There are a great variety of birds of different size, color and behavior. Common rosefinch is a medium-sized bird from the passerine, occurs in North America, Europe and Asia.
Belongs to the family of finches.
The area of lentils
Lentils are a migratory bird. The range of its distribution is wide. Basically it is Siberia, Middle and Central Asia, Eastern Europe. On the territory of the former USSR the bird is found almost everywhere (with the exception of Transcarpathia, and Moldova). Lentils there are in the Urals, and on Spore, and in Ust-Tsilma. You can often locate the bird on the borders of the Northern forest, on the territory of the Anadyr Krai, Sakhalin and Kamchatka.
Lentils living in China, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Caucasus.
Interestingly, despite the territory, one can observe gaps in the area of lentils:
- from Transcarpathia to Bessarabia on the border of the steppe Ukraine.
- Between the Volga and the Don.
- The Eastern part of the Tien Shan mountains.
Lentils do not live in:
- Central Asia (in its desert areas).
- South-Eastern Altai.
- Mongolia.
They can fly long distances. Despite its small size, the bird is able to travel long distances. It was noticed in Sweden, Malta, Holland, etc. as their wintering prefers region of India and South-East China. This sets it apart from other reels, as it is mostly the family winters in our area.
The nature of the stay
As the characteristic features of lentils are prone to long migrations. But individuals who choose nesting in the southern regions, are more prone to a sedentary lifestyle. It is difficult to determine the exact boundaries of the breeding range, as not all individuals nest. It arrives late. Most migration occurs at the end of April and mid may.
The bird often migrates in small flocks of 10-15 individuals. Sometimes there are flocks of up to 50 individuals. From August to the end of September, the lentils start winter migration. Most often it is directed in South direction, South-East and in Asia.
Looks like
Only there are four subspecies of lentils – red, ordinary, pink and juniper. They all have slight differences in size and color. In General, all kind of small size (no bigger than a Sparrow).
Females are pale in color, with the belly lighter than back and with brownish-grey plumage. Young birds similar in color to females. Males are bright in color. They have the tail, wings and back, also head and thorax bright red. Abdomen pink. Individual members of the species Breasts too pink. Such a bright color make these birds recognizable.
Habitat
Each bird chooses not only a climate but also the environment. Ordinary choice – wet meadows with shrubs. They are frequently found in hedgerows, cemeteries, gardens. In mountainous countries, they prefer to settle on the edges of forests, estuaries, Alpine meadows. In the forests prefer shrub and tree landscapes.
The nutrition of lentils consists of plant-based. She eats mostly seeds of plants such as buttercups, Fox sedge, umbrella and legumes. Chicks are fed seeds of Stellaria. As a source of protein parents, they produce different insects. Most often it is the caterpillars and small beetles.
Reproduction
Monogamous birds. In other words – birds form pairs for life. While scientists have documented several nests where there was one male. Nevertheless, in most cases, representatives of this species monogamous.
On arrival to the territory of the nesting pair are beginning to build nests. The place selected by the female. Usually, it’s the middle of a young tree or shrub. Sometimes she can specifically choose unusual tree for nesting of other birds. The nest is made of dry branches, carelessly and loosely. Thin trays laid from down, wool, rootlets and blades of grass. The average diameter of the nest is about 16 cm, but this is a ballpark figure.
During the mating period one can observe a kind of current. The male sits on the top branches of a tree, raises his crest and pushes the feathers. Ready, he begins to sing their ringing trills. So he flew from tree to tree.
If he enters the territory of another male, then there is a serious fight. The female is sitting on the lower branches or on the ground. After the mating occurs.
In masonry, to a maximum of 6 eggs. Over the summer, appears only one litter of young. Eggs have blue shells with black dots. Most often, they appear in June, but in the southern latitudes, they can be detected and may. Incubates the eggs by the female only, lasts about two weeks. The male is close by, feeds and protects her.
Males stop singing after hatching Chicks, as they need serious feeding. After the young leave the nest, the parents stay in the background and are unobtrusive lifestyle. Lentils almost not singing in non-breeding period, which does not extradite its presence.
