluded place.

In Russia today there are 34 species of oatmeal, while there are about 200 species on the planet.

Section 2. Bunting bird. early birds

Buntings are representatives of early birds. They can also be called the most careless: they are one of the very first to return, usually from warm countries.

First, however, males arrive, because even night frosts do not frighten them. While waiting for the females, they give their first concerts when the snow has not yet melted. With their singing, males show other individuals that this territory is occupied.

At the end of April, buntings, in most cases, find pairs for themselves, so that a little later, in May, they breed their offspring.

In the diet, these birds are not capricious. Buntings feed on plant seeds and insects. At the end of summer, large flocks of already grown up young birds can be found in the fields, which are looking for food.

Section 3. Bunting bird at home

These little animals are excellent singers, and it is for this talent that people like to keep them in the house. Previously, there was an opinion that oatmeal is categorically not suitable for home keeping, since it cannot be tamed. But this is not true. The main thing is to have patience, and then from the savage you can get a real

Buntings are caught most often in the spring, when they begin to sing, and you can choose the best singer. You can catch your favorite bird for feeding or a decoy female. Here, as in war, all means are good.

There are many nuances in the conditions of keeping oatmeal. For example, after capture, a bird of the genus Dubrovnik bunting is placed in a kuteyka for at least two weeks or its cage is covered with a dense cloth. During this time, the bird should sing with all its might. It is strictly forbidden to rearrange the “house” or change it at this time, the oatmeal can become silent and will not sing this spring.

In order for oatmeal to please with its voice, it must be properly fed. In summer, various insects should predominate in her diet. But from seeds containing fat, for example, it is better to refuse altogether - they can cause bird obesity. The most useful for oatmeal are millet and rapeseed.

We can say that oatmeal is unpretentious and hardy in content. But in order to enjoy their heavenly singing, they still need to create comfortable conditions, like real artists.

Oatmeal is a member of the oatmeal family. This is a small bird whose habitat includes Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe.

The European population is constantly falling, over the past 40 years the number of individuals has decreased by 50%. To date, these birds with interesting plumage are practically absent in Ireland and Great Britain. In Asia, these birds live both in the northern cold area, and in the taiga regions and the Kazakh steppes.

They are not found only in Mongolia, Indochina, China and India. These birds were imported to New Zealand in the second half of the 19th century from Great Britain and at the moment they have taken root there so much that they feel much more comfortable than in European countries.

Appearance of oatmeal

The body of the bunting reaches 16-19 cm in length, the wingspan is about 27-30 cm. The weight of an adult varies from 30 to 35 g.

They have a short but massive cone-shaped beak and a long tail. The head of the male has a bright yellow color with brownish lines. The chest and belly are painted yellow-gold. The color of the upper body is grayish chestnut. Throughout the body there are dark longitudinal variegated spots. The wings of these birds are dark brown. During the mating season, the yellow-gold hue becomes brighter. The plumage of females is duller than that of males, although the colors and shades are the same. Juveniles, regardless of gender, are colored like females.

Behavior and nutrition of oatmeal

These birds live in the forest-steppe and forests. Prefer territories with a small number of trees and bushes growing far enough from each other. They can be found in forest clearings, clearings, on the shores of lakes, in floodplains. In winter, they move to areas where people live. There they feed from the fields and gardens. In the old days, when many farms had horses, these birds could be found near the stables, where they ate oats, which is why they got their name.

The diet includes grains of barley and oats. They enjoy eating plant seeds. During nesting they feed on insects. Adults feed offspring with both plant and animal food. Bunting males sing, their singing is soft and very melodic. They usually do this by sitting on top of a tree or bush. They sing mainly in the morning, you can hear them from April to August.

Reproduction and lifespan

Buntings living in the northern territories go to the southern regions for wintering. They fly back to the nesting sites in late April - early May. The nest is built by the female. She builds it either in the grass or in a hole in the ground. It has a bowl shape. A nest is made from leaves and stems, for strength it is fastened with the hair of various animals and moss. The depth of the nest is 5-7 cm with a diameter of 10-12 cm. The female incubates two clutches during one season, each of which consists of 4-5 eggs.

A small bird from the bunting family, the common bunting is well recognized for its golden yellow plumage on its chest and head. It is distributed in the temperate latitudes of Asia and Europe, where it can lead a sedentary lifestyle or fly away for wintering to warmer countries. Bunting has also taken root in New Zealand, where it was brought by man. Standing out for her grace, grace and sonorous singing, she can even become a bright inhabitant of a home living corner.

Appearance - photo

A bird the size of a house sparrow weighs about 30 g, and reaches a length of 18 cm. During the mating season, the male of the common bunting differs:

• a large number of golden yellow feathers on the belly, chest, chin, cheeks and on the top of the head;
• numerous longitudinal streaks on the chest and goiter;
• a greenish-olive pattern of transverse stripes on the cheeks, on the sides of the head and on the forehead;
• grayish-chestnut with dark mottled back;
• dark brown wings;
• chestnut uppertail and loin;
• long tail.

The color of the feathers of the female is duller. Faded yellow tones have a greenish tint, and the brown color of the feathers is replaced by brown. Juveniles, regardless of gender, are similar in color to the female.

With the onset of autumn, the birds molting is coming, and then the yellow feathers are replaced by darker plumage. Only barely noticeable blotches on the abdomen and throat remain. At this time of the year, it is almost impossible to tell a male from a female. By spring, brown feathers wear out, and yellow plumage appears again on the surface.

Buntings willingly populate clearings, edges and clearings. Often, birds choose trees and bushes along the roads standing in open areas as housing. On open landscapes, they are able to detect the enemy in advance and fly away. Birds are not afraid of people, therefore, under suitable conditions, they can live even in the city. In winter, they live in harvested gardens and fields or on the outskirts. settlements. Bunting can also be found in the mountains, where it rises only to the subalpine belt.

Migratory birds fly away for the winter to the Mediterranean countries or to Western Europe. They return to their homeland in March or April. At this time, buntings unite in large flocks with sparrows, finches or other types of small birds, and go in search of food.

What does common oatmeal eat?

The basis of the bird's diet is vegetable feed. Most of all, oatmeal prefers grains of cereals and seeds of various herbs:

• plantain;
• yarrow;
• cornflower;
• dandelion;
• forget-me-nots;
• clover
• peas;
• shards;
• stinging nettle;
• fescue;
• bluegrass.

During the breeding season, birds need protein, so they begin to eat small invertebrates:

Chicks are fed with mixed feeds, bringing them already half-digested food in the goiter.

Reproduction features

In common oatmeal, puberty occurs at the age of one year. They start nesting in mid-spring. From the warm countries in which the birds wintered, the males are the first to return. They find a place for a nest, sit down not far from it on the top of a bush or tree, and begin to sing for a long time. Thus, they report that the place is occupied and invite females.

Ten days after the males, the females arrive, and after some time they begin to build the nest.

Bunting nests

For their dwelling, birds choose the edges of the forest or young coniferous growths. They do not settle in the forest area, because small birds have many enemies there.

During the breeding season, buntings choose a suitable recess among the bushes, and start building a nest. It takes them a long time to furnish their home. To make the nest strong, as building material birds use the leaves and dry stems of cereal crops, adding a small amount of lichen and moss to them.

From prying eyes, buntings mask their dwelling with the help of crushed stems of large herbaceous plants, which are added to the nest structure. Along the edges, the ends of these plants remain unwoven, due to which the bird's dwelling is almost imperceptible among the bushes.

Particular attention is paid to the bottom of the nest. It carefully lined with horsehair or small roots. If the construction is going on during the rainy period, then the birds try to put on the bottom as much as possible large quantity hair. In such a nest, the chicks will feel very comfortable.

Bunting nest is made in the form of a small bowl and reaches a height of 80 mm and a diameter of 130 mm. To ensure good protection for the chicks, the depth of the tray should be at least 50 mm. In this case, the babies will not fall out of the nest.

Nesting and chicks

During the season, the common oatmeal lays eggs twice. The first laying takes place in the middle of spring, and the second - in early summer. Each clutch contains two to six "thick" shaped eggs. They can be of a very different shade - pink, light purple, bluish gray or rusty brown. The eggs may have a dark pattern in the form of spots, specks, commas, curls. The largest egg measures 23mm and the smallest measures 15mm.

The female sits on the nest after laying penultimate or last egg. The female incubates them alone. The male does not help her, because he is responsible for food, flying for food.

After twelve to fourteen days, chicks appear. They are covered with thick grayish-brown or reddish down and have a raspberry-red or pink mouth.

Both parents feed the offspring. But after some time, when the babies have not yet left the nest, the female leaves them for the male, and she herself begins to build a new nest for the next clutch. The youngsters leave their “parental home” already on their twelfth or thirteenth birthday.

The behavior of the mother hen when an animal or person approaches is very interesting. She flies up to a branch of another tree, and begins to emit alarm signals in the form of a jerky tsukka or a long high-pitched whistle. If the chicks have already hatched, then in order to distract a potential enemy from their home, parents fall into the grass and, imitating a wounded bird, begin to crawl away.

In autumn, birds of all ages gather in flocks and look for habitats in open spaces where food is more available. The average life expectancy of the common oatmeal is about three years.

It is best to catch small birds in the spring. At this time, they begin to sing, and it will be possible to choose the best singer for your live corner. It will be possible to catch him on a decoy female or for feeding.

In the first two weeks after catching oatmeal, they are kept in a cage or kuteika covered with a dense cloth. These days, the bird sings, so changing the location of its new home is strictly prohibited. Otherwise, the bird will be silent until next spring. The oatmeal house should be spacious. In cramped conditions, they do not sing in full voice or do not sing at all.

Inhabitants of meadows and steppes at home require good lighting. To do this, the cage with the bird must be regularly taken out into the open air, and placed in a sunny area. Lack of light causes the feathers to fade to a dirty yellow color. Whitish spots appear on the wings and tail.

Oatmeal should be fresh drinking water and daily bathing, for which the cage is equipped with a drinking bowl and a wide container of water.

Feeding

The most useful delicacy for birds is rapeseed, millet, oatmeal, canary grass, weed seeds. Sunflower seeds and other seeds that contain fat should be discarded. oatmeal very fond of mealworms so you can include them in your diet too.

During the molting period, birds need animal proteins, which are included in a variety of grain mixtures and feed for insectivorous birds. In addition, oatmeal should be given fresh herbs, sprouted grains, mineral feed.

Beautiful songbird common bunting brings great benefits agriculture. It destroys the seeds of weeds and insect pests. And a pet living at home, with the right maintenance, will delight every spring with its magnificent singing.

Garden oatmeal is a small songbird from the order of passeriformes, which differs from the common sparrow in brighter colors. But despite the fact that in size and general view Buntings are similar to sparrows, systematically these birds are closer to another order, namely, to finches.

Description of garden oatmeal

This bird, belonging to the order of passeriformes, is widespread in Eurasia.. It is very similar to the common bunting, but it has a less bright plumage color. In Europe, she is also known by the name ortalan, which comes from her Latin name— Emberiza hortulana.

Appearance

The dimensions of the garden bunting are small: its length is about 16 cm, and its weight is from 20 to 25 g. Despite the clear resemblance to a sparrow, it is impossible to confuse these two birds: the color of the garden bunting is much brighter, and the body structure is also slightly, but different: her body is more elongated, her legs and tail are longer, and her beak is more massive.

In this species, color features vary depending on the sex and age of the bird. In most garden buntings, the head is painted in a grayish-olive hue, which then flows into a greenish-brown plumage on the neck, and then into a reddish-brown on the back of the bird, which in turn is replaced by a gray-brown with a greenish tint on the lower back and rump. The plumage on the wings is black-brown, with small whitish spots.

The lighter ring around the eyes, as well as the chin, throat and crop can be any shade from a rich bright yellow to a yellowish white that fades into a greyish olive on the chest of the bunting. The belly and undertail are brown-brown with a yellowish sheen on the sides. The beak and legs of these birds have a light reddish tint, and the eyes are brownish-brown.

It is interesting! In winter, the plumage of garden buntings is somewhat different from summer: its color becomes dimmer, and a wide light border appears along the edges of the feathers.

In young birds, the color is dimmer, moreover, grown-up chicks have contrasting dark longitudinal streaks on the whole body and on the head. Their beak and legs are brownish, and not reddish, as in their adult relatives.

Character and lifestyle

Garden bunting is one of those birds that fly away for wintering in autumn to warmer latitudes. At the same time, the dates when they begin migration, as a rule, fall on the middle of autumn. In spring, the birds leave their wintering grounds in Africa and South Asia and return to their native places in order to give birth to a new generation of garden buntings.

It is interesting! Garden buntings prefer to migrate south in large flocks, but they return from wanderings, as a rule, in small groups.

These birds are diurnal, and in summer they are most active in the morning and evening, when the heat subsides a little or does not have time to start yet. Like all passerines, garden buntings love to swim in puddles, shallow streams and in the coastal shallow water of rivers, and after bathing they sit on the shore and start cleaning their plumage. The voice of these birds is somewhat reminiscent of a sparrow chirp, but it also contains trills, which ornithologists call "oatmeal". As a rule, garden buntings sing, sitting on the upper branches of trees or shrubs, from where they can observe the situation and where they can be clearly seen.

Unlike sparrows, buntings cannot be called impudent birds, but at the same time they are not at all afraid of people: they can calmly continue to do their business in the presence of a person. And, meanwhile, it would be worth it to be afraid of people by garden buntings, especially those who live in France: this would help many of them avoid the fate of being caught and, at best, end up in a cage in a living corner, and at worst, do become a gourmet dish in an expensive restaurant.

However, in captivity, these birds take root remarkably, which is why many wildlife lovers keep them at home. Garden buntings living in a cage or aviary willingly allow their owners to pick them up, and if these birds are released from the cage, they do not try to fly away, but, most often, after making a few small circles around the room, they themselves return back to the cage .

How long does garden oatmeal live

Bunting is not among the long-lived birds: even under the most favorable living conditions, it lives, on average, 3-4 years. The maximum lifespan of garden oatmeal in natural environment habitat is 5.8 years.

sexual dimorphism

Male and female garden buntings do not differ much in size, and their body structure is similar, except for the fact that the female may be a little more graceful. Nevertheless, sexual dimorphism in these birds is clearly visible due to the difference in plumage color: in males it is brighter and more contrasting than in females. The main differences are that the head of the male is painted grayish, the back and tail are brownish-brown, the neck, goiter, chest and abdomen are yellowish, often with an orange tint, shades.

In the coloring of the female, greenish-olive tones predominate, and her chest and abdomen are whitish with a greenish-olive bloom. In addition, the feathers of the female do not have such a pronounced light edging as that of the male. But the female has a darkish contrasting speck on the chest, which is almost not noticeable in the male.

Important! The males of the garden bunting are painted in shades of a warm brownish range, while the females are easily recognizable by their coolish greenish-olive tone prevailing in the colors of their plumage.

Range, habitats

Garden oatmeal is widespread throughout Europe and Western Asia. Unlike many songbirds that prefer temperate latitudes, they can be found even in the Arctic. To the south, their range in Europe extends all the way to the Mediterranean, however, from the islands they live only in Cyprus. These birds also settle in Asia - from Syria and Palestine to western Mongolia. For wintering, garden buntings fly to South Asia and Africa, where they can be found from the Persian Gulf to North Africa itself.

It is interesting! Depending on part of their range, garden buntings can live in a variety of places, and often in places where they cannot be found in other regions.

So, in France, these birds settle near vineyards, but nowhere else in other countries are they found there.. Basically, buntings inhabit woodlands and open spaces. In dense forests, they can be seen in clearings, edges or clearings overgrown with shrubs. Often they also settle in gardens - cultural or already abandoned, as well as along the banks of rivers. These birds are also found in low mountains, on the slopes, however, they do not climb far into the highlands.

Garden oatmeal diet

Adult buntings mainly feed on plant foods, but during the feeding period they can also eat small invertebrates such as springtails, spiders, insects and wood lice. At this time, caterpillars of various pests, such as forest moths, become their favorite food. As can be understood from the name of the bird, its favorite food is oat grains, but garden oatmeal will not refuse barley, as well as seeds of other herbaceous plants: bluegrass, nettle, mountaineer, clover, dandelion, plantain, forget-me-not, sorrel, fescue, saplings , chaff.

It is interesting! Garden oatmeal prefers to feed chicks with food consisting of both plant and animal food. At the same time, at first, the parents feed them with semi-digested food, which they bring in the goiter, and then with whole insects.

Reproduction and offspring

The breeding season for these birds begins immediately after they return to their native places, while the females arrive a couple of days later than the males, who, after the arrival of the females, begin to sing songs, attracting the attention of birds of the opposite sex.

Having formed pairs, buntings begin to build a nest, and, to build its base, they choose a depression near the ground, which is covered with dry stems of cereal plants, thin roots or dry leaves. The inside of the bird's nest is covered with horse or other hair of ungulates that they can get, sometimes, however, garden buntings use feathers or down for this purpose.

The nest has an oval or rounded shape and consists of two layers: outer and inner.. The total diameter can reach up to 12 cm, and the diameter of the inner layer - up to 6.5 cm. At the same time, the nest is deepened by 3-4 cm, so that its edge coincides with the edge of the hole in which it is arranged.

It is interesting! If the weather is sunny and warm, then the nest building time is two days. The female starts oviposition in 1-2 days after the completion of its construction.

As a rule, in a clutch there are 4-5 dirty-white eggs with a cold bluish tinge, mottled with large blackish-brown spots in the form of strokes and curls. Also on the shell of the eggs you can see grayish-purple spots located under them. While the female is sitting on the nest, hatching future offspring, the male brings her food and in every possible way protects her from possible danger.

Chicks are born approximately 10-14 days after the start of incubation. They are covered with dense greyish-brown down and, like most young songbirds, their beak cavity has a bright pink or crimson hue from the inside. The chicks are voracious, but grow rapidly, so that after 12 days they can leave the nest on their own, and after another 3-5 days they begin to learn to fly. By this time, the grown chicks are already beginning to eat the unripe seeds of various cereal or herbaceous plants and very soon almost completely switch from animal food to vegetable food.

Toward the end of summer, young buntings, together with their parents, gather in flocks and prepare to fly south, and at the same time, adult birds undergo a complete molt, when the plumage is completely replaced with a new one. The second molt of the year is partial, and according to some researchers, it occurs in January or February. With it, a partial replacement of small feathers occurs. Garden buntings reach puberty by about a year, and at the same age they first look for a mate and build a nest.