Common grosbeak. Dubonos - description, habitat, interesting facts. How do birds behave?

In the animal kingdom, there are many individuals who can boast of the ability to disguise. But here, in order to be completely invisible and imperceptible, only a few succeed. Such a unique ability, a small bird has, grosbeak.

Description and features of the grosbeak

The closest relatives of the hawfinch bird are goldfinches, canaries, and. The maximum size of an adult bird is not more than 20 cm, while the wingspan in flight is from 30 to 33 cm. The most important advantage of this little bird is its beak. It is for the disproportionately large beak that the grosbeak got its name.

Adult grosbeak male has a beautiful, brown plumage interspersed with red, which is set off by a black spot on the bird's throat. The wings are black, with a wide white stripe, the tail also has a black color. This is what an adult usually looks like. grosbeak in the photo.

Grosbeak bird

Grosbeak female, not as bright, but has distinctive white blotches on the sides and on the head. These birds become especially beautiful in the spring, then they acquire a multi-colored and unusual color.

Although the grosbeak is a songbird, it cannot sing in the direct sense of the word. Instead of beautiful trills, the bird gives out an unpleasant chirp, somewhere reminiscent of even the gnashing of metal. Such singing is very short in time, and only during the breeding season can you hear the long trills of these birds.

And yet, this species of birds is considered lazy and phlegmatic, because it can sit in one place without moving for several hours in a row. Therefore, in ancient fairy tales and legends, the grosbeak is called a philosopher and thinker.

Grosbeak bird very fearful and cautious. This baby is almost impossible to follow in wild nature because, at the slightest danger, the grosbeak disappears. And, as we already know, this bird excellent master disguise.

At home, the grosbeak takes root quickly. But besides a beautiful appearance, the bird will not be able to please its owner with anything else. Therefore, you need to think a hundred times before getting such a pet. Indeed, in the wild, he lives much more comfortably.

Kinds

The grosbeak bird has a fairly large distribution area. Therefore, there are also several species of this small bird. The most common of these is common grosbeak. It is this bird that is the main inhabitant of the expanses of wildlife in our country.

common grosbeak

There are also such species of grosbeak as greenish-gray, large black-headed, living mainly in warm latitudes, and small black-headed, common in the Amur region and Primorsky Krai.

evening grosbeak, overseas bird. The main habitats of this beautiful and colorful bird are Canada, the USA and Mexico. The color of the plumage of this bird varies from bright yellow to brown. For its life, the evening grosbeak chooses mainly mountainous areas with coniferous and mixed forests.

evening grosbeak

Hooded Grosbeak can be found in the rainforests and highlands of Guatemala, Mexico and Central America. The plumage of the bird is bright, the predominant colors are yellow and black.

Hooded Grosbeak

Mountain, or juniper grosbeak, is widespread in the mountainous regions of Central and Central Asia. The bird can live at very high altitudes, as long as there are mixed or coniferous forests nearby. The main food of this bird is bright, yellow-brown plumage, usually seeds, wild fruits and berries.

juniper grosbeak

Lifestyle and habitat

Dubonos is widely distributed throughout the world, but this representative of birds does not favor the countries of Scandinavia. The bird is considered to be partially migratory. Most prefer to fly south. But there are species that remain for the winter in their places of permanent residence.

So, grosbeak in winter, is quite common in our latitudes, especially in the southern part of the country. And from the northern regions, the birds fly away, but they always come back every spring. A fairly large number of birds of this species live in, where nature itself has created excellent conditions for the permanent residence of the grosbeak.

The main places for its habitat, this shy and cautious bird chooses mixed forests and oak forests. In big cities: parks and squares, likes to settle in gardens, where there are a lot of fruit trees and berry bushes.

It is almost impossible to see the grosbeak on a tree, it always hides under the foliage crown or nestles against the trunk. But if the grosbeak is in danger, then this small representative of birds will definitely show its heroic character and will be able to give a worthy rebuff to the enemy.

This representative of birds nests its nests at an average and high level on trees, in dense foliage, this is the only way he feels his complete safety. Dubonos in general is very dependent on the place of its nesting. The bird, although phlegmatic for prying eyes, but during its flights, the hawkbill behaves very smartly and swiftly.

Never does this little bird, even if it needs food very much, fly long distances from its nest. Grosbeaks have absolutely no developed communication skills among themselves. The only time the birds begin to communicate actively is during the breeding season. Maybe that's why grosbeaks so often, and for a long time, go into themselves, sitting on a tree branch and thinking about something.

Nutrition

Thanks to its powerful beak and the ability to fly quickly, the grosbeak will never be left without prey. Therefore, to the question what does the grosbeak eat, you can answer simply, almost everyone. The bird's beak, which is about the same size as the head, does an excellent job of crushing any hard surfaces. Be it a walnut or tree bark.

Therefore, the grosbeak can eat both insects and plant foods. Especially the bird loves berries and fruits, which often becomes a big problem for gardeners. When cherries or cherries ripen, flocks of these birds can destroy the entire crop in a few minutes. But even among these delicacies, the bird has its own preferences. If the berries of garden plants attract the grosbeak, then mountain ash and elderberry, this bird does not like it.

Grosbeak eats sunflower seeds on a feeder

The bird in life is rather slow, therefore, its main type of hunting occurs on the fly. Dubonos during its flight catches insects, which it then feeds on throughout the day.

Sunflower seeds, peas and corn are considered a great delicacy for a bird. He will never miss the shoots of young plants, inflorescences of bird cherry, lilac and young leaves.

There is also something to profit from on the trees for the grosbeak, because there are many caterpillars and various bugs. Based on this, we can say that the grosbeak actively destroys harmful insects.

In the spring, when there is still no main food, and the insects have not yet woken up, the grosbeak is interrupted by the buds of trees, shrubs and seeds, which contain enough useful substances for active life birds.

Reproduction and lifespan

Every spring, the grosbeak begins to build its nests. Nesting begins in March, in a hotter climate, it may be February. It is at this moment that it begins mating season these birds, and then, finally, you can hear grosbeak singing.

The male begins courting the female he likes. In the process of mating games, the male bird spreads its feathers and begins a dance, which consists in jumping up to the female, and then bouncing off her. This continues until the female shows her favor, and rubs her beak against her gentleman.

Mating games of male and female during the breeding season

It is at this moment that the bird wedding takes place. Interestingly, these little birds are distinguished by their devotion and loyalty. After all, creating a couple, they remain together for the rest of their lives. Then the birds unite in mating pairs, and the daily, painstaking work on building their nests begins, which ends only in the month of May.

The nests of these birds have the shape of a deep bowl, reaching 22 cm in diameter, up to 10 cm high. The bottom of the nest is covered with a soft substrate, consisting of various blades of grass, hairs and foliage.

Now, the female can lay eggs. The clutch usually consists of 4-6 eggs, which can vary in color, from pale yellow to gray-green with a variety of speckles and stains.

Mostly the female incubates the eggs, and the male is obliged to feed and care for her in every possible way. But sometimes, the female leaves the nest in order to stretch her wings and hunt. At this time, the future father replaces his girlfriend, and sit down to incubate the masonry.

The process of incubation of eggs continues, about two weeks. After the appearance of the chicks, the life of young parents changes a lot. After all, gluttonous kids will sit in the nest for another two weeks and constantly ask for food.

Grosbeak nest with eggs

To feed the chicks, you have to hunt a lot and get live food, because the kids eat only insects. And only a little matured, they will be able to eat food of plant origin.

Here comes the month of July. The chicks have already grown up and now they are learning to fly and get their own food. This learning process takes almost a month. And only by August, young birds become completely independent and do not depend on their parents.

And in September, these chicks are already quite ready for long flights. But grosbeaks become truly adults by the age of 2, it is by this time that they reach full puberty. In the process of raising and training chicks, both females and males take part. The lifespan of these birds in the wild is not very long.

Not all birds can survive their five year milestone. After all, dangers lie in wait for these birds literally at every step, and even during long flights, many birds die for reasons beyond their control.

Grosbeak chicks

But, nevertheless, there are specimens that could live for 10 and even 15 years in the wild. Unfortunately, this is an exception to general rules, and there are actually very few such grosbeaks.

At home, these birds can live much longer than their wild relatives. Due to proper care and complete food, the life span of these little pets is doubled or even tripled.

Last spring, also in April, an unusual song of a bird caught my attention. The song was like this, either a creak, or a squeal, and still a low metallic “chirp” and a short melodic whistle.

A couple of days of hunting with binoculars brought results. With the help of the Russian bird guide R. Boehme, I. Boehme, A. Kuznetsov, as well as the Floranimal resource, it was found that this is the grosbeak bird singing. It was a small, strongly built bird with a beige back, and the brightness and intensity of the color varied from the base of the wing to the base of the tail. The back of the head of the grosbeak is whitish-gray (or rather, it even looks like a collar), there is a small black mask around the eye and beak, and a small black beard under the beak. The upper part of the nape and head are pale beige. The beak is black, massive, short. The wings themselves are brown with black flight feathers, on a black background - rectangular white spots at the ends of the wings. The tail is brown. The belly is also brown. But the bird is beautiful, leaves the impression of a parrot in delicate brown-beige-peach tones with black and whitish.

How do they describe appearance, habitats and dietary habits of the grosbeak reference books? The Latin name for the grosbeak is Coccothraustes coccothraustes. The grosbeak is a starling-sized bird or slightly smaller (18 centimeters long, weighing 50 to 57 grams), but more massive. This is a forest songbird of the order of passerines of the family of finches of the subfamily of goldfinches of dense build, big head and cone-shaped massive beak. The beak of the grosbeak is adapted for crushing the pits of fruits and hard seeds.

The bird belongs to the order of passeriformes, the family of finches.
Dubonos is the owner of 18 cm of body. Wingspan becomes 33 cm. Weight 30 grams.
A distinctive feature of the grosbeak is its massive beak, which is painted in gray-white color. With such a tool as a beak, the grosbeak perfectly opens the bones of the berries.

The plumage contains: brown, brown, mustard colors - in males, and in females - the color is more calm and pastel in color. Wings and tail are black. Females have a transverse strip along the wings. A conditional black triangle is formed on the body of the grosbeak, which covers the eyes and the area under the beak - it looks very beautiful.

Interestingly, grosbeaks are both songbirds and non-songbirds at the same time. The fact is that their voice cannot be called melodic, it is more like a strange chirp, short in duration.

Behavior and diet

There are legends among the people about the manners of the grosbeak - it is considered a lazy and phlegmatic creature. Indeed, the grosbeak does not shine with sociability - he prefers to stay away, in his case - high in the trees, away from the human eye. If it were not for the need for food, the grosbeak would sit on the branches for a very long time, but thirst and hunger force it to stop long meditation. Grosbeaks fly only at short distances - unknown paths are not for them.

These birds prefer such delicacy as fruit bones. With their massive beak, grosbeaks very easily split even the hardest bones. From the fruit abundance choose the bones of cherries, plums, cherries, as well as bird cherry. As an addition to their fruit diet, grosbeaks will include insects that they harvest from the bark of trees.

The essence of the grosbeak is shy. At the slightest noise, the bird will fly away. The flight is carried out alone or in small flocks. The usual height is 250 meters. Well, if the grosbeak has already got into flight, then it does not waste time in vain - it will definitely look for insects in the air. No wonder it's flying!

Distribution and habitats

The grosbeaks have chosen Europe, however, they are wary of the Scandinavian and northern countries. It can be found in Russia, Crimea, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus and even in the east of Japan.

Grosbeaks find forests, parks, groves, and especially orchards comfortable for nesting. This is easy to explain - the bones are the main delicacy of these birds.
Birds avoid coniferous forests.

Migratory or wintering

Grosbeaks are migratory birds - in autumn (early September to mid-October) they fly south. These birds have been seen in Algeria, Turkey and Morocco. The return home falls in the middle or end of March.
If we talk about the birds common in the Caucasus, then they do not need a winter flight, since the climate allows for a favorable winter in place.

Kinds

In the scientific community, it is customary to distinguish three subspecies of the common grosbeak. So, we invite you to meet:

This subspecies has a color distinction that announces itself as green on the wings, above the eyes and a little on the belly. The beak is grey-green. This bird is a carrier of a large, massive body, the length of which reaches 20 cm, weight 50-60 grams.

Occurs rarely. It has a dimensional body and a massive head, on which a large black beak is placed. Weight 60 grams, length 20 cm. Lives in the south of Russia.

Distributed in Primorsky Krai. The coloring on his head forms a female headdress - a bonnet.
Body length 20 cm, weight 50 grams.

female and male

Grosbeaks are monogamous birds that mate for life. Puberty and the ability to reproduce is possible after 2 years of age. Sexual dimorphism is not very pronounced and consists only in a more muted color in females of the grosbeak.

Grosbeak males have very modest courtship - tail spreading to display feathers, approaching and rebounding from the female. When the male feels mutual sympathy, beak contact and friction occur between the pair. The resulting pair builds a family nest in April. In the improvement of the home - both family members take an active part. Most often, the nest is located at a height of 1 meter from the ground. The grosbeak hides its nest in the bushes, so it is difficult to see it. The built dwelling is very durable, shaped like a tray.

Breeding at home

Despite their shy nature, grosbeaks quickly get used to people and get used to the cage. But among lovers of domestic birds, they contain very little grosbeak. The fact is that he cannot sing, and this point - lovers of bird trills cannot miss in any way.

cage requirement

If you decide to get a grosbeak because you are not indifferent to its unusual plumage, then you need to know: in no case do not put the bird in a wooden cage - over time it will free itself from it with the help of its beak. It is better to choose a cage made of metal, large sizes - 60 by 40 by 60. Take care of the bird's leisure: put a bathing suit in the cage.

At first, the grosbeak will behave nervously due to the change of scenery, but within a week this will pass and the bird will get used to the new conditions. Moreover, grosbeaks, with good care, live a very long time.

You can feed the birds with insects or food bought at a pet store, as well as seeds from fruits.

Breeding takes place in May. Usually there are 3-5 eggs in a clutch, which are incubated by both parents. Under natural conditions, during laying, the male completely takes care of feeding the female. Chicks appear after 2 weeks. In June, young birds are already making an attempt to fly on their own, and in August, the chicks become adult birds.

Grosbeaks are very slow birds - they will think twice before taking off from a branch.
These birds are also called lazy, since it is impossible to notice any activity in their behavior.
It is only because of hunger that the grosbeaks leave their comfortable positions - peace is above all!
Grosbeaks are very practical birds - during the flight they catch insects that they feed on during the day.
A distinctive feature of these birds is their thick beak, by which they are easily recognized from the mass of other birds.

Singing

Common grosbeaks are so cautious birds that they are often called "invisible birds" by the people. They belong to the order of passerines, family - finches, their closest relatives are bullfinches, goldfinches and canaries.

Geography of residence

The grosbeak lives on the territory of Eurasia from the islands of Great Britain to Alaska, however, there are places where it is difficult to meet them, since these birds are almost impossible to see in the Scandinavian countries and on some Mediterranean islands. The main population of European grosbeaks lives in Spain, Bulgaria, the Crimea, and the Caucasus. In Asia, they chose for themselves the northern part of Iran, Afghanistan, the territory of Korea, Japan and eastern China.

Grosbeaks, partially migratory birds - from the northern regions they move south, sometimes reaching Algeria and Morocco, and the population living in a temperate climate leads a sedentary lifestyle.

For their habitat, birds choose deciduous, mixed and sparse coniferous forests, they can also settle in urban pairs and squares, gardens, vineyards, but they avoid continuous dense forests. Favorite habitats are apple orchards and edges of oak forests. It is difficult to notice them on a tree, as they try to stay in the crowns of trees all the time.

Appearance

Grosbeaks are medium-sized birds, the length of the bird is about 17-19 cm, and the wingspan is up to 33 cm, body weight is from 45 to 70 grams. They have a dense physique, a large head, wings of medium length slightly pointed, and a short tail. It is worth looking at the photo of the bird and it immediately becomes clear why they are called grosbeaks - their beak is the most remarkable feature of appearance, it is large and rather massive conical in shape, the color of the beak changes depending on the season - in spring it is light blue, the rest of the time it is pink -yellow.

The eyes of the grosbeak are round and very expressive brown. The legs of the grosbeak are quite short, pink in color.

The color of the feathers of the male is brownish-brown with a red tint, there is a small spot on the throat, the wings and tail are painted black. The plumage of the wings is a beautiful dark blue with one wide white stripe. The tail feathers are dirty brown, the breast is chestnut. The plumage of females is slightly paler, there is a transverse pattern on the head and sides, the female also differs in size - she is slightly smaller.

The color of immature birds is not as bright as in adults - there is no blue color on the wings, and the beak is colored in light yellow tones.

In the grosbeak family, in addition to the common grosbeak, there are other species:

Greenish gray grosbeak,
Large black-headed grosbeak,
Lesser black-headed grosbeak.

Nutrition and behavior

The diet of the common grosbeak is largely due to their unusual beak, which they use to crack through hard pits of cherries, plums and bird cherry. With his beak, he deftly splits them and takes out the core. Also on the grosbeak menu are:

Rowan,
Elder,
Seeds of hornbeam, maple, thistle,
sunflower seeds,
Peas,
beech nuts,
Young buds and shoots of trees.

Flocks of grosbeaks can cause great harm to human gardens and orchards. They are able to destroy the entire crop of peas, which they deftly peel from the pods.

In summer, animal food appears on the menu of birds - caterpillars, May beetles, spiders, butterflies. They get insects from the crowns of trees, on which they spend almost all their time. Insects can also be caught on the fly. Grosbeaks are real orderlies of trees, eating harmful insects on its crown.

These birds are very phlegmatic during their movement on the ground, but in the air they fly very rapidly, but they do not fly over long distances, they stay at a height of no more than 250 meters.

Grosbeaks are afraid to stray far from trees, as the tree is a source of food for them and a reliable shelter from enemies.

Grosbeak portrait.

Dubonos near sea buckthorn bushes.

Dubonos. The photo was taken in Izmailovsky Park, Moscow.

reproduction

The common grosbeak is such a secretive bird that it is very difficult to take a photo of it even during mating games. These feathered monogamous birds, having created a pair, they remain faithful throughout their lives. Birds become sexually mature at two years of age.

The mating season starts from the end of March, however, the busiest period is mid-April. Silent throughout the year, the bird chirps animatedly in the forests and parks during the mating season. Having taken a fancy to the female, the male spreads his tail feathers and then jumps, then bounces off the female, but if the female accepts his courtship, then the couple rubs gently with its beak.

Grosbeak chick with dad.

A strong wind destroyed the nest of grosbeaks and they nursed the chick on the ground.

Birds begin to build a nest from mid-May, and continue until mid-June, both the male and the female are involved in the construction. Grosbeaks arrange their nests in the crown of a deciduous tree, at a height of about one meter.

To build a nest, birds use small twigs, roots, twigs, a bowl-shaped nest is lined with dry grass, horsehair, pieces of wool. The resulting design has a diameter of about 20 cm, a height of up to 10 cm, and a depth of about 5 cm.

At the end of May - mid-June, 4-5 pale yellow or grayish-green eggs with rare specks and curls of blue or purple appear in the nest. Hatching lasts about two weeks, and both parents do this - if the female needs to leave somewhere, then the male sits on the eggs, but this rarely happens. After the chicks are born, they will stay near their parents for another 10-15 days. Grosbeaks feed their children with insects, and when they grow up a little, plant foods appear in the diet.

In July, the chicks make their first flights, and in August they become completely independent. In early September, the birds leave the nesting areas. During the mating season, the female makes only one clutch. In the wild, birds live for about 5 years, in captivity they can live up to 15 years.

A young grosbeak at a watering place.

home content

Common grosbeaks are quite rare in captivity. In order to catch the grosbeak, it is necessary to use traps and traps, into which the birds fall very easily if they see a tasty bait.

Despite this, it is not difficult to tame them, for the first few days the bird tries to hide in a cage, but after a few days it gets used to it. The grosbeak's cage should be made of metal rods, as it will easily bite wooden perches with its powerful beak. The cage must be large - at least 50 cm long and 40 cm wide. It is not difficult to feed a grosbeak at home, in addition to its usual food, the diet can include fruits, such as apples and pears, vegetables, dandelion leaves and flowers, sprouted grains of wheat, cabbage and lettuce leaves. Birds must have access to fresh and clean water.

Before you decide and put an ordinary grosbeak in a cage, you should think twice, because apart from an interesting appearance, these birds are of no particular interest - their singing is extremely unmelodious, it resembles the creak of metal objects, and the bird sings extremely rarely - only during the mating season .

Interesting! Sometimes grosbeaks, chewing the bone, throw away the pulp and take it for the next one, as they are carried away by the process of breaking the hard fruit.

More photos of grosbeaks

The male grosbeak softly chirps something to the female.

Dubonos comes in for landing.

The grosbeaks are trying to figure out whose sunflower is.

Dubonos at the watering hole.

The beak of the hawkbill.

Grosbeak bird and Interesting Facts They already wrote about him About the grosbeak, but somehow superficially, so I decided to fix it. I hope it will be interesting.

Common Grosbeak (lat. Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a bird species from the finches family. A medium-sized bird (up to 18 cm long) The wingspan reaches 30-33 cm with a very massive bluish-gray (yellow in winter) beak, adapted for cracking the bones of fruits and berries: cherries, sweet cherries, bird cherry. The color of the plumage of the male is brownish-brown with a reddish tint; throat patch, wings and tail are black; on the wings one wide white stripe; wing lining white; the tail is short, the legs are brownish-pink. The females are somewhat paler than the males, with a fine transverse pattern on the head and flanks. Dubonos lives in deciduous and mixed forests, groves, gardens, oak forests, shelter plantations and parks, sometimes in close proximity to human habitation. His old apple orchards, cemeteries and the edges of oak forests are especially attractive. Usually kept hidden in the crowns of trees. It feeds on the bones of bird cherry and cherry, less willingly eats mountain ash and elderberry, as well as seeds of hornbeam, maple, thistle, sunflower, beech nuts. In spring it also feeds on buds and young shoots, and in summer - on insects (lepidoptera naked caterpillars, May beetles, etc.). The sounds that grosbeaks make in the spring are not musical, they are more like a creak. The call of the grosbeak is high "tsii ... qi" or a quiet, abrupt "tsik ... tsik ... tsik".

The singing is unattractive: a rattling chirp, sometimes quite long; being close to the female, they emit a soft “boo-boo-boo” and raise the feathers on their heads. Sexual activity develops gradually following the course of spring. The first singing birds were seen in the month of January, however, the real revival comes in April. Nest building in the common grosbeak begins in the second half of May and continues until mid-June (in different pairs). Birds arrange nests in the middle and upper tiers of the forest stand. The nest is a deep cup with loose walls and bottom. Nest diameter 200-220 mm, nest height 80-100 mm, tray diameter 70-80 mm, tray depth 40-50 mm. It is woven, usually, from twigs, roots and other building material. The outer layer is made of rough branches. The bedding consists of a small amount of dry grass stalks, thin roots and horsehair. The ratio of these materials in different nests can vary greatly.

Mass oviposition occurs in May. The clutch consists of 3-7, more often 4-5 eggs of a pale yellowish or grayish-green color with rather rare dots, spots and curls of purple-gray and blue. At the blunt end, a rim of specks is often noticeable. The duration of incubation (mainly by the female) is 14 days. The male sits on the nest only when the female leaves for feeding. While the partner is sitting on the nest, the male feeds her and guards the nest. Both parents take care of the brood. Chicks stay in the nest for 11-14 days. In July, both fledglings and well-flying chicks are found. Grosbeak chicks feed mainly on insects, later they switch to vegetable food. Departure takes place in the second half of August - early September.

The common grosbeak is very widely distributed throughout Eurasia (from the British Isles to Japan and Alaska), however, as a rule, it does not go far to the north and northeast, therefore it is rare in the Scandinavian countries. During migration they reach Morocco, Algeria, Turkey. In the central strip of the European part of Russia, the grosbeak occurs regularly. To the south, it is distributed in the Crimea and the Caucasus, in Siberia it reaches east to Japan.

At home, the common grosbeak is rarely kept, but because of its rather beautiful plumage, it deserves more attention. The grosbeak lives in a cage for a long time, is unpretentious, and although the first time after being caught it is shy, the bird is tamed rather quickly. The cage for it should be spacious and all-metal, or at least combined, since the grosbeak easily bites the wooden rods. The cage should have a strong bathing suit, as well as drinking bowls with clean water. The bird has a rather phlegmatic disposition, however, it is worth placing a “toy” in the cage that the bird could wag.

Interesting facts: - There are legends about the manners of the grosbeak among the people - they consider it a lazy and phlegmatic creature. - The phlegmatic appearance of the grosbeak corresponds to the nature of the bird, which tends to sit in the same place for a long time, moves a little, and only after some thought decides to flutter from the branch. However, the mental abilities of the bird do not correspond to these qualities, and it can hardly be classified as slow-witted. Cautious, quick-witted and at the same time unusually brave, the grosbeak has become a real scourge of gardeners. By raiding vegetable gardens and orchards, grosbeaks sometimes completely destroy crops. - Sometimes grosbeaks, chewing the bone, throw away the pulp and take it for the next one, as they are carried away by the process of breaking the hard fruit. - Around the beak and on the throat of the male a black spot

From September, the entire beak becomes sandy yellow and light brown in color and remains so throughout the winter. In the second half of March, the sides of the base of both halves of the beak begin to darken, rapidly spreading and capturing the entire beak by the middle, by the 20th of April. - V various places In its vast habitat, the grosbeak has small geographical color changes that are considered subspecies. So, for example, the Kazakh subspecies is colored lighter than European ones, while the Ukrainian and Caucasian (sedentary) ones are somewhat brighter and darker. - It catches insects in the air, and during flights it usually keeps at an altitude of 200-250 meters. Flies both in groups and alone. - Grosbeaks, in the event of an attack, defend themselves by biting their beak, which can be squeezed with a force of more than 45 kg.

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