Feeding of birds. Part One

Birds have a very high metabolic rate. The body temperature of some of them reaches 42 degrees Celsius. Birds expend a lot of energy during flight. The size of birds, especially insectivores, is not large and high heat transfer requires energy replenishment. All this leads to the fact that birds, especially small ones, consume a lot of food relative to their size. The food is varied, but in small birds it is high in calories, since the mass of a bird with a full intestine cannot be excessive: the bird should not lose the ability to fly. Morphological adaptations of birds are determined mainly by the method of obtaining food. Grouse feed on alder cones in winter from chicken birds, black grouse on catkins and buds of birch, capercaillie on pine needles. The least high—calorie food of white and tundra partridges is willow twigs, aspen, birch. Of the passerine birds, the ravens are the most omnivorous. However, some food specialization is noticeable among them: crows, crows and magpies are largely predators, jackdaws and rooks are more insectivorous than others, and jay and cedar in autumn prefer acorns (jay) and pine nuts (cedar). There is a large group of so-called grain-eating birds (sparrows, finches, buntings, larks, etc.). However, this name is relative, since they feed the chicks with insects and in summer they mostly feed on them themselves. Insectivorous birds (tits, warblers, skates) also feed on insects in summer, but from arrival, or during wintering, when there are no insects, many are content with seeds. In autumn, a large group of migratory birds switch to feeding on various berries (thrushes, warblers, redstart, robin). With an abundant harvest of mountain ash, blackbirds even remain to winter in the middle zone of our country. Berries are also fed by the northern guests of the middle band — the pipits. From the point of view of plant protection from harmful insects, we are most interested in small insectivorous birds. Some of them specialize in certain groups of insects. For example, only woodpeckers are able to get to bark beetles. The grey flycatcher catches flying flies on the fly, the oriole eats large caterpillars; cuckoos also feed on caterpillars, but do not avoid those covered with hairs. Finches prefer beetles to all insects.


Great tits at all latitudes from Arkhangelsk to the Crimea feed chicks with small caterpillars (about 80%). Thus, the benefit of birds is determined by the composition of their preferred feed, as well as the amount of feed consumed by each bird. Smaller birds eat more food relative to their body weight. So, under experimental conditions, the nightingale (its mass is 26 g) ate 70% of ringed silkworm butterflies per day relative to the weight of the bird, the great tit (19 g) ate the caterpillars of the ringed silkworm, which made up 177% of its mass, and the small nut (11 g) — caterpillars of the unpaired silkworm 183%. Chicks eat especially a lot of food, as they grow very fast. New customers have the opportunity to obtain the 1xBet bonus code and activate a bonus with this renowned bookmaker. Find all the essential details about the code and its usage in the following sections. Once you have utilized the 1xBet promo code , you will gain access to additional bonuses offered by the brand. Explore the comprehensive list of bonus offers that await you upon registering with 1xBet. With a wide range of sports and events to choose from, the sportsbook at 1xBet provides numerous options for bettors. In total, there are nearly 40 different sports and events available for placing bets.