Chizh - description, habitat, interesting facts

Chizh - a small songbird, which is also called chizhik. Surely many have heard a song about the "Siskin-Fawn." This name is quite justified, and you can verify this if you see this bird live. Outwardly, she is very funny, which is why they usually talk about her exclusively in an affectionate way.

The appearance of the bird

Siskins are bright representatives of the finch family. This family includes a large number of different songbirds. Siskins are very small birds, the size of which does not exceed 12 centimeters in length, and their body weight is not more than 15 grams. The wingspan of these babies reaches 22 centimeters.

Siskins have a rather vivid and memorable appearance. They are quite easy to recognize in natural conditions, even though the siskins are always very well camouflaged. The plumage of them is bright yellow with impurities of green in the head, abdomen and neck. The wings are mostly dark in color, but they also have bright lemon inserts. On the head of the males there are dark spots that resemble a hat; females do not have such a distinguishing feature. The color of the females is slightly different, they mainly have brown and brown plumage, which is very similar to the color of males at a young age.

How do chizhiki eat?

Chicks that have just been born are usually fed with protein products, among which caterpillars and insects are most often found.

Bird habitat

Chizhiki today are presented in various varieties. All species of these individuals are numerous and live in many corners of the planet. You can meet them in Europe, South and North America, as well as in Asia. In other words, these birds are common almost everywhere. Areas for living Chizhiki mainly choose the territory of mixed forests, which are dominated by tall trees. It is in such areas that they feel most secure, since they have the opportunity to hide. For the same reason, for the arrangement of siskin nests, high mountain areas are sometimes chosen.

Flights or settled?

Chizhiki are definitely migratory birds. Each year, closer to the end of September, they begin to form flocks for further flights. These birds migrate mainly to the southern regions. In winter, Siskin can often be found in the Crimea. They may remain for the winter in the same habitat, but in extremely rare cases. As a rule, this happens only when the birds manage to find a pond in winter that does not freeze throughout the year. Such a reservoir may be a small stream, a large river or lake. In this case, the siskin can stay in the winter near the reservoir and not fly south.

Types of siskins and their appearance

Chizhi is a numerous species, which includes 19 subspecies. These varieties differ in the territory of their distribution, as well as in some features of bird behavior and plumage color.

The most common and common species include:

1. Golden Chizhik. This species lives mainly in North America.Weed got a second name - American Goldfinch. In the winter, these individuals change their habitat to warmer Mexico, where their color changes. Males, which usually have a lemon yellow color, become greenish during this period.
2. Mexican Siskin. This subspecies also lives in the Americas, but predominantly high in the mountains. You can meet them at a height of at least 900 meters. It should be noted that it is almost impossible to detect these birds on their own, as they are extremely careful and accurate.
3. Pine siskin. This species is common in North America, also in its mountainous areas. From other subspecies of Chizhik they are distinguished by a less bright and pronounced color. Traditionally, these birds have a brownish and yellow plumage.
4. Fiery Chizhik. This subspecies is rightfully the most striking representative of the entire family of Chizhik. The color of these birds is quite interesting, the areas of the host, wings and head are painted in jet black, but the feathers in the rest of the body are bright red, which really resembles fire. Representatives of this subspecies are somewhat larger in comparison with the common chizhik. You can meet such beautiful birds in the northern part of Venezuela. It is worth noting that in this state the fire chizhik is a protected species.

How to distinguish a male from a female?

This is not to say that sex differences in siskins are very pronounced. As is often found in birds, male Chizhiks have a brighter color. Their feathers are covered with emerald-lemon color. In females, the plumage is more modest, so they do not attract much attention to themselves. It is worth noting that such differences are not accidental, the female needs an inconspicuous color so that she is invisible in the nest while hatching eggs.

House maintenance

Chizhiki are quite popular birds among breeders and songbird lovers. Of course, this is no accident. The fact is that they will not let anyone get bored, because they sing their songs almost all year round. You can hear their singing for 10 months, which is rare for songbirds.

The second reason Chizhiks are often brought home is that they quickly get used to the conditions of home maintenance, after which they become completely tame. After that, you can even let them fly around the house, and indeed at any time leave the cage open. Siskins after a short walk always return to the cage and at the same time do not stain home furniture and other home decoration. In addition, they are well trained. They, like parrots, can be taught a lot. One of the simplest tricks is drinking water from the mouth of the owner.

If you manage to equip and create for the feathered pets all the necessary conditions for their comfortable living, you can even watch how the siskins will breed. The life span of siskins at home is significantly increased. If in natural conditions they usually live no more than 3 years, then at home under the care of a person they can live up to 12 years.

What is needed for content?

Siskins are not very demanding birds. They do not need a huge space, it will be enough to get a small cage, as for a parrot. The only thing that is very important is to choose a place for the cage so that it is protected from the bright sun and drafts.

It is not recommended to keep siskins one at a time. It is best to pick them a couple or even put them in a flock. Chizhiki perceive their neighbors well, therefore, other birds can be accommodated with them, they will gladly interact with them, and in addition will learn from them their manner of singing.

If you want to breed siskins, you will need to organize a nesting space for them.To do this, in a secluded corner, you will need to lay sheets of plywood, add twigs of pine and spruce there for decoration, and also prepare the material from which the males will build a nest. For this purpose, grass, various twigs and sticks are perfect.

In vivo, siskins usually lay eggs twice a year. One clutch includes a maximum of 6 eggs. The incubation is carried out mainly by the female, for this it takes only 12 days. Then within 14 days the chicks grow up, after which they begin to move independently. At home, the breeding process, in principle, is no different.

How to feed siskins?

Feeding squirrels is quite simple. They are, in principle, not particularly picky about food. Like most birds that feed on cereals, they will need to provide plenty of clean drinking water. Their diet can be absolutely any mixture of grains and seeds of trees. Moreover, it is possible to supplement the menu of siskins with fruits and vegetables. They happily eat apple, cabbage and carrots.

Interesting information about Chizhik

Siskins are birds that skillfully know how to hide and disguise themselves. Under natural conditions, they carefully mask their nests so that it becomes simply impossible to find them. That is why it is often said that chizhiki in their nests hide special magic stones that make them invisible.

Siskins not only quickly become tame birds, they also have the ability to remember the person who takes care of them. For this reason, they always rejoice at the owner when he comes and even greet him with their singing.

Singing

It is not difficult to distinguish chizhik songs from the voices of other birds. Their song has a peculiar sound “chilik”, which at first seems to become quieter, and then suddenly it continues very loudly. Also in their song is crackling, twittering and squeaking. From this set of sounds, you can understand that somewhere near you a chizhik is attached.

Video: Siskin (Carduelis spinus)