Bullfinch, or common bullfinch (lat. Pyrrhula pyrrhula). Bullfinch bird: description with photos and videos, where they live in winter and summer, what they eat, origin of the name of the bullfinch bird

Winter is snow time! Near the house the garden, like a crystal palace, sparkles in the sun. Each tree is decorated with openwork fringe, the trunks are covered with frost. And brooding birds, bullfinches, sit on the branches with bright pink buds. They are fluffy, in soft pink colors, and have black hats on their heads. They sit and preen themselves. Illuminated by the rays of the sun, against the background of dazzling snow they seem like fairy lights and present a delightful sight. Don't take your eyes off it - admire it!

But what is it? No way, are bullfinches singing? Quiet minor tune. It was as if a psaltery player touched a string, and bright, clear music began to sound in the forest. And immediately my soul felt somehow lighter. In winter, when a melancholy feeling creeps into even the most carefree heart, this unpretentious but pleasantly caressing flute whistle that suddenly appears in the silence of the day is especially sweet.

Let's come closer! Bullfinch– the bird is trusting and somewhat suspicious. Sitting next to a person, he continues to do his job and does not fly off the branch for a long time. Even while having breakfast, he will not stop singing. The female looks more modest than the male, in a grayish-smoky outfit. And he sings the same way, whistling in his voice. Bullfinches are a rare exception in the feathered world - both males and females sing. Usually the females are deprived of this wonderful feature.

Where do bullfinches like to live?

The bullfinch is a pure bird. And everyone knows him. In winter, the handsome ruddy bullfinch appears near human dwellings, along with other feathered inhabitants of the taiga. This red-breasted bird is trusting and good-natured.

Favorite habitat: coniferous and mixed forests. In winter, wandering, it is found everywhere, even in villages and cities.

In April, it begins to build a nest, most often in the dense branches of fir trees. Lays 4-6 light blue eggs with red-brown dots and blotches. At the blunt end of the egg they gather into a corolla. One female incubates for two weeks.

At this time, the male feeds the female, entertains her with singing and guards his nesting site. In June, the young fly out of the nest. Feeds bullfinch seeds of various deciduous and coniferous trees and berries.

The chicks are also fed with seeds and, to a lesser extent, insects.

Replacement for a pet parrot?

A bullfinch taken home soon becomes tame and becomes attached to a person. He knows how to adopt and learn simple melodies and whistles them dashingly, brightening up his leisure time.

The cage should be kept in a cool place, as the bullfinch does not tolerate heat.

It must be fed with seeds of various herbs, trees and bushes. And be sure to give him berries, otherwise his feathers will darken from vitamin deficiency.

The bullfinch is one of the most beautiful birds. This bird is known to everyone in Russia; it decorates winter New Year cards, and winter poems are written about it. For example, remember:

In the garden where the finches sang,

Look today

Like pink apples

Bullfinches on the branches

Indeed, the bullfinch is traditionally considered a winter bird. We were told at school that bullfinches fly from our places to the north in the summer because it is too hot for them here. However, only in Russian the name of this bird is associated with snow. The idea that the bullfinch is a winter guest is a common misconception among residents of the middle zone. In fact, the bullfinch only becomes noticeable with the onset of winter. In the summer, against the background of other birds, with its quiet voice, the bullfinch simply gets lost in the treetops, and it is quite difficult to see it. Bullfinches nest throughout almost the entire territory of Russia where there are coniferous trees. They also like city parks. The bullfinch at this time does not seek to catch the eye: family concerns are a troublesome and dangerous matter. The dandy outfit for which the common bullfinch received its scientific Latin name Pyrrhula pyrrhula (pyrrhula) means “fiery.”

One of the mysteries of the bullfinch is its bright color. It must be said that the red breast is an attribute of the male, the female is more modest, gray. Bright coloring is not very justified from the point of view of protection from predators, although it helps attract females and procreate. How do male bullfinches hide from their enemies? It turns out that it's quite simple. Bullfinches settle in coniferous forests, but prefer mixed areas where there is good grass and deciduous trees. This is where the bullfinch “disappears.” In a clearing it is a flower, but in the foliage it is a withered leaf or an old twig.

According to ornithologists, bullfinches are quite smart birds. In the magazine “World of Birds” No. 36 there is an interesting article about bullfinches, in which the author tells a real-life incident when one bullfinch, feeling that he was being hunted, turned over and lay on his back to hide his bright feathers and become invisible.

A few words about the pedigree of bullfinches (from the same source). The ancestor of all modern bullfinches is the brown or Nepalese “buffalo finch”. These birds live in South Asia and are more similar in color to young bullfinches that have just left the nest. From them, thousands of years later, five modern species of bullfinches evolved, with a characteristic “cap” of black feathers on their heads. These are the Philippine or barnacle (Philippines), Azores (Azores), gray (Eastern Siberia and the Far East), Ussuri (Far East, from the Kuril and Japanese islands to northern Korea) and common (Europe and Northern Asia) bullfinches. Of all these species, only the males of the common and Ussuri bullfinches have red color in the plumage of the lower part of the body and cheeks. The males of others are almost indistinguishable from the inconspicuous females, and only gray bullfinches are completely devoid of red pigment. Each species of bullfinches has many subspecies. According to various sources, the common bullfinch alone has about nine subspecies forms. And there are also ecological races and local populations, whose voices can differ greatly from each other. In general, bullfinches are an inexhaustible topic of research for ornithologists.

Bullfinches feed mainly on plant seeds, rowan, viburnum, and hawthorn. Bullfinches, however, are not interested in juicy pulp; they take seeds from the berries of fruit trees and shrubs, crush them in their beak, clearing them of hard shells, and eat them.

According to the observations of city residents, there have recently become fewer and fewer of them in city parks and squares. Why are bullfinches disappearing?

There is an opinion that birds of prey, sparrowhawks, whose numbers are growing in cities, are to blame for the disappearance of bullfinches. Sparrowhawks are migratory birds. Recently, sparrowhawks remain in Moscow throughout the winter. Kind-hearted people regularly replenish the feeders for tits, and at the same time provide prey for sparrowhawks. While the tits are busy arguing over the sunflower seeds, a rapidly flying sparrowhawk manages to grab one of them and hide before being discovered by the annoying hooded crows.

With the regular appearance of sparrowhawks, smart bullfinches stop feeding in open places, where they can become easy prey for a predator. At the same time, the number of bullfinches changes slightly, but they switch from feeding, for example, rowan seeds to other foods. In Moscow, wintering bullfinches can be found feeding in the crowns of maple and ash trees on the outskirts of forest parks, and in public gardens they hide in dense thickets of bladderwort, where they feed on its seeds, scattering the husks of dry bolls on the snow. An attentive observer can easily spot bullfinches there by their characteristic creaky whistle. In addition, bullfinches feed on nettle seeds in wastelands.

It should be noted that the bullfinch is one of the most common domestic birds. Bullfinches are successfully bred and even a number of color forms have been developed. It is known that in Germany a hundred years ago, young male bullfinches were caught in large quantities, taught to sing, and exported throughout Europe for a lot of money. Now it is almost forgotten, and the bullfinch is valued only for its bright color. Although his abilities for onomatopoeia are almost unique. Other species of passerine birds do not have such talents. Female bullfinches can sing almost like males, which not many people can do.

People love bullfinches. A pet bullfinch can even be a child’s New Year’s dream. Like in Agnia Barto’s poem “The Bullfinch”.

On Arbat, in a store,
There is a garden outside the window.
There's a blue dove flying there,
Bullfinches whistle in the garden.

I am one such bird
Behind the glass I saw in the window,
I saw such a bird
That now I can’t sleep.

Bright pink breast
Two shiny wings...
I couldn't for a minute
Break away from the glass.

Because of this very bird
I cried for four days.
I thought my mother would agree -
I will have a bird.

But mom has a habit
The answer is always wrong:
I tell her about the bird,
And she told me about the coat.

There's a hole in your pockets,
Why am I fighting in the yard?
That's why I should
Forget about the bullfinch.

I followed my mother
He was waiting for her at the door,
I'm on purpose at lunch
He talked about bullfinches.

It was dry, but the galoshes
I obediently put it on
Before that I was good -
I didn’t recognize myself.

I almost didn’t argue with my grandfather,
Didn't move around at lunch
I said "thank you"
I thanked everyone for everything.

It was difficult to live in the world,
And to tell the truth,
I endured this torment
Only for the sake of the bullfinch.

How hard I tried!
I didn't fight with girls.

When will I see the girl?
I'll shake my fist at her
And I quickly go to the side,
It's like I don't know her.

Mom was very surprised:
- What's wrong with you, pray tell?
Maybe you're sick with us -
You didn't fight on your day off!

And I answered sadly:
- I’m always like this now.

I stubbornly achieved
I didn't bother in vain.
“Miracles,” said mom.
And I bought a bullfinch.

I brought it home.
Finally, now he is mine!
I shouted to the whole apartment:
- My bullfinch is alive!

I will admire them
He will sing at dawn...
Maybe we can fight again
Tomorrow morning in the yard?

The bullfinch is a winter bird, so it is almost impossible to admire its beautiful appearance in summer. After all, this is the time for the bullfinch - a period of family worries, when representatives of the finch family, in order not to attract undue attention to themselves and their brood, change their bright colors to duller tones.

But in winter, male bullfinches look very impressive. Their wings, head and tail are painted deep black. The back and part of the neck are bluish-gray, the undertail and rump are white. But the males have especially beautiful cheeks and chests, which stand out with cinnabar-red shades. Hence the name of the bird: translated from Turkic “snig” means red-breasted. The peculiarity of bright plumage is associated with the bird’s addiction to food rich in carotenoids.

Thick-billed birds are characterized by a dense build, have thick plumage and are distinguished by very good intelligence. In autumn, when the ground is covered with fallen golden-bright leaves, the bullfinch, hiding from enemies, lies on its back, thus merging with the leaves. Then, having rested and gained strength, it soars into the air in front of the very nose of the puzzled predator. Bullfinches are common in all geographical areas of coniferous forests in Europe and Asia.

In winter, most birds migrate far beyond the traditional nesting area to the southern regions. At this time, they can often be seen in parks and gardens of cities and villages. The return flight to the nesting sites is observed in March - April. Immediately after arrival, the birds begin arranging cup-shaped nests. The clutch usually contains from 4 to 7 eggs with streaks.

The bullfinch feeds on seeds, berries and buds. In this case, the bird throws away the pulp of the berries, eating only the seeds. Males attract females with their beautiful plumage. Bullfinches are inferior to the “ladies of the heart” in everything: they offer the best brush with berries or a branch with seeds, although not always voluntarily. The beautiful red-breasted birds are often called mockingbirds because of their tendency to imitate the voices and songs of other birds.

Video: Common bullfinch

Video: Summer bullfinch

Bullfinch belongs to the songbirds of the genus Bullfinches, which in turn belongs to the family of finches. The bullfinch is considered a well-known and widespread bird; it is a very noticeable and attractive bird. Photos of bullfinches very often they decorate various New Year cards, calendars, magazines, etc.

Bullfinch bird belongs to the small ones, it is slightly larger in size than a sparrow. The weight of the bullfinch is approximately 30-35 grams, but at the same time its physique is quite dense and strong. The body length of an ordinary bullfinch is about 18 centimeters, and the wingspan reaches 30 centimeters.

The genus of bullfinches is characterized by sexual dimorphism in coloration. The most prominent part of the bird - the breast of females is pink-gray in color, but males have carmine-red feathers on the chest. This is the main feature of bullfinches, which are very easy to recognize among the huge number of bird representatives by their bright plumage on the chest.

The photo shows a male and female bullfinch

The rest of the coloring is basically identical. The bullfinches' head seems to be covered on top with a black cap, which smoothly turns into a small black spot on the chin.

The back of the bird is bluish-gray in color. The wings of bullfinches are quite bright, as they represent a classic combination of colors: black and white, which alternate with stripes along the entire wing.

The undertail and rump are painted white. The bullfinch's beak is wide and thick, it is painted black. The legs of this bird are strong and strong, three-toed with small but sharp and tenacious claws. Like the beak, the legs of the bullfinch are also painted black.

The cheeks, neck, sides and belly are colored in gray-brown tones, the intensity of which depends on the subspecies. The plumage color of chicks and young bullfinches is different; it is more modest and closer to the color of the female than the male.

In addition to the bright special color, this one has another distinctive property - it is the song of the bullfinch. Its voice cannot be confused with the voice of another bird, although it is quite difficult to describe the sounds produced in verbal form. A more appropriate comparison is a metal creaking or whistling noise.

It is not immediately clear that this sound is made by bullfinches, but they really have such a unique voice and are able to surprise the listener with their special song. Most often, such a trill can be heard during the mating season. It is also surprising that both males and females perform it. That's how talented they turn out to be bullfinches birds.

In the photo there are bullfinches in winter

The character and lifestyle of the bullfinch

Bullfinches are considered exclusively forest animals. Bullfinches' favorite places to settle are coniferous and mixed forests. The bullfinch is very widespread; it inhabits the entire strip of taiga coniferous forests and Asia, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

However, it is not uncommon for bullfinches to be seen in parks, in ordinary courtyards of residential buildings, on children's playgrounds, and sometimes they are even guests in small feeders on the windows of multi-story buildings. It turns out that bullfinches are not forest birds at all, and neither are city birds. No, that's not true. Bullfinches just fly in to eat and eat.

Bullfinches in winter very often they are forced to fly into the city limits to get food for themselves. In summer, seeing bullfinches is not an easy task, but in winter, on frosty days, they fluff up their feathers and turn into bright balls that flutter from branch to branch.

In winter against a background of white snow bullfinches on the branches look most impressive and elegant, as if festive balls decorated the trees. Winter bullfinch This is a kind of symbol of snow, frost, snow-covered trees, good mood and holidays.

Bullfinches love rowan berries very much. Usually they fly up to the tree in a flock, and the males, like real gentlemen and experts in good manners, let their ladies choose the juiciest and most delicious bunches of berries.

Bullfinches on a rowan tree spend a few minutes until they are satisfied with the seeds in the berries, because they do not consume the juicy pulp itself. Then the flock will flap its wings again, lightly shake the snow from the tree and fly on.

This unusual behavior is best observed during the migrations that they make to the south - to the Amur basin, Transbaikalia, Central Asia, and North Africa.

Birds usually return back at the end of March - beginning of April. But this does not mean that these birds are migratory, bullfinches wintering birds, they just sometimes move to other habitats.

Rowan is the bullfinch's favorite delicacy.

About the bullfinch we can say that they are quite calm, balanced and unhurried. But at the same time they are quite careful and careful. In the presence of people, bullfinches do not behave very actively, and in most cases they are very wary and cautious; this is mainly due to the females.

But if a person leaves a treat for the birds, they will be very grateful to him and will gladly eat. If buy a bullfinch as a pet, you must definitely keep it in a cool place so that it feels comfortable, since the bird cannot tolerate high temperatures.

However, in response to good conditions, the bullfinch can quickly get used to you and become almost tame; it can learn simple melodies and imitate onomatopoeia.

Among our own, in the pack, there are almost never disagreements or open confrontations with each other. Bullfinches live peacefully and quite amicably. If aggression occurs, it is mainly in females. At the same time, they characteristically knock their beaks and rotate their heads. But this happens quite rarely and only if there is a justified reason.

Reproduction and lifespan of bullfinches

The mating season among bullfinches makes the male more melodic and sounding more pleasant than usual. They dedicate their songs to their lovely females, who in turn respond with quiet whistling. But pairs in the flock are formed only by March. In any family of these bright birds, complete matriarchy reigns; here the main role falls exclusively on the lady.

To create their nests, birds often choose spruce forests, while the nest itself is located at a fairly large distance from the ground, no less than 1.5-2 meters and away from the trunk.

Special attention is paid to weaving the nest; thin branches and dry grass are skillfully woven together with their beak and paws. The bottom of the nest is lined with lichen, dry leaves and animal hair.

With the onset of May, the female lays 4-6 eggs. The eggs are colored blue and have a pattern of brown specks. The offspring are incubated for about 15 days, then the chicks are born.

They are small in size, but at the same time have a heightened sense of hunger. To suppress their appetite, parents work continuously. Every now and then they bring berries, seeds and other food to the nest.

After two weeks, the chicks begin to learn to fly and escape from the parent's nest. But parents still feed their babies. Only one month old new bullfinches ready for independent life and food.

The photo shows a nest of bullfinches

In the wild, the lifespan of bullfinches can reach 15 years, but birds often do not live to this age. They are very vulnerable to temperature, so due to lack of food in snowy, cold winters they often die.

Bullfinch feeding

The main diet of bullfinches is plant food. The animal part of their diet is insignificant; they can eat small insects, but this happens very rarely. They mainly eat the seeds of various coniferous and deciduous trees, for the extraction of which they use their strong, specially shaped beak.

In addition, they feed on buds, young shoots of plants and the first greenery. In summer, flowers can also be eaten. I don’t mind eating berries, especially bird cherry and rowan. Pictures of bullfinches on the branches of rowan can be considered a traditional image.

In winter, beautiful small birds with red plumage on their chests can often be found on tree branches. They are known as bullfinches, which, unlike many other birds, lead an active lifestyle precisely in the cold season. How do they look? What do they eat and where do they live? Are they flying away somewhere for the summer? Details will be given below.

Description of bullfinches

You can often watch a ringing flock of bullfinches fly from branch to branch. So, bullfinch refers specifically to songbirds genus of bullfinches, family of finches.

Bullfinches are very noticeable and attractive, it’s not for nothing that their photos are actively used to create New Year’s cards, calendars and other winter-themed products.

The size of these birds is very small, they are only slightly larger than ordinary sparrows. The physique of this winter bird is dense and strong, but despite this, its weight is small - about 35 grams. The length of the body is approximately 18 cm, and the wingspan is 30 cm.

For all bullfinches characterized by dimorphism, that is, differences by gender. It is very easy to distinguish a female from a male:

• the plumage on the female's breast is paler than that of the male, it is gray with a slight pink tint;
• In males, the breast is always bright red (the so-called carmine shade).

The color of the rest of the plumage is identical in both males and females. On the bird’s head there is a so-called black cap, which goes down and forms the same black chin clearly under the beak.

The back of bullfinches is gray with a slight bluish tint. The wings of these birds have only two colors - black and white, but at the same time they are very bright, since these colors alternate with stripes.

The bird's tail is short, rounded at the end, and always painted black. The feathers under the tail, on the contrary, are white.

The cheeks, sides and neck of the bird have a gray tint, its intensity varies depending on which subspecies the bullfinch belongs to. As a rule, the plumage of chicks is always paler than that of adults.

The bullfinch's beak is small, wide and very strong, black. The bird's paws are painted black, they are tenacious, strong, and have three toes on each, which, in turn, have sharp claws.

Based on this description, it will not be difficult to recognize bullfinches among other birds, and also to discern who among them is female and who is male.

Singing bullfinches

Bullfinches easy to recognize by special singing, because they make sounds that are difficult to confuse with the sounds of other birds. The bullfinch's song resembles a ringing, almost metallic whistle (sometimes it resembles a creaking).

These birds sing especially loudly during the mating season, and what is most interesting here is that not only males sing, but also females.

As already mentioned, the bullfinch is winter bird, which means it settles in the appropriate area - these are mixed and coniferous forests. The habitat of these birds is very wide; they can be found in the taiga massifs of Europe and Asia from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. By the way, in Russia they can also be found in forest-steppes.

Sometimes birds can be seen in city parks, but this is the exception rather than the norm. Often these birds fly to residential areas to look for food. For the same reason, they often feed themselves from feeders on the windows of houses.

Bullfinch is sedentary representative of the feathered family, but, as you know, it is visible only in winter. You won’t see them in the summer, so many people believe that bullfinches fly to other regions for the winter. This opinion is erroneous, since these birds simply fly deep into the forests and build their nests there.

Since these are winter birds, it is no wonder that they favorite delicacy is red rowan. By the way, it is on rowan branches that bullfinches are most often depicted in various photographs and paintings. When a whole flock of these birds lands on a rowan branch, you can observe how nobly the males behave: they let the females go ahead and allow them to choose the largest and juiciest berries.

By the way, if you look closely, you can see that they do not eat the pulp of rowan berries, but just choose seeds from them.

In addition to rowan, these birds also eat alder, elderberry, maple, hornbeam, and ash, and again, they choose the seeds of these trees.

In the summer, these birds fly to the fields and there they find seeds of horse sorrel, burdock, quinoa and other field herbs.

Quite sometimes they do not disdain insects And. By the way, quick and nimble by nature, bullfinches become completely clumsy during feeding, which can be dangerous if they fly into a populated area to feast on a feeder: often these birds fall into the clutches of domestic cats, which can take advantage of the clumsiness of their prey.

About the breeding of bullfinches

During the mating season, bullfinches sing melodiously, and it is the males who do this in order to conquer the females, and they, in turn, respond to them with a quieter whistling. By March, pairs are already formed. It is interesting that in the family of bullfinches the main role is played by the female.

These birds make nests mainly on coniferous trees, at a height of at least 1.5-2 m and away from the trunk. The nests themselves are carefully woven: the birds, using their paws and beaks, skillfully weave together thin twigs and dry grass. The bottom of such a nest is covered with lichen, dry tree leaves and even animal hair.

In May, the female lays blue eggs with brown spots (about 4-6 pieces), then incubates them for about 2 weeks. The newly born chicks are incredibly voracious and constantly demand food, so their feathered parents fly without interruption for berries and insects.

The chicks grow very quickly:

• at two weeks of age, the chicks make their first attempts to get out of the nest and even learn to fly, but at the same time they continue to eat what their parents bring them;
• Already at the age of one month, the young become completely independent.

Bullfinches in the wild live about 15 years, but often they die earlier. This happens due to unbearable temperatures, as well as lack of food.

Surprisingly, such a bird, which is accustomed to living in the wild, may well feel great next to a person, provided that all the necessary conditions of detention are met. These calm and balanced birds are not particularly active in the presence of people, especially females. But if you treat them with a tasty treat, they will be very grateful and start eating with pleasure.

If you have the idea of ​​getting such a bird as a pet, then it is worth remembering that it cannot tolerate high temperatures, so it is necessary to provide it with a comfortable place to live where cool air will be maintained.

It is interesting that these birds are quite friendly and, if handled carefully, they can quickly be tamed, and can also delight people with simple onomatopoeia and whistling of memorized melodies.