Hanging parrots are birds that live upside down. How to understand a parrot: bird gestures A bird that hangs upside down on a branch

To an inexperienced breeder, a bird that has just appeared at home may seem like a creature from another planet, giving dozens of different signals that the human “radar” is not tuned to. Moreover, unlike mammals, birds are tamed - but never submit to humans. But parrots, like you and me, are very social creatures, and therefore incredibly expressive! If you dream of having this the smartest bird- this article is just for you, and if you already have a cute talker, test your knowledge.

Tuft and feathers

First of all, let's deal with such a distinctive feature as the crest (in those varieties of parrots that do not have it, everything that is said below applies to simple feathers on the head). So, if the crest “looks” back, the bird is calm. If the crest is pressed, the parrot presses its head into its shoulders and chirps - this is a submission pose (usually used in a pair of male and female).

If the crest sticks out on the top of the head, the parrot is interested or surprised.
A frightened bird differs from an interested one in that it stretches out straight and presses all its feathers tightly to its body. If at the same time the parrot extends its head and opens its beak, it is trying to scare and drive away, and also warns that it will bite.

A parrot may look ruffled if it is about to sleep or is already dozing. He may also be cold or irritated by something. In the latter case he will really have dissatisfied look. A parrot can thus express antipathy both towards its relatives and towards a person (for example, towards an unfamiliar guest). Sometimes a parrot may have this appearance during molting.

If the parrot sits ruffled, sleeps all the time on a swing or perch, and has lost its appetite, this may indicate a disease internal organs. But if the droppings are normal and there is no discharge from the nostrils, the parrot is simply moping (although who said that depression is not dangerous?) Or the bird, as if small child, thus trying to attract your attention (if you haven’t communicated with her for a long time or have disrupted her routine).

Wings

If, when you appear, a parrot begins to stretch, straightening its tail and one wing, then on the one hand, it shows how beautiful it is (yes, this is important for it), and on the other hand, it shows that it is not an empty place and has “weight in society.” "(If he tried to do this in the presence of the dominant bird of the flock, he would receive an instructive punishment for his insolence). If a parrot hangs upside down with its wings spread, then it shows everyone what a “daring” it is (or just for its own pleasure).

If a male or female has narrowed eyes and an angry “snake” look (severely constricted pupils), and at the same time the parrot spreads out different sides wings, without opening them completely, the bird protects its territory. This behavior is typical during the breeding period, especially after the female has laid her first egg. Parrots may display “aggression” towards everything around them, including, oddly enough, towards each other.

The parrot also spreads its wings when singing (courtship) - this time completely, to demonstrate the beauty of each feather. And this applies, of course, only to males. They are literally the “fair sex” in the world of birds: males have a set of XX chromosomes, while females have a “male” (in our understanding) set of XY. This is what makes females more aggressive, less tame and sociable, and they do not have any special talent for remembering words.

Beak

If, while yawning, a parrot puffs up its feathers around its beak, then it really wants to please you! This is how the bird shows how harmless it is: it doesn’t even have a sharp beak! In general, in our understanding, it is a typically “female” trick.

If a parrot creaks its beak and dozes, it is happy with everything and is resting. Shakes, fluffs up and sneezes several times. Spreads its wings, stretches, preens and cleans its feathers.

The pinnacle of bird trust is a request to scratch the neck (but only it, it is better not to touch the rest of the body, as this irritates even the most affectionate and tame birds). In this case, the parrot tilts its head forward, pushes its hand with its forehead, after squeezing with its beak or chirping.

If the parrot is excited, it shakes its head strongly up and down and knocks its beak on what it is sitting on: a perch, cage, etc. Walks from side to side, shifting, or jumping. If at the same time the parrot “smiles” (opens its beak) - it enjoys life. Sometimes excited behavior can mean that a pet needs a mate: the displaying male makes calling sounds, knocks his beak on the bars of the cage, raises the feathers on his head, thus trying to attract a female.

Paws

A parrot can press its paw: if it is clenched into a fist and raised up when it is resting or when communicating with you, this indicates its good health and trust, a feeling of complete security.

But if the parrot lifts and puts down its paw, or even worse, if the paw has become “wobbly” and the bird cannot step on it, this may be a signal of a disease of the internal organs, and you should urgently show your pet to a doctor. A sick bird may also sneeze with a painful appearance: the worst thing is if there is discharge from the nostrils.

Always be alert as parrots have a habit of camouflage.
your poor health. This is partly due to the fact that a female can beat a male to death if she instinctively feels that he is not suitable for breeding. This, by the way, is one of the reasons why you need to put your parrot in another cage at the first signs of illness.

Attention and inattention

If a parrot tilts its head to the side, it is listening to you with interest. But if you start talking, and he starts absentmindedly eating or preening his feathers, then most likely he doesn’t know how to react to you (perhaps he harbors a grudge against something and ignores it).

If a parrot sits on a perch in a cage, defiantly turning its back to you, this does not mean that it is offended - this is typical behavior, a kind of camouflage from everyone. He just wants to relax, he has his own schedule, and you didn’t come at the right time. Although it happens the other way around: the parrot was sitting with his back turned, and you entered, and he immediately turned around - ready to communicate.

Riot in a cage

If you see that your pet is huddling towards the exit, or hanging upside down on the bars of the cage, this is a request to let him out for a walk. The parrot can also shift from paw to paw and quickly run from side to side, showing impatience to quickly be free. If you do not pay attention, the request will soon turn into an insistent and indignant demand: the bird will begin to emit heartbreaking screams.

If a parrot rummages aimlessly in a feeder and throws out food, this is also a kind of demonstration of “freedom for parrots!” This behavior is often typical for young chicks when they are “torn off” from their parents and placed in another cage. If your parrot behaves this way, then most likely it was sold very young and was not fully cage trained. Over time, of course, he will adapt - but he really needs your friendship and attention.

Similar behavior is also characteristic of some “paired” species of parrots if they are kept alone. Their psyche is not adapted to this. Therefore, such a “bird” breaks out of the cage to fly away and find a relative. Sometimes the feeder is swung with such force that the lid comes off the base, which is very dangerous (the parrot can get free without your supervision). In the latter case, it is better to let your pet out for walks more often and think about buying him a pair.

Parrots are magnificent birds that delight the eye with their beautiful plumage and intelligence. The developed brain of winged birds allows them, through their habits, to communicate to their owner about their own mood, desires, and dissatisfaction. Beep in the form of a scream or chirp, it will tell the owner about the mood of his pet today.

These birds happily participate in games and solve “arithmetic” problems. However, often breeders do not know how to understand a parrot. As a result, the birds' needs are left unattended.

How to understand a budgie

You can learn the language of the wavy ones if you regularly talk to them. The birds are very sociable and enjoy interacting with their owner, family members and other pets: cats, dogs.

How to understand a parrot

A parrot's gestures can be active, cheerful, or express aggression and resentment.

Thanks to high intelligence, winged ones are able to make different sounds and words. Calm movements, quiet chirping or singing indicate the health and good mood of the pet. Screams, hissing, flapping wings are the first and discontent. The bird is inactive, hunched, wheezing or screaming - this means it is not healthy.

What do the different sounds mean?

The speech of parrots can be quite developed. With constant practice, they imitate human language, sounds of melody, barking dogs or creaking doors, etc. Sometimes they pronounce entire phrases clearly.

Based on intonation, the dialect can be divided into subgroups:

chirping;
scream;
singing, cooing;
rumble;
mating at the beginning mating season;
mumbling.

Designations of sounds that parrots make

On good mood the pet is indicated by measured singing. The sound tone is not annoying, it is quiet and unobtrusive. The observer may hear something similar to “tuyu-tuyu-chvik.” At these moments, it is better not to disturb the winged one, not to disturb his communication with himself.

Individuals of different sexes, living together in the same cage, produce sounds similar to rustling, rumbling or chattering. This means that contact between them has been established, and the birds are enjoying each other.

Beeping and chirping indicates that the pet is calm, but at this moment it is experiencing curiosity and trying to find out what is happening around. Perhaps he is watching his owner's actions or is surprised. The sound should be pronounced "peek", "chwik", "pew" or "chirp".

“Cha-cha-cha” is the sound that even an inexperienced breeder will pay attention to. He points out the excitement of his winged friend. There are two reasons for this:

Irritation and dissatisfaction.
Great and playful mood.

Indications of what the scolder says

When meeting a bird, especially if it is picked up, the owner may hear something similar to “quack”. This indicates that the parrot is asking to be left and not disturbed for a while.

Having played enough for the day, the birds fall asleep. The process is accompanied by a quiet rumble of “kwe”, “e”.

What do budgerigar gestures mean?

Daily Activities

Calmly pinching feathers – cleanliness and constant care.
The bird rubs its head and beak against the perches and bars of the cage - trying to clean them of food debris.
Pecking feathers under the wing - supporting healthy condition feather cover.
Hides in the plumage - the bird is tired and sleeping.

Signs of the game

The parrot hangs upside down on the perch or bars of the cage.
Swims, pecks at hanging bells and other toys, and swings on a string.
The chicks are flapping their wings while sitting on a perch - preparing for their first flights.

Appearing aggression and fear

He opens his beak to his new cagemate and doesn’t want to let him near the feeder.
Stretches its neck, presses its wings to its body - the parrot is tense.
Open wings, ruffled feathers, a fight between birds - competition between individuals of the same sex.

In general, here, in the Astrakhan hunting grounds, there are raccoons ( raccoon dogs) complete. I remember an incident when we were camping on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Volga. Every evening, while it was still light, a couple of raccoons came to us and thoroughly cleaned the place where we put the leftover food from our table. At the same time, they squabbled loudly, not sharing any fish head or bird bone.

And one day, when we were sitting at the table late in the evening by candlelight, I discovered a raccoon sitting at my leg like a dog. Our dogs were hanging around somewhere to the side; Having discovered the uninvited guest, they immediately drove him away, but, I think, not far...

Today we are driving to the far end of the island - the so-called Cape Cormorant. According to our host, this is the place for pheasants. We get out of the car and decide to explore the area surrounding the lake. There are dry eriks, large trees and bushes. Kat, released from the car, immediately begins to rush over someone’s ramparts, and one after another, pheasants fly up.

Apparently, a whole flock was feeding here, but it was just chickens, and we lowered our guns with regret. We disperse slightly, and Kat and her stand are working on a brood of partridges, one of which I took. Let's move on. A hare jumps out of the dry reeds, but there is no point in shooting too far. Turning around, he walks back into the reeds, followed by Kat. We walk a hundred meters, and again a hare jumps out of these reeds, apparently the same one, and right at us. Seryozha shoots, we are back with meat.

Waiting for us at the edge of the lake unexpected surprise. From almost a clear place, none other than a woodcock rises. We stop and ponder for quite some time where he could have come from in November. After all, the path of the autumn woodcock migration in our area goes towards the Black Sea, but here there is only the Caspian Sea ahead.
We moved on. Dogs literally dive into the reeds that grow along the shores of the lake; one by one the pheasants rise, and all the roosters.

The guys run as fast as they can, trying to keep up with the dogs so as not to miss the opportunity for accurate shooting, which turns almost into a cannonade. Kat is ahead of this entire human and canine team, and with her hunting passion she has no time for her owner. My age no longer allows me to run and shoot at such speeds, so I walk closer to the coastal bush in the hope that I, too, will get something from this hunting feast.

And sure enough: ahead, parallel to my progress, a pheasant is running, about twenty meters from me. He apparently doesn’t want to rise to the wing, but quickly runs with long strides - you can’t even think that a bird is capable of such a thing. I wish this nimble runner bon voyage, especially since she is a chicken.

In general, a running pheasant is a difficult bird for a pointing dog. Having sensed him close, the pointer makes a stand, and he, if he does not hide, runs with all his might, significantly breaking away from her. For such a pheasant, a spaniel is more suitable, which chases the bird without stopping, and overcomes reeds and other supports more easily than a pointing dog. But when hunting with a spaniel, you usually have to run around a lot.

I walk sideways along the lake, and now my hopes have come true. A pheasant picked up by the dogs in the reeds flies straight at me. I hit him, and he, flapping his wings heavily, lands on a tree about forty meters from me. The bird sits openly, sideways to me. Without hesitation, I shoot at her with the second barrel and see that I hit her. But, swaying and shaking itself, the pheasant continues to sit. I reload and hit again over and over again - it sits. One more doublet and the bird finally falls. Apparently, shotgun shot and cylinder barrels are not enough for such a distance.

While picking up a dead rooster, I remember an old incident. One spring, my friend and I, while in the Arkhangelsk region, went to see a capercaillie. My friend, as the owner of the current, went first, and soon I heard a single shot. After that it was my turn. It didn’t take long for the wood grouse’s song to appear, and I successfully jumped up to the singing rooster while it was still dark. He shot at about twenty meters. After the shot, the bird did not fall, but turned over head down, hung on a branch, holding onto it with one leg. I approach the tree point blank. The bird hangs without showing any signs of life, its wings are spread out, its head is dangling.

The thought arises that the death spasm cramped the wood grouse’s leg and he was hanging on it, being already dead. I decide to shoot the branch on which the bird is hanging. I shot half the cartridge belt, but the bitch was at least okay. I’m standing under a tree with a broken gun and thinking about what to do next. And suddenly my capercaillie perked up, pulled himself up on one leg and sat down on a branch; After sitting for about two seconds, he took off noisily and disappeared into the tops of the neighboring fir trees. I, with my mouth open and my gun broken, remained standing in place. A friend who came up, hearing my shooting, thought that at least a bear had attacked me, and rushed to help.

Photo by Leonid Sonin

But enough memories, it's time to get back to reality. I come closer to the shore of the lake and see Kat pointing another pheasant right at Seryozha. The hunter strikes, and the bird falls dead into the liquid mud almost in the very middle of the lake. Remembering my torment yesterday in almost a similar swamp, I really sympathize with Seryozha, but that was not the case. Kat rushes headlong into the liquid mess and pulls the bird out to a dry place.

In fact, I never taught my pointers to serve dead game from the ground (this is not a royal thing!), but from the water - always, but this required some effort.

We go further along the lake and come out to the opposite shore. Here the water comes to the very edge of the earth, there are no reeds, which means there is nothing for pheasants to do here. We go deeper into the forest, consisting of bushes and tall trees, surrounding the dry erik. Kat begins to fumble between the trees, and there it is: about five birds, all roosters, rise from the bushes and fly straight at us.

We unload the barrels full program, but in vain: the pheasants flew and continue to fly. It’s clear that everyone is a moron. We walk further, about five hundred meters, and see Paula standing with her head down, wagging the rod. Let's get closer. What kind of parable? A dog stands over a pheasant beaten to death - a nurse, and nothing more! Apparently, during our indiscriminate shooting, we finally got one bird. We head through the reeds closer to the car.

We've been here before, and there shouldn't be any pheasants, but Kat does anyway. Who would it be for? Forward! And again a woodcock rises from an almost completely clear place - apparently the same one that was raised when approaching the lake. I shoot and the bird is in my hands.

Woodcock is large, heavy, covered in fat. This is not a spring flyer, consisting mainly of a sublime of feathers, bones and dry muscles. Of course, against the background of golden pheasant roosters, the woodcock looks like a small gray bird, but if you look closely... Here and at this time, it is a very rare trophy and, accordingly, an enviable one. And the dog - oh yes Kat!

But let's return to the Astrakhan reeds. We returned home with rich booty and impressions, had a hearty dinner, drank a traditional “glass of blood,” lit the stove and went to bed; fortunately, our four-legged friends were already snoring peacefully. Well, what else does a hunter need?! This is our joy!

During fairly frequent hunting trips, sometimes for almost a whole month, my comrades and I had to eat exclusively game, and sometimes fish, cooked without any culinary tricks, most often directly over the fire. And believe me, this food, usually consumed for breakfast, lunch and dinner, is boring as hell.

Therefore, now, when I find myself at a feast where hospitable hosts offer ungutted woodcock, wrapped in bacon and taken out of the oven before your eyes, or stuffed with prunes and pheasant nuts baked in Antonov apples, I always answer the same: “Can I have my share of sausage?” However, there are exceptions to this rule - fried quail.

The age-old question about bats that like to hang upside down. Yes, it is really strange why an animal, a mammal, prefers to be in this position. Of course, some species of monkeys like to behave this way, but only when they have nothing to do. But bats are the only living creatures that actually spend most of their lives hanging upside down: feeding, caring for their young, nesting and sleeping.

There's a very good reason why they do this: in order to fly, they need to hang upside down.

First, we must recognize that bats are not birds or insects that use standard flight (as opposed to gliding flight). The difference between the flight of a bat and a bird or insect is weight - for example, the ratio of weight to the lift of the wings. If you approach a bird or insect, most species will be able to quickly take off from a stationary state.

But bats can't do that. They have serious difficulty taking off from the ground (not to say it's impossible, they can do it... it's just very difficult). Insects and birds often jump into the air when taking off to select the right direction in flight, then their strong wings quickly lift them up and up. Birds have hollow bones, and bats No. Insects are composed of light chitin or soft tissue; bats are not. And mice don't have what we call "powerful" wings. These beautiful creatures are primarily mammals. The only mammal species that can fly. Nature acted outside the box and endowed them with wings, so a compromise had to be made. Bats They feel great in the air, and in some way give the birds a head start. The only problem is takeoff.

To compensate for the availability excess weight mammal and difficulty taking off, evolution has found another way to transition from a stationary state to flight in bats. Evolution decided that it was best to hang them upside down to make swinging movements easier.

It was great idea, as it turned out. Except the bat can't land on a branch. They are mammals, not birds, and their muscles, bones, and tendons are built differently. When a bird sits on a branch, its paws firmly grasp the branch due to the peculiarity of the tendons. This happens automatically. This common feature for all types of birds. And the answer to the question why they don’t fall in their sleep.

In mammals, everything works differently. Therefore, to compensate this fact, nature decided to endow them with the property of hanging upside down. Thus, their tendons are designed in such a way that they close their legs with reverse side, not like birds. This is the result of evolution. When a bat is hanging and suddenly needs to fly away, it simply opens its paws and takes off as it falls. In fact, using this gravity-based method, they achieve instantaneous flight faster than birds, which have to cope with gravity.

Note: If you're wondering how bats defecate in this position... It's not a problem. The excrement is similar to grains of rice, it simply falls down to the ground when the mice are in a hanging position. They only urinate during the flight.

So now everything is clear. Bats hang upside down because they are mammals and cannot fly into the air like birds (at least without problems). But if they need to fly, they simply let go of what they are holding on to. Makes sense, right?

Evolution: the more you study, the more interesting things you discover

The swift bird is perhaps known to everyone. It can be seen both in the city and beyond. And this is not surprising, because swifts are one of the most common representatives of birds on the planet. They live on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica and several islands.

In summer, these birds fly through the air with loud, screech-like cries. People have become accustomed to them and no longer pay attention to them, but they do not know that they are seeing truly unusual birds.

Swift bird: description

Here are the main characteristics of the appearance. The body of swifts reaches 10-24 centimeters in length, weight ranges from 50 to 140 grams. The head is large, the eyes are dark, the beak is short and sharp. The wings are curved and long, the tail is forked or straight. Legs are small and weak. Fingers point forward, claws are sharp.

The birds are generally dark in color, with black and gray colors, however, white-banded swifts are also found. White color is present, as a rule, on the undertail, throat, belly and forehead. Females and males in appearance have no differences.

In the summer, everywhere, even in big cities, you can see flocks of dark birds flying in the sky, screeching. These are flying black swifts, which are most common in cities. At the same time, in the eastern regions of our country and in some other states, the bulk of the “urban” ones are white-banded swifts. In general, white and black birds are similar both in appearance and behavior.

Lifestyle

The swift bird belongs to the order Swift-shaped. In general, in nature there are about eighty species of representatives of this order. There are both migratory species and sedentary individuals. Swifts, as a rule, live in flocks and prefer to nest in colonies, which in some cases reach several thousand pairs. These birds are active from early morning until evening.

What do swifts eat?

The birds in question are very temperature dependent environment and weather conditions, which is their main distinguishing characteristic. If a swift bird is starving, its body temperature can drop to twenty degrees. This is why these birds have the ability to fall into a kind of torpor.

Swifts eat insects, which they catch in the air with their beaks, like a net. If food cannot be obtained, the birds plunge into a kind of hibernation and can spend several days in this state until weather conditions will not improve. Not only adults, but also chicks of this species have this ability. They can stay in hibernation for about nine days, while their parents fly several kilometers away in search of food.

Long-distance flights to obtain food are called weather migration. The swift bird usually flies away for the winter in August. However, again, in this case everything depends on the weather.

Reproduction

These birds nest in trees, hollows, rock crevices, burrows and caves. It all depends on the habitat. Birds live in forests, cities, mountains and deserts. Pairs are created for life.

The swift's nest is built from plant fibers, twigs and feathers that birds pick up on the fly. Every year the birds return to their former nests. Construction of the home lasts about a week.

The eggs are incubated by females for 16-22 days, during which time the male flies off in search of food. There are usually eggs in the clutch white, there may be four or only one.

The chicks do not leave the swift's nest for 33-39 days, depending on weather conditions. Their parents feed them several times a day with compressed lumps of saliva and insects. Then the chicks fly away, because they are completely ready to live an independent life.

Swifts cannot swim or walk, but can only sit on tree branches and fly. Therefore, birds drink, eat and even swim on the fly.
When bad weather conditions occur and swifts realize that they cannot feed their chicks, they throw the eggs out of the nest.
This is the most fast birds, whose flight speed can reach 170 kilometers per hour.
Some species are able to sleep on the fly, and the time of such rest can reach several hours.
IN wildlife these birds live ten to twenty years.

Difference from swallows

Swifts and swallows are very similar in color and size, so they are often confused. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that these are completely different birds. They even belong to different groups.

Swifts and swallows are quite comparable in size: the same wingspan, the same body length, but the weight of a young swift is twice as large more weight swallows. They also differ in color. Despite the fact that the plumage of both is dark, the swifts have a greenish tint and have a small white spot on the chin and throat. Distinctive feature The swift also has a sharp beak, with which it seems to cut the sky (hence the name).

Swallows have ordinary bird feet with three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing back. Thanks to this structure of the paws, the birds can easily stay on the perch and move along the ground.

Swifts have unique feet. All four fingers point forward, making it very difficult for birds to maintain balance. This feature determines the way swifts sleep: they hang upside down on a branch, since they cannot stand. In addition, forward-pointing fingers make it difficult to take off from a support, but once the birds take to the sky, they forget how stupid they look on the ground. In flight, swifts reach speeds of up to 170 km/h, while swallows only reach speeds of up to 60 km/h.

Another difference is that after wintering, swifts are the last to arrive, while swallows are the harbingers of spring.