Sandpiper (bird): description and lifestyle. Sandpiper bird. Sandpiper lifestyle and habitat Where does the sandpiper live

Sandpiper (Limicolae) - belongs to the order of shorebirds, which unite 6 families: shorebirds, colored snipes, oystercatchers, avocets, snipe and snipes. According to the bridge, the shorebird habitat can be divided into marsh, mountain, sand and forest birds. This is the most numerous order of marsh birds. Fame, availability in all regions and diversity make waders the most sought-after trophy for hunters in Russia (woodcock, great snipe, snipe harshnep).

Description of the sandpiper

Sandpipers - birds of various appearance. Body length ranges from 14 to 62 centimeters, body weight - from 30 grams to 1.2 kilograms.

This is interesting! There are opinions that differences in appearance and ways of existence require the division of waders into two independent groups: the first - plovers, avocets, oystercatchers, the second - snipes, yakan and colored snipes.

These birds can be easily tamed. They quickly get used to a person, respond to care, adapt to the proposed living conditions and home food.

Appearance

Most of the waders are semiaquatic birds. This determines the features of their appearance. The body is graceful, slender, dense. The wings are usually long, more often narrow and sharp. The legs of shorebirds are short (plovers, lapwings, snipe), long (bartails, curlews), or very long (stilters). There are three or four toes on the feet (the fourth toe is rather poorly developed).

In some representatives of the order (webbed-toed sandpipers, colored snipes,) the bases of the fingers are connected by membranes, in swimming birds there are leathery scallops on the sides of the fingers. The leg between the lower leg and toes (tarsus) and the lower part of the lower leg are not feathered. The legs of waders are black, grey, green, yellow and red.

The shape of the beak depends on the place and method of obtaining food. This instrument can be long and thin, straight or curved downwards, and sometimes even curved upwards. And in such a species as the oystercatcher, the beak is curved to the side. There are birds with a beak of medium length, similar to the beak of a dove: the main part is slightly compressed, the nostrils are in wide depressions made of soft skin.

There is also a different form of the beak - expanded at the top, for example, in tirkushi, kulichka, shovel, white plovers, goiter runners. The beak is highly sensitive due to the huge number of receptors, and therefore serves as a faithful assistant to the bird in finding food. In addition, with their beaks, birds get food from soft soil and break the strong shell of crustaceans, extracting mollusks from there. In the squeaks of mollusks, a sandpiper can move a stone that is not inferior in weight to the bird itself.

This is interesting! The length of the legs is sometimes much greater than the size of the body. So, the stilt (Himantopus) has a leg length of about 20 centimeters, while the maximum body size is 40 centimeters.

The plumage of these birds is dense, without bright colors. The main colors are white, gray, red. Such a modest outfit is characteristic of waders even in the mating season. The color of males and females does not differ significantly. But some representatives of the order have contrasting bright plumage, for example, turukhtans, most lapwings, oystercatchers, stonewools, avocets, godwit.

Birds change plumage twice a year. The summer molt can be called complete, it is quite long - from the beginning of summer to winter. At the end of winter there is a prenuptial incomplete molt. Such time costs also affect the quality of outfits: there is a sharp difference between the color of summer and winter feathers of some waders. The tail of the sandpiper is short, some birds can shake it, but never hold it up. The eyes are large, which allows the birds to be highly active at night. They have excellent eyesight and hearing.

Lifestyle and behavior

Sandpiper - flock bird. Colonies of birds that are about to nest or are preparing to migrate number thousands of individuals. Among them there are nomads and there are settled ones. All birds of this order run fast, fly well, some can swim and dive. It is believed that the wader is quite easy to tame.

How long do waders live

The average life expectancy of birds is 20 years. The last time a flock of the Eskimo curlew, who previously inhabited the tundra of North America and wintered in South, was seen in the spring of 1926. In just 30 years, due to excessive hunting and plowing, this species was completely exterminated.

Types of sandpipers

There are the following types:

  • Zuiki. A medium-sized bird with a small head, straight short beak, short legs but long tail and wings. Body weight from 30 to 70 grams. Wingspan 45 centimeters.
  • snails. Medium and large birds in their order with long legs and a long beak, which is slightly curved upwards. Weight about 200 grams.
  • Godwit. Large bird. Weight up to 270 grams. The legs are long, the beak is of medium length, straight. The color is dominated by red. Usually settles in meadows along rivers in small colonies.
  • Curlews. A very large member of his squad. The weight of an adult bird is from 500 grams to 1.2 kilograms. The beak is very long, curved down. There is one thin white stripe on the dark tail. For living, he chooses swamps overgrown with low grass, floodplains.
  • Sandboxers. Very similar to a sparrow. Graceful little bird. Tundra dweller. It finds food in muddy soil. It is especially active at night.
  • Turukhtan. Differs in bright color. During the mating season, a magnificent collar appears. In a flock it is difficult to find males with the same color. Metallic tints of golden, blue, black, green make the outfit of males unique.
  • snipes. A medium-sized bird - body length 25-27 centimeters, weight from 80 to 170 grams.
  • Plovers. Representative of medium-sized waders with long legs and a short beak.

Range, habitat

Waders prefer to settle in areas located in close proximity to water bodies: along the shores of seas, rivers, lakes. Among the representatives of this order there are those that nest in dry and even desert places. There are waders living in the forest.

This is interesting! On all continents, except Antarctica, you can meet waders: on the cold islands of the Arctic Ocean, in the deserts of Central Asia and high in the Pamir mountains.

In Russia, representatives of this most numerous order of birds can be found in all regions: from the southern borders to the Arctic. Herbalists, lapwings, carriers, small plovers, woodcocks nest in the south of the Far East. In Primorye, there are handrails and Asian snipes, and mountain rivers are a favorite place for Ussuri pivers.

Japanese snipe and sea plover can only be found on the sea coast. In the Amur region there is a nesting area of ​​large and Okhotsk snails, fifi, long-toed sandpipers and common snipe.

Mostly waders are migratory birds. During the migration period, they rise to a height of more than 6000 meters. Most members of the detachment make long-distance flights: from polar Siberia to New Zealand and Australia, from Alaska to southern Argentina. These birds can be called long-distance migrants - they fly non-stop up to 11,000 kilometers, overcoming enormous distances over water, deserts, and mountain ranges.

Sandpiper diet

Sandpiper's menu is small aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates found on the surface of the earth or water: worms, larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, insects. Vegetarian waders are content with only seed grains and berries. The favorite delicacy of waders is locust. It is destroyed on the fly in huge numbers. Of the berries, the sandpiper prefers blueberries. Larger species of birds are happy to eat mice and frogs. Fishing waders will prefer small fish to any other dishes.

natural enemies

The enemies of waders are birds of prey. The appearance of a falcon causes panic among the waders: they scream plaintively and rush into the water. Diving, birds get a chance to escape. In shallow water, it is not possible to escape from pursuers. , buzzards prey on inexperienced and not yet too fast chicks, and skuas also destroy eggs.

This is interesting! Sandpiper parents bravely protect their offspring. If grazing sheep approach the nest, the birds attack the potential threat with such vigor that the sheep start a stampede.

Reproduction and offspring

In April, the waders begin the mating season. By this time, the birds disperse their habitats. Some species settle in colonies, most of the birds - in single pairs. They roam in large groups or singly. Flying over the nesting territory, preoccupied with finding a partner, they make sounds that attract attention to them. In different species, this ritual looks different.

Sea plovers at first quickly rush with trills, then, already on the ground, spreading their tail like a fan, they pursue females. Lapwings, in order to attract attention, take off steeply upwards, and then plan down, changing the direction of flight in one direction or the other. Small plovers fly in wide circles; descending to the ground, the males run after the females. The Far Eastern curlews, flying up to a height of 30-40 meters, describe semicircles and at the same time produce marriage trills loudly and melodiously.

Waders differ from other birds in the variety of mating relationships. They are characterized by monogamy, polygyny, and even polyandry.

  • Monogamy. The most common type of relationship. Parents form a pair for a season and incubate the eggs in turn, taking care of the offspring together.
  • Polygyny. The male mates with several females during one season and does not take part in incubation of eggs and does not take care of the brood in the future.
  • Polyandry. The female mates with several males and lays her eggs in different nests. The eggs are incubated and the chicks are hatched in this case by the males.
  • Double nesting. The female lays her eggs in two nests, in one she incubates the eggs herself, in the second the chicks are hatched by a caring male. Parents help the chicks grow in the same way separately.

Sandpipers nest on the ground, eggs are laid in a hole without lining. Traditionally, these are 4 pear-shaped spotted eggs with a greenish tint. Some species occupy last year's nests of other birds in trees.

Chicks are born sighted. Their body is covered with thick down. Toddlers can get their own food from the first days, but usually parents continue to take care of children - warm, protect from dangers and show places where there is a lot of food. And oystercatchers even bring food to nestlings. At the age of two years, waders are ready to mate.

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) is a fairly large bird (body length 40-47 cm, weight 420-820 g). This is a common inhabitant of the Arctic, which belongs to the order Charadriiformes. The inhabitants of the Faroe Islands, located in the north of the Atlantic Ocean, have made this bird their symbol.

Ornithologists distinguish three populations of oystercatchers, depending on their habitat. Each of them forms a separate subspecies, which differ in size, beak length and plumage color.

They call it Magpie because of its black and white plumage.

The northern oystercatcher lives on the coast of the Russian Arctic up to the Pechora River in the east. In the west of our country, there are mainland oystercatchers, which can be seen on such rivers as the Don, Volga, Northern Dvina, Ob, Irtysh, Tobol.

And, finally, the Far Eastern oystercatchers chose Primorye and the Kamchatka peninsula as their habitat. These birds prefer to nest on islands, sea coasts, banks of rivers and lakes. Numerous flocks of birds can be seen on the exposed areas of the bottom during low tide, where waders gather food.

This medium-sized bird is easily recognizable by its memorable appearance. The fact is that the sandpiper has a long bright orange beak and contrasting black and white plumage. The iris of the eyes to match the beak is red-orange. But the short legs are pink. Adult females and males are almost indistinguishable from each other.

But the color of feathers in young individuals is slightly different: instead of black plumage, they have brown, legs are light gray, and the beak is mostly dark gray, only orange at the base.

Oystercatcher is a fussy and noisy bird. The main cry, made both on the ground and in the air, is the far audible trill “quirrrrrr”. While incubating, it emits a sharp, repeated “quiek-quiek-quiek”, usually with the beak lowered. The last song, often speeding up and turning into a trill, sometimes comes from both members of the pair at the same time, or from a small compact group of birds.

These birds feed mainly on various invertebrates: insects, crustaceans, mollusks, earthworms. The diet of birds living on the sea coasts is supplemented with bivalve mollusks, for example, mussels, Baltic poppies and others. Oystercatchers also sometimes eat fish. In search of food with their long beaks, the birds stir up pebbles or wet sand.

Gathering in huge flocks on the sea coasts, waders are very noisy and hostile towards each other. Between the birds, fights are often tied for feeding places.

Oystercatcher can live up to 36 years

Oystercatchers arrive at nesting areas in mid-spring. Although their character is not easy, these birds are devoted and gentle towards their soulmate. Once formed, the couple is preserved, as a rule, for life. The nest for waders is a small shallow hole dug in sand, pebbles or short grass.

These birds do not bother themselves with creating special comfort: there is not even any litter at the bottom of the nest. The main conditions - it should be located on a small hill, so that the surroundings are clearly visible, and closer to the water.

Both parents incubate the chicks. As soon as they are born, downy chicks leave the nest on the very first day, but at first they are unable to follow their parents and get their own food. They stay close to the nest while the parents bring them food in their beaks, often from afar.

Grown up chicks swim well and in case of danger they dive, swimming several meters under water. The feeding period is about 1.5 months, all this time the chicks spend the night in the nest.

Oystercatcher is a large, crow-sized, stocky oystercatcher with contrasting black and white plumage. The large orange beak, laterally flattened, is quite variable in shape and length. The legs are low, pink, three-toed. There are no similar species. Males and females do not differ externally. In autumn, there is a white semi-collar on the throat, the end of the beak is darkish. Juveniles differ from adults in brown top instead of black, with light edges on feathers, no white throat spot, beak dark, with dirty orange base, usually shorter than in adults and more pointed, brown legs, brown eyes (in adults - red ), the naked ring around the eyes is dark, almost not expressed (in adults it is bright orange-red). One-year-old birds (2nd calendar summer) are well distinguished from older ones by the presence of a white semi-collar, a darkish (especially at the end) and more pointed beak, the eye and eye ring are brown or red-brown. Weight 400-600 g, length 40-46, wing 23.5-28.4, wingspan 80-86 cm.

Voice.

Oystercatchers are very noisy. When disturbed, they emit a sharp high and repeatedly repeated "kipik-kipik-kipik..." or "kaIik-kviik-kvi-ik...". Presentation, performed on the ground or in flight with an outstretched neck and lowered beak, begins with the same sounds, which, gradually becoming more frequent, merge into a continuous trill: "...quick-quick-quickquick-weekwirrrrrr". The call of a single flying bird is sharp "krrrIu".

Spreading.

Oystercatchers are found on the sea coasts of almost all of Europe and inland waters of most of Eurasia. Along the shores of the Barents Sea, they reach the east to the mouth of the Pechora, and can fly up to the Kara Sea. In our region, they nest from the extreme south to the lower reaches of the Pechora in the Urals and to Salekhard in the Ob. The distribution is extremely uneven, quite common in the steppe zone of the Trans-Urals, in most other areas it is a rare species with a mosaic distribution or is completely absent.

Lifestyle.

Oystercatcher is an inhabitant of open, mostly sandy and rocky shores of the seas, large rivers and lakes. Rarely nests on small ones, incl. and forest, rivers, as well as in meadows with sparse vegetation. They arrive very early, usually in small flocks or pairs.

Pairs of oystercatchers occupy large territories, which are strictly guarded from neighboring pairs. The nest is placed on the ground, not far from the water, completely open. There may be no lining at all or it is insignificant - from blades of grass, sticks, pebbles, shells, etc. Sometimes, especially during prolonged floods, they nest on stumps, at a height of up to several meters. There are usually 3 eggs in a clutch, less often 2 or 4, their color is sandy yellow or fawn, with brown and black speckles, curls, spots, dimensions - 50-72 x 33-49 mm. The shape of the eggs is not as sharply pear-shaped as in other waders, but closer to the "chicken" type. Both members of the pair incubate alternately. In case of danger, they leave the nest in advance, they fly around a person with annoying cries, sometimes they take them away (imitation of a wounded or incubating bird). Crows, gulls and birds of prey are fiercely pursued and driven out of the vicinity of the nest. If the nest is nevertheless ruined or died due to rising water or wave breakers, they can nest again. The duration of incubation is 23-27 days. The young stay by the water together with both parents who feed them at first. They begin flying at about 6 weeks of age. They feed on various aquatic and semi-aquatic invertebrates, but the main objects are bivalves, in our area mainly barley, which oystercatchers skillfully open with their knife-like beak. They usually feed on the shore or in shallow water, but can swim well and sometimes dive.

Oyster-magpie departure is stretched from the beginning of August to the middle of autumn. The last birds leave the steppe in October. The flight goes mainly along large rivers. They winter on sea coasts and large rivers in warm latitudes throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. Juveniles remain in the wintering area all next summer, they roam widely. They begin to breed at the age of 3-5 years. Adult birds usually return to nesting places of the previous year. The maximum known age is 36 years.

The mainland subspecies of the oystercatcher is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and the Red Book of the Saldinsky Territory. This is exactly the subspecies that lives in our region. In a number of its regions, the oystercatcher is a common bird, which facilitates its conservation.

When describing the species of birds of the Salda region, the book "Birds of the Urals, the Urals and Western Siberia" is taken as a basis. Reference guide. Author V.K. Ryabitsev - Yekaterinburg. Ural University Press 2001

  • fauna

Oystercatcher (lat. Haematopus ostralegus) is a coastal bird from the order Charadriiformes. It settles along the shores of salt and fresh water bodies. At the end of nesting, thousands of birds flock to feeding places.

Behavior

Oystercatchers are a migratory species. They nest mainly on the coast of the White and Barents Seas, reaching the Far East and Siberia. They fly to the south of Africa and to Asia or southwest Europe for the winter. Usually birds are located on pebble or sandy shores, although they can also settle in estuaries.

At the end of the breeding season, they gather in large flocks and usually settle in coastal areas, where there are ebbs and flows. In such areas, as a rule, after low tide there is a lot of food.

After the meal, the oystercatcher begins to actively pursue its relatives and scream at them. Often these games develop into real battles. Representatives of this species are closely watching the arriving and departing birds. If an unwanted guest approaches at a close distance, then the sandpiper signals an attack, and all his fellow tribesmen rush to the stranger with a cry.

Oystercatchers in their territory make life easier for other birds. They are quick-witted, avoid humans and can always recognize a fisherman or a shepherd. Observant birds know that they do not pose a danger to them, so they calmly let them in. They are wary of all other people and recognize the hunter from afar, raising a loud cry.

Despite its clumsy appearance, this bird is very mobile.

She moves in short dashes, often moving her legs, but on occasion she can run quickly. With wide-brimmed paws, it moves freely on muddy soil. The bird swims superbly and flies well.

Nutrition

The main food for waders is crustaceans, small molluscs and, very rarely, insects. The oystercatcher combs the coastal zone all day long in search of food. The slight movement of the mollusk makes the bird stick its beak into the sandy shore and catch its prey.

During the night hunt, the birdie combs all the sand. If a shell comes across, she grabs it with her beak and hits it against a stone. This action ends only when a hole is formed in the sink. Sticking his beak into the resulting hole, the hunter cuts the closing muscle and calmly swallows all the contents.

If a very large mollusk comes across, then the bird patiently waits for the shell to open its valves a little and then immediately stick its beak in there and eat its favorite delicacy.

reproduction

In early spring in March-April, birds find a mate. As a rule, a married couple is formed for several seasons. Spouses can return to their original place and use last year's nest to hatch offspring. At the time of nesting, a large flock of birds settles on the coast, overgrown with thickets of grass and shrubs.

The beginning of the current period can be determined by the loud cries emitted by males.

The resulting pair proceeds to the arrangement of the nest. Spouses dig a hole and equip a nest in it. Then the female lays there 3 brown and dotted eggs. Both birds incubate the clutch, alternately changing each other. The incubation period takes about 26 days.

The chicks that were born are covered with soft fluff, which makes them invisible. Barely dry, they leave the nest and follow their mother. For 35 days, parents carefully take care of their offspring. Then the juveniles become winged and move on to independent existence. Juveniles spend their first wintering together with adults.

Description

The body length of adult birds is 41-47 cm, the wingspan is 75-85 cm. Males weigh 425-805 g, and females 445-825 g. There is no pronounced sexual dimorphism. Dark eyes are circled with bright strokes.

The head is large, with a red and slightly flattened beak on the sides. The plumage on the upper body is black, the back and undertail are white. Small white stripes are visible on the open wings. In the air, the black tail opens like a fan. Long red legs are devoid of plumage and are equipped with three forward-pointing toes with black claws.

The life expectancy of the oystercatcher in the wild can be up to 35 years.

Oystercatcher, mainland subspecies- Haematopus ostralegus (longipes) Buturlin, 1910

Spreading: The type specimen is described from the headwaters of the Ob (Aley River). The area occupies the center and south of the European part of Russia, Zap. and, in part, Central Siberia. Sev. the border runs in the upper reaches of the Volga, captures the lake. Kubenskoe, rr. Sukhona, Vaga, the middle course of the Northern Dvina, the middle course of the Pechora and the upper reaches of the Ilych, in the West. Siberia along the Ob reaches Salekhard. To the east distributed to the lower reaches of the Abakan, on the Yenisei only vagrants are noted. South the border of the range in the Asian part goes beyond Russia, in the European part it captures the Volga delta, the Caspian coast, the river. Terek, coasts of the Black and Azov seas. Zap. the border of the range passes outside Russia. Within the range, especially in the European part, it occurs sporadically: in the bass. Dona nests in places on the Upper and Middle Don and large tributaries, Dono-Tsimlyansky Sands. Widely distributed along the Volga and its main tributaries, absent from most of the Volga reservoirs. Breeds in the upper and middle reaches of the Northern Dvina, Pechora and their tributaries. The Ob inhabits from Barnaul to Salekhard, nests on the Irtysh, Ishim, Tobol and the lower reaches of their main tributaries. Nesting has been noted on the lake. Chany, r. Chulym, rivers Yuzh. Ural, Saratov Trans-Volga, the middle course of the Desna.

Habitat: The oystercatcher is a narrow stenobiont that nests mainly along sea coasts, in well-developed valleys of large and medium-sized rivers, along the coastline of fresh and salt lakes in areas with sandy-pebble shallows, spits, and islands that are poorly fixed by vegetation. Avoids swampy and wooded banks, rivers with narrow deeply incised valleys. Occasionally nests in floodplain meadows, choosing areas with low herbage (abandoned roads, fire pits, drifts, etc.). Cases of nesting in potato fields and on dumps and alluvial sand pits have been noted. It starts breeding at the age of 47-59 months, the life expectancy established for the nominative subspecies is 35 years. A significant proportion of birds do not breed annually, remaining in the nesting area. Breeds in single pairs, in some cases together with lesser and lesser terns. Clutch 2-4, usually 3 eggs. One clutch per season. The easy accessibility of nests determines the high level of clutch death - up to 38%. Refers to distant migrants, winters on the coasts of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, India, East. Africa, Mediterranean. It feeds on sea beaches, on sandy and rocky littoral, on mudflats that become free at low tide, along the banks of lower rivers. Coasts that go steeply into the water and with narrow beaches are unsuitable for nesting and feeding. It feeds on invertebrates (crustaceans, mollusks, insects).

Number: On the sowing the European part of Russia as a whole is not numerous, in the central and south. rare parts. In bass. Sea of ​​Azov, the largest nesting groups are known on the Taman Peninsula (60 pairs) and Dono-Tsimlyansky Sands (100-150 pairs), in other districts it nests in single pairs. Not numerous along the Volga in the delta, more common in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. Before the creation of reservoirs, it was common throughout the entire Middle Volga, currently it breeds only in scattered small groups or single pairs, the number, for example, in the Kuibyshev Reservoir region, has sharply decreased. On the Upper Volga and most of its tributaries rare, the number is low. In Bashkortostan it is rare with a constant tendency to decrease in numbers. Separate very rare pairs are found on large and medium rivers (Dema, Sakmara, etc.). For most areas of the Central Russia is a rare or very rare subspecies, reducing the number. Up to 4 pairs / 10 km of the Oka riverbed nested in the region of the Oksky Reserve, on the river. Sura in the Penza region. nests 8-10 pairs, in the Ulyanovsk region. 50-60 pairs. In the Molozhsky spur of the Rybinsk Reservoir. in 1967-1971 counted 0.5 individuals/10 km of the coast. More common in Vyatka, where the number is only in the Kirov region. 700-800 breeding pairs. Rare on the Pechora and its tributaries - 0.02-0.18 individuals / 10 km of the riverbed. In general, in the European part of Russia, the number of breeding pairs is 2-4 thousand. The state of the population in the Asian part of the range of the mainland subspecies is relatively safe - in the bass. Ob, south Trans-Urals. In the subzone sowing. taiga in the Ob floodplain, the population density in nesting habitats reaches 21 individuals/km2. To the south, the number decreases sharply, amounting to 2-3 individuals/km2 in the middle taiga. In the south taiga is common on small rivers of the Ob floodplain, rare on the Irtysh and rivers of the subtaiga zone. In bass. Yenisei in the Minusinsk basin is very rare and the number is declining. The main limiting factors are the natural limitation of nesting stations, low breeding rates, sensitivity to the disturbance factor. The decline in numbers was facilitated by the reduction in the area of ​​nesting habitats (due to the construction of reservoirs), their degradation as a result of increased recreational use, and the increased pressure of predators in floodplain lands, incl. corvidae.

Security: Listed in the Appendix of the agreement concluded by Russia with India on the protection of migratory birds. An insignificant part of the population is protected in Astrakhan, Darwin and some other reserves and national parks. On the territory of Russia, special protection measures are necessary for the European part of the range of the mainland subspecies. It is necessary to identify the main places of concentration on nesting and include them in the composition of specially protected or natural areas with limited economic and recreational use during the nesting period.

 

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