Oriole plant. About the common oriole: a description of the bird. Description and features

All this is an oriole. This bird is one of the most beautiful in the world. In addition, she is the best songstress of Russian forests! Her trills are reminiscent of playing the flute. It is almost impossible to see this bird, because it always hides in dense foliage. By the way, in June, the oriole begins to make wild cries, like a cat whose tail has been stepped on. This is her battle cry, serving as a warning of danger.

Goodbye Russia!

Oriole - However, from the south, she returns to Russia later than the rest - in May, when the trees are already green, with might and main rustling with their foliage. And the oriole flies to warmer climes earlier than all other types of migratory birds!

Feed

Oriole is a useful bird! She eats a huge variety of harmful insects, benefiting plants and humans. The bird catches its prey in flight, and also collects on the ground and along the trees. Sometimes she is not averse to eating spiders or small snails. Interestingly, orioles and cuckoos are the only birds that destroy a special kind of harmful caterpillars that other birds cannot stand! At the end of summer, our feathered beauty becomes "herbivorous": she eats small fruits of trees, such as cherries, as well as pears and berries ...

Habitat

To date, this bird is inhabited throughout Europe to the very south of England and Sweden. It is also distributed in the forests of Southwestern Siberia. In general, the oriole is a bird (photo No. 2) very common almost all over the world! Just think: northwest Africa and also southwest Siberia and all of Europe! By the way, its tropical origin is explained simply: it is migratory bird! Moreover, in our area it does not linger for a long time. Already in August, they disappear from their nesting places, flying away from cold Russia to distant Russia. Here she is - an oriole!

Which cannot but please our ears, a lover of settling in old parks, gardens and alleys, as well as in thickets with rather tall trees along the banks of streams. Often it can be found in deciduous forests and light forests. Oriole tries to avoid coniferous and dense dark forests.

nesting

As mentioned above, in nature this wonderful bird is very difficult to notice. The oriole is a fearful and cautious bird. Therefore, it sticks to dense foliage and only on very tall trees! There she nests. Her nest looks like the most common basket of grass stalks, leaves, birch bark and other natural "building materials". There are no more accurate builders among the birds of her size than herself! Usually the female lays 3-5 eggs. Both parents participate in incubation. A month - and the chicks fly out of the nest! By the way, the nest of this beauty, skillfully suspended in a green grove, is very difficult to find for a simple man in the street!

"Hobby"

Some species of these birds are real cleaners! For example, the common oriole simply cannot live without constant bathing! This is her kind of "hobby". Ornithologists are touched by watching a bright yellow chick, which, like a lone swallow, plummets and rapidly falls from a height onto the surface of the water. This is a real happiness for all nature lovers!

Few people manage to see the oriole in its natural environment, because it lives high in the crowns of trees. Even the male, despite his bright plumage, is almost invisible in the thick of green foliage.
Habitat. Breeds in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Winters in Central Africa.

Habitat.
The European range of the oriole extends to the southern fringes of Scandinavia and the southeastern regions of England. This beautiful bird also found in North Africa and the Middle East. In Asia, its possessions cover a vast territory from the forest zone of Siberia to some regions of India. Orioles nesting in Europe fly to Equatorial Africa for the winter. Most willingly, these birds settle in light birch and oak forests, but often appear in parks where groups of tall trees grow, and sometimes nest in thickets along river banks and large gardens. These birds resolutely avoid forest areas with a dense forest stand and very rarely build nests on pine trees.

Species: Common oriole - Oriolus oriolus.
Family: Orioles.
Order: Sparrows.
Class: Birds.
Subtype: Vertebrates.

Security.
It often happens that, while learning to fly, a young oriole falls to the ground. Picking up a chick and taking it home or to the zoo, people unknowingly do an evil deed, because they deprive the bird of the opportunity to develop in natural conditions. The best thing you can do is pick up the chick from the ground and place it on the lower branch of the tree you found it under. Jumping from branch to branch, the fledgling will reach its own nest and will again be under the wing of its parents.

Did you know?

A pair of orioles can occupy a fairly vast territory. The area of some home plots reaches 25 hectares.
The sonorous melodic singing of the male oriole resembles the gentle voice of a flute. Females do not know how to sing and make sounds similar to the dry chirping of a jay.
Orioles in abundance eat hairy caterpillars harmful to the forest, which other birds do not touch because of the poisonous hairs that cover their body.
Ornithologists distinguish between two subspecies of the oriole. The first lives in Europe, North Africa, Iran and Asia to the Altai Mountains. The second subspecies is distributed in Central Asia from Afghanistan to India.
Outside of the breeding season, the male oriole sings only when the air humidity rises, foreshadowing imminent rain.

Reproduction.
Oriole males captivate the hearts of future partners with melodic serenading songs. As soon as the females arrive from the warm regions, it is time for courtship. For 4-7 days, each bird finds a mate, after which the female chooses a convenient place for the nest and starts building. The oriole's nest is always located high above the ground in a horizontal fork of a branch away from the trunk and is a skillfully woven basket. The bird diligently glues the bearing elements of the structure with saliva to the fork. The mount must be very strong, because the entire frame of the future nest rests on it. Then the female weaves the outer walls of the basket, using vegetable fibers, scraps of twine, scraps of sheep's wool, straws and grass stalks. Insect cocoons, dry leaves, moss and birch bark are also used in the color of the tree on which the nest is located. From the inside, the tray is lined with feathers, shreds of wool and moss. Having spent 7-10 days building a nest, the female lays 3-4 white, grayish-cream or pinkish eggs at the end of May with a sparse scattering of brown or black spots. The clutch is incubated exclusively by the female. After 14-16 days, approximately in the middle of June, the chicks hatch, and for the first five days the mother stays with them in the nest, sheltering them from rain, cold or heat. The male conscientiously brings food to the female, and she feeds it to the chicks, having previously crushed it with her beak. Later, both parents begin to feed the babies. At 14-17 days old, young orioles leave the nest, but, not being able to fly, they sit on neighboring branches and wait for gifts from their parents. At this stage of development, the chicks are called fledglings. This is perhaps the most dangerous period in their life, when they become easy prey for predators and often fall to the ground from their native tree. In itself, a fall is not dangerous for a chick, but it still cannot take off from the ground. Parents feed the juveniles even after they fledge.

Lifestyle.
Orioles nesting in Europe arrive at their native places in early May. The males that appeared first occupy the home areas, and after 3-4 days the females arrive. Outside of the nesting season, secretive orioles prefer to live in complete solitude - only rare pairs remain inseparable all year round. Orioles do not like open spaces and are limited to short flights from tree to tree. Their presence is betrayed only by gentle songs, similar to the sad voice of a flute. Orioles also feed on trees, jumping on branches and collecting all kinds of insects, their pupae and caterpillars. In summer, their menu is complemented by ripe fruits - primarily cherries, sweet cherries and various berries. In August-September, birds fly away to winter in warmer climes.

Oriole ordinary - Oriolus oriolus.
Length: 24 cm.
Wingspan: 44-47 cm.
Weight: 75 g.
Number of eggs in clutch: 3-4.
Incubation period: 14-16 days.
Food: fruits, berries, small invertebrates, insects.

Structure.
Beak. The strong beak is painted in dark red color.
Mask. From the base of the beak to the eyes stretches a dark, mask-like stripe.
Eyes. The iris of the eyes is carmine red.
Plumage. The whole body is covered with bright yellow feathers.
Wings. The flight feathers of the wings are black with yellow borders along the edges.
Tail. Wide yellow spots are visible at the ends of the outer tail feathers of the black tail.
Fingers. Three fingers point forward, one back. All of them are armed with sharp claws.
Legs. Thin paws are painted in dark color.

Related species of orioles.
The oriole family unites 26 species of birds belonging to two genera: orioles proper and fig orioles. Representatives of the family are widespread in warm regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Some species live sedentary, while others make seasonal migrations. All orioles lead a secretive life, betraying their presence only with a gentle melodic song. Males of some species flaunt in bright outfits, females are painted more modestly. Orioles feed on insects and fruits. The fig oriole is a rather noisy and sociable bird feeding on juicy fruits, primarily figs.

Oriole- when a loud flute whistle is suddenly heard in the young greenery of the May grove, we note to ourselves: the orioles have already returned. These bright birds one of the last to arrive to us from winter quarters. In central Russia, this usually happens in mid-May. And from now on, the sonorous voice of the oriole will be heard almost until July itself. Moreover, by imitating the whistle of the oriole, we can lure the singer lurking in the foliage to a more open place or lure closer to us.

The Oriole is very easy to recognize, especially the male. We don't have another such bright yellow bird with black wings and tail and a coral-red beak. (On the Far East another species lives - the Chinese black-headed oriole, which differs from the ordinary black nape.) The female is painted more modestly, greenish on top, and the bottom (throat, chest, belly) is light, yellowish-white, streaked with dark longitudinal stripes. The size of an oriole is from a medium-sized thrush: length 25 cm, body weight about 80 g.

Orioles are an inconvenient object for the observer, because almost all the time they stay high in the crowns and almost never descend to the ground. And if they suddenly find themselves on the ground in order to pick up some blade of grass for the nest, then they move in very clumsy jumps and there are no noticeable traces on the forest floor. However, it is known that the supporting surface of the oriole's tarsus is about 4 cm long; the length of the 1st finger is 1.7 cm, the 2nd - 1.6, the 3rd - 2.2 and the 4th - 1.8 cm.

Orioles feed on invertebrates, and caterpillars of butterflies play almost the main role in their nutrition. They also eat large caterpillars of hawk moths, and caterpillars of silkworms covered with prickly hairs, and wavelets. Adult butterflies, both diurnal and nocturnal, are also caught. They eat beetles, large hymenoptera, like horntails or birch sawflies, orthoptera (fillies and grasshoppers). From the second half of summer, the fruits of cherries, bird cherry, and currants are pecked. And in the southern regions they eat cherries, grapes, figs. With such food, the orioles would have to shed their pellets in order to get rid of the hard chitinous covers of insects and the seeds of swallowed fruits, but for many years I have not found a single pellet of these birds and have not even seen their droppings (it is possible that it is simply lost in the grass ).

Perhaps in the southern regions, where orioles often stay in forest plantations on lower trees, it would be possible to find some traces, like pecked fruits. But in the middle lane, in the habitats of the ivory, you usually do not even find lost feathers - after all, old birds molt on wintering grounds.

Oriole nests are built mainly on deciduous trees - birches, alders, willows, aspens, oaks, pears, and most often high in the crowns.

The first nest I found, however, was in a pine tree that stood at the very edge of a forty-year-old plantation. It was located at a height of 9 m from the ground and 2 m from the trunk. Outside, it was twisted from dry stalks of cereals, and from below it very much resembled a nest of a mountain thrush. Arranged in the fork of a branch, it hung down under it in the form of a wicker basket, and the upper edges were firmly attached to the branches of the fork with bast fibers braiding them.

Inside the nest was lined with thinner dry blades of grass. The dimensions of this nest are: width 12.5 cm, height 9 cm and tray size 8×6.3 cm. On the first of June, when the nest was found, there were 3 eggs in it, apparently, an unfinished clutch, since the eggs were fresh. Full clutches of these birds usually contain 4-5 eggs. Oriole eggs are similar in size and shape to the eggs of a song thrush or starling, but their color is different - white with a barely noticeable pinkish tint and they are covered with rare black spots. Egg size 30×22 mm, weight about 40 g.

The literature indicates that sometimes orioles can build nests relatively low, 2-3 m above the ground, but in the middle lane I saw them at a greater height, not lower than 5-6 m. I found them on aspens, alder and oak, and they always located on the side branches, and were practically inaccessible for inspection.

After 2 weeks of incubation, chicks appear in the nest, blind, but covered with a long yellowish-white down. Very often, after the nestlings of songbirds have hatched, on the forest floor you notice the egg shells taken out of the nest by adult birds. I have repeatedly found the shells of eggs and thrushes, and starlings, and many other birds, but the shells of oriole eggs have never come across to me. Perhaps these birds do not take her out of the nest.

At the very end of June or in July, young orioles leave their nests, and from that time on, family flocks begin to roam over the tops of trees, calling to each other in thin voices. Sometimes it is possible to see how the birds cross the glades, flying from one edge of the grove to another. It would seem that orioles overcoming open spaces should have been a tempting bait for raptors. But, having looked at a lot of materials related to the nutrition of hawks, various falcons and other birds of prey, I did not find an ivorologist among their victims. The only time the oriole was found by me among the food remains of the black kite. But I doubt very much that the kite itself caught this bird. Most likely, he found her already dead or severely weakened. Or maybe he ate the remains of someone else's prey.

By the end of August, Orioles disappear from our places and fly to South Africa for wintering, and eastern bird populations to India.

The passerine order includes an unusually bright color oriole bird- freedom-loving singer. It is almost impossible to see her in the natural environment due to the isolated lifestyle, caution and secrecy. AT Slavic mythology there was an omen. If a bird is seen in a bright attractive outfit, then in the near future a thunderstorm will overtake, it will rain.

Description and features

Out of 30 existing species the most recognizable Oriole living in the European part of Russia. Individuals of this species are difficult to confuse with others due to their distinctive features. Especially among the crowns of trees, the “golden” back, the belly of the male with a contrasting black tail, wings and an elongated straight beak, painted in different shades of red, are clearly visible.

A black line runs through the outer, inner corners of the iridescent red eyes, reaching to a strong straight beak. Thin paws are crowned with four fingers with tenacious claws. Elongated body - up to 25 cm long, weight - 0.1 kg. Oriole in the photo looks elegant due to the feathers that fit snugly against the skin. Sexual deformity is noticeable in coloring. The females are less visible.

Belly, chest - off-white or yellowish with dark patches, like thrushes. Green tones, shading the bright yellowness of the back, olive-colored tail and wings - the best disguise when incubating masonry. A similar color in young immature individuals.

If “fi-tiu-liu” is heard in the forest, it means that the male is trying to attract a girlfriend to create a pair. Singing oriole similar to sounds extracted from a flute. Pleasant whistles are replaced by chirping or creaking.

In moments of approaching danger, when communicating between representatives of the species or on the eve of rain, you can hear a sharp screech, reminiscent of a cat's horn. Females do not have vocal abilities, they can only chirp.

To see a singing oriole sitting on a crown branch is a great success. It is easier to observe it in a measured maneuverable flight, the speed of which in moments of danger increases to 40-60 km / h.

Oriole flies to open space when looking for a new food base or migrating to warm countries. The rest of the time it maneuvers, flying in waves from one tree to another.

Kinds

In addition to the Oriole ordinary, living in Eurasia, Baltimore, nesting in North America, the remaining 28 species prefer the hot climate of Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Of the numerous, most famous species, consider the most common:

1. African black-headed oriole. The population inhabits the African rainforests. Small feathered birds have a wingspan of only 25–30 cm. Plumage colors include yellow-green on the back, golden on the belly. Wings, head, neck, painted in black, create a contrast to the bright back, belly, golden tail with a green tint.

Start mating season, the number of eggs in the clutch varies depending on the habitat. In the equatorial forests, the pair is ready for breeding in February-March and lays only 2 eggs. In Tanzania, which has access to the Indian Ocean, birds mate in November-December, resulting in up to four chicks.

The menu of the African black-headed oriole for the most part consists of seeds, flowers, fruits. Insects make up a smaller proportion of the diet. The bird causes tangible damage to farm, amateur gardening.

2. Chinese black-headed oriole. The species inhabits the Asian region - the Korean Peninsula, China, the Philippines. In Russia, it is found in the Far East. Spends winters in Malaysia, Myanmar. Despite timidity and unsociableness, representatives of the species prefer to live in city parks, on the outskirts of deciduous forests near settlements.

The color of the feathers of males includes yellow and black. In females, golden tones are diluted with masking greens. The beak of the Chinese black-headed oriole is red, elongated in the shape of a cone. Unlike the African, Indian blackheads, the head of the Chinese is not completely dark.

Black color is only a wide strip passing from the back of the head through the red iridescent eyes to the beak. The clutch contains up to five reddish eggs with brown spots. The species is threatened by a decrease in numbers due to a decrease in areas suitable for the life of the population, poaching deforestation.

3. Black-headed Indian Oriole. Places of settlements of the species are flat, mountainous, located no higher than 1000 m above sea level, forests of India, Thailand, Pakistan, Burma. The Indian blackhead is more common in the central parts of the mainland, but in Sumatra, Borneo, and the smaller islands adjacent to them, it has chosen the coast.

The sizes of birds are standard for most members of the Oriole family. Length - no more than 25 cm. The back, chest, belly of males are golden. Wings and tail are black with yellow trim. Females are less bright, yellow color muffles olive tones.

In fledgling chicks, the head is not all black, like in sexually mature individuals, but with a golden-yellow area on the forehead, the neck is black with light rowans. Up to four pink, with different shades of red eggs in a black-headed Indian clutch.

4. Great-billed oriole. Birds of this species are endemic to the central and southwestern parts of the volcanic island of Sao Tome, located on the western coast of the African continent. The mountainous relief of the territory explains the habitation of birds in the mountain moist forests. The population is up to 1.5 thousand individuals.

In 20 cm birds of both sexes, the beak is wide, red with pink. Sexual deformity of large-billed orioles is expressed in color. In contrast to the black plumage of the male's head, in females the head is lighter, does not differ from the color of the back, longitudinal strokes are expressed on the chest. A pair reproduces and feeds no more than three chicks per year.

The plumage of most species of orioles includes yellow, black, and shades of green. But there are exceptions. The color of the black oriole corresponds to the name, the bloody oriole is dominated by red, black tones, and the silver oriole is white and black. The green-headed is distinguished from other species by its olive-colored head, chest, back and legs in blue.

Oriole rare bird, if referring to Isabella's species. A small population lives exclusively in the Philippines, is on the verge of extinction, is protected by the state.

Lifestyle and habitat

Orioles settle in deciduous subtropical and tropical forests, parks, preferring the neighborhood of water bodies. This is due to the fact that during the day the birds "take baths" several times. Males swim especially often. Most of the species are distributed in East Africa, warm Australia, South Asia. Coniferous forests are inhabited less frequently than broad-leaved ones.

If you want to know oriole migrant or not, specify the species. The main population of birds nests and winters in one place. The exception is the common and Baltimore oriole, which migrate from their native places for wintering, not counting the migration of other species over short distances during the nesting period.

The former go to African countries, tropical Asia, the latter winter in the central, southern regions of America. The oriole lives most of the day in the upper parts of the crowns of tall poplars, birches, oaks, and aspens. African species are more common in tropical rainforests, less often in dry, well-lit biotopes.

Dense vegetation, dark forests, high-altitude areas of the bird are avoided. During the summer drought, they fly to the thickets of the floodplains of reservoirs. Rarely, but still there are birds in the grass and shrubs of pine forests. Orioles choose territories near human dwellings - in city parks, gardens, in artificial forest plantations.

Orioles do not contact with other species, do not create flocks, colonies. They live alone or in pairs. They descend to the ground in exceptional cases, they try not to catch the eye of a person. This fact is associated with a small reproduction of offspring. During the period of feeding chicks, the male and female require an extensive food base - up to 25 hectares.

The inaccessibility of nests, excellent camouflage do not guarantee the absence of enemies among raptors. Distinguished by agility and briskness, adult orioles rarely fall prey to peregrine falcons, kestrels, kites, golden eagles and hawks. More often chicks become a trophy. Not averse to eating the eggs of crows, jackdaws, magpies, but parents fiercely protect future offspring, preventing the destruction of nests.

Birds are not adapted to life in captivity. By nature, they are cautious and distrustful, do not let a person close to them. At his approach, they run wild, beat against the bars of the cage, losing their feathers. Even if they begin to feed, they die in the near future, since the food offered in pet stores does not meet the needs of the oriole.

Songbird lovers tame chicks taken from the nest. But according to their reviews, the oriole sings very loudly and often unpleasantly squeals and meows before the change of weather. After molting, bright plumage is not restored.

The bird becomes shabby and unattractive in appearance. To hear the Oriole singing, it is easier to go to the forest. The bird is not suitable for the role of a pet, because if it does not die, it will suffer until the end of its life in captivity.

Food

Butterflies, caterpillars, larvae;
mosquitoes;
dragonflies;
grasshoppers, cicadas;
bedbugs, spiders;
flies;
tree beetles - ground beetles, leaf beetles, click beetles, barbels.

The oriole is able to destroy bird nests in search of eggs, to hunt small lizards. When fruits ripen in places of nesting, wintering, the menu is based on cherries, currants, bird cherry, figs, grapes, pears, apricots. Before fruiting, birds willingly eat buds, flowers of trees.

Only oriole and cuckoo can eat spiny hairy caterpillars, other members of the bird class of these insects are ignored because of their toxicity. Animal food is the basis of nutrition in almost all species, with the exception of the Baltimore, fig and African black-headed oriole, which prefer plant foods. Birds feed especially actively from morning to noon.

Reproduction and lifespan

Orioles wintering in warm regions arrive at nesting sites by mid-May. Males return first, followed by females a few days later. Attracting friends, the birds not only emit a melodic whistle, but also bounce on a branch, fluffing feathers on their tails. The female responds with ritual twitches of the tail and wings.

If several males claim it, then fierce fights happen between them, where the strongest wins. A week later, the orioles are determined with the choice of a pair that lasts for life.

Serenades are not only an element of courtship, but also a designation of a fodder territory, which will be the greater, the more vocal the singer is and the longer the song is. Orioles prefer to nest high in the crowns of broad-leaved trees at a height of 6 to 15 m from the ground, but they can nest in willow thickets or on pines. Both parents participate in the event. Responsibilities within the couple are strictly delineated. Future father brings construction material, the female is engaged in construction.

The place is chosen at a distance from the trunk in the fork of the branches. When creating a nest, which takes a week and a half, soaked bast fibers, stems of blades of grass, birch bark, and leaves are used. The cracks are closed with cobwebs, tow. The bottom is lined with soft moss, fluff. For the purpose of masking, the outer walls are lined with birch bark from the trunk.

oriole nest has the shape of an even springy basket, and in tropical species it looks like an elongated pouch. The structure is attached to the branches so that it looks half-suspended between two branches.

In the common oriole, the depth of the cradle for chicks is 9 cm, the diameter is up to 16 cm. Ornithologists noticed that the nest was tilted towards the trunk after construction was completed. This position is designed for the weight of the chicks. Under their mass, the structure is leveled. If there is no roll initially, the chicks will fall out of the nest to the ground.

More often, the oriole lays 4 pink eggs with brown specks, weighing 0.4–0.5 g, less often - 3 or 5. The female usually incubates the clutch, which is occasionally replaced by the second parent during feeding and during the hottest hours. The future father protects the female and eggs from uninvited guests. Drives away crows, forty, encroaching on the inviolability of the nest.

Two weeks later, blind chicks hatch through the shell, covered with a rare soft gray-yellow fluff. For the first 5 days, the female does not leave the nest, warming the fledgling bodies. The father takes care of food.

Later, both parents feed the offspring. Scientists have calculated that a couple arrives with prey at least 200 times a day. Abundant nutrition with animal food, and later with fruits, is reflected in the rapid growth of chicks. It is noteworthy that birds first kill large insects by hitting branches or a tree trunk several times.

After 2.5 weeks, young birds no longer fit in the nest, they move to the nearest branches. The fluff is replaced by plumage, but the chicks cannot yet fly, they make only the first attempts. At this time, they are especially vulnerable, as they become easy prey for feathered predators, they can fall to the ground, die of hunger.

If a chick is found on the ground, it is recommended to put it on the lower branch. By moving along the tree and making short flights, he will be able to return to the nest. Fledglings need parental support for another 14 days, then they begin to lead an independent lifestyle. Sexual maturity of young birds occurs by the next May.

Adults fly away for the winter, as well as young adults that have gained strength at the end of August. The common oriole reaches Africa by October. With an abundance of food supply, favorable weather conditions, birds live up to 15 years. The average life expectancy is 8 years. Orioles live up to 3–4 years in cages and die without leaving offspring.

Appearance and behavior. Somewhat larger, body length 23–25 cm, weight 50–90 g, wingspan 45 cm. The appearance and coloration are very characteristic. The physique is slender, the body and wings are slightly elongated, strong legs are slightly shortened. The beak is rather long, strong, slightly curved, the nostrils are open, and there are no bristles in the corners of the mouth. Active during the day, keeps secretly in the crowns, usually betrays its presence with a voice. More often you can see birds flying than sitting in the foliage, which are not at all unmasked by bright colors.

Description. An adult male is unmistakably recognizable by its bright contrasting coloration. It is bright yellow with black wings, tail, bridle, yellow spots are visible along the edge of the tail, there is a yellow band on the covering feathers of the brush. The iris and beak are red, the legs are grayish. The female and first-year male are yellowish-green above, whitish-yellow with longitudinal dark streaks below, with dark (not black) wings. The dark bridle is weakly expressed, the tone of the iris and beak is reddish, not red. However, there are females almost as bright as males. Young birds are grayish-green above with an indistinct scaly pattern, light below with longitudinal black strokes, wings and tail are dark olive, beak and iris are dull. In flight, pointed wings, a contrasting tail pattern are characteristic, the female has a yellow (like a green woodpecker) rump.

Voice. The song is a whistling flute phrase " fiu liu», « fiu-liu-li”, nearby you can also hear quiet, unintelligible squeaks and chirps. Call of alarm or contact signal - a short nasal sound or meowing screech, usually compared to the cry of a cat "pinching its tail".

Distribution, status. The nesting range covers almost all of Europe except for the northern parts, northwest Africa, the Near and Middle East to Dzungaria and western Mongolia. Settled lives in India. It is widely distributed in European Russia, in the Caucasus, in the southern and middle taiga and forest-steppes of Siberia it reaches Tuva in the east. With the exception of Indian populations, it is migratory, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia. In the region as a whole, it is common, but, in comparison with other passerines, not numerous. It is more common in broad-leaved forests and the forest-steppe zone, rare in the taiga zone, occurs sporadically.

Lifestyle. One of the latest arriving birds, appears in most of Russia after full blooming of leaves on trees, usually in the middle or end of May, in the middle taiga - in early June. Departure goes unnoticed and ends by the end of August or the beginning of September. The flock does not form. During the nesting period, it inhabits light, mainly deciduous forests, forest-steppe groves and groves, forest belts. Willingly nests in parks and gardens. During the formation of pairs, birds chase each other, fierce fights occur between males. A neat nest-purse made of strips of bast, birch bark, leaves, cobwebs usually hangs in a horizontal fork of thin branches on a deciduous tree (especially often on a birch) at a height of 7–15 m, and sometimes even higher. Outside, the nest is lined with moss, in the tray there is wool, feathers, thin stems.

The clutch usually contains 4 shiny pinkish or cream-colored eggs with reddish-brown and gray-violet spots. Incubation lasts about 20 days, both partners incubate the clutch, mostly the female, the male feeds her and occasionally replaces her on the nest. The chicks hatch covered with rather thick short reddish-white down and leave the nest on the 19th–20th day (according to other sources, on the 15th–17th day). At the nest, the birds are aggressive, successfully driving away medium-sized predators. Fledglings appear at the end of June or beginning of July, they wander with their parents for some time. One brood per year.

It feeds on a variety of insects, especially caterpillars, collecting them in crowns, very rarely on the ground. Like the cuckoo, it is able to eat hairy caterpillars that are inedible for other birds. It also eats juicy fruits.

Oriole, or common oriole ( Oriolus oriolus)

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