tits
Without tits, the winter forest seems dead. Only a pine branch will creak and a snow cap will fall off the tree. But as soon as a flock of tits swoops in, the forest comes to life.
Tits, squeaking and kicking, fly from branch to branch, from tree to tree - inspecting every crack in the bark: is there a tree seed, is there a sleeping bug lurking somewhere. There are all sorts of tits in the flock: blue tits, tits, and black tits with striped crests on their heads...
Tits do not fly to warm countries for the winter, like other birds, and call to each other loudly in the winter forest. And in the summer the whole forest rings with bird voices, and the tits are neither seen nor heard with their modest song. In severe cold, tits fly to the huts, and the guys sprinkle sunflower seeds on the feeders for them, otherwise the hungry tits will freeze in the forest.
African ostrich
The largest bird species in the world is the African ostrich. Due to the peculiarities of its biological structure, the ostrich is not capable of flying, but adult individuals are capable of running at speeds of up to 70 km/h. The size of these birds is amazing: height reaches 280 cm, and body weight - 120 kg.
The habitat of ostriches covers almost all of Africa. They feed mainly on plant foods. Ostriches lead a sedentary lifestyle and are found in small groups, which usually include one male and several females.
Thanks to their excellent vision, ostriches survey the territory and try to leave it before predators appear.
The male takes full care of the offspring. After the females have laid their eggs in a special hole, which he previously dug in the ground, the male begins to hatch them. When the offspring hatch, the model parent protects it from predators and hides it under its wings, protecting it from the sun.
General facts about birds
Scientists from Harvard University during a large-scale study found that birds are close relatives of dinosaurs. Scientists believe that the ability to fly helped them survive during the extinction of other lizards. Next, we will tell you about interesting facts about birds for children.
Bird bones are hollow inside and filled with air. A unique biological feature lightens the bird's body weight, so they are able to fly. The jaws of birds do not have teeth, but they have two larynxes, with the help of which they are able to produce pleasant melodic sounds. Birds are able to sing from birth - this is how they communicate with each other, warn each other about danger and protect their territory. It is known that the body temperature of birds is several degrees higher than that of humans.
There are currently almost 11,000 different species of birds known. We will talk about some interesting facts for children from the life of birds in the following chapters of our article.
Woodpecker
When you walk through a spring forest, sometimes you hear “trrr-trrr-trrr!” overhead, as if someone is knocking on an empty barrel. This is the woodpecker's spring song. Woodpeckers will find an old, rotten aspen in the forest. They take turns digging a deep hollow for two weeks. The bottom of the hollow is covered with sawdust - and the nest is ready.
If you approach an aspen tree and knock with a stick, the chicks will squeal loudly and look out of the hollow. They don’t know how to fly yet; they crawl along the walls of hollows. They will grow up, scatter throughout the forest, peel off fir cones, peck at the bark with a strong beak, and look for caterpillars and beetles.
Sometimes there is a whole pile of dried pine cones piled under the tree. Nearby is a woodpecker's forge. The woodpecker will stick a cone into a split branch, peck out all the seeds, throw the empty cone down and fly after another.
The woodpecker is an arboreal bird. It hollows out diseased trees and uses its long tongue to remove pest beetles and their larvae. If there are a lot of woodpeckers in the forest, it means the trees will be strong and healthy.
