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Gray heron belongs to the order Ciconiiformes. The peculiarity of the appearance of this bird is that its neck is very long, just like the limbs. The body of a gray heron is covered with gray plumage on top, and in the lower it is white. In the coloring there are black specks. The beak of representatives of this species is long, sharp. The bird is large. Adults weigh up to 2 kg. On the continents of Eurasia and Africa, a lot of these birds live.
Description
The neck of the heron is long, as well as the beak and legs. It can weigh one and a half kilograms or more. The body is about 1 m in length, and the wingspan is one and a half meters or more. The beak is conical.
The body on top has a bluish-gray color, and on the stomach and chest it is lighter. Heron's head is white. There are dark stripes in the area above the eyes. At the back of the head they converge. The long neck of the bird is light gray, covered with small black spots. Primary wings are black and the rest are bluish-gray. Feathers are long on the chest. During the mating season, they lengthen even more. On the sides are wide stripes of black. And the bird’s tail is gray.
Nutrition
During the hunt, the bird can simply stand still and wait for its prey to be caught. Sometimes she walks from side to side in search of a victim. Seeing a suitable prey, the heron very quickly straightens its long neck, and catches it. When it is caught, the bird swallows its prey whole. Sometimes a heron does not hunt on its own, but steals food from other birds of prey, such as cormorants or seagulls. But, in turn, the herons themselves can be left without lunch they caught, as sometimes crows take it away.
A bird can fly far to get food for itself. It flies over a distance of 0.5 to 30 km.
Habitat
In Eurasia, this bird is very widespread. She does not live only in the desert and in the mountains at high altitude. They also live in southeast Asia. In the south, the habitat of the gray heron extends to the Mediterranean Sea. Representatives of the species can be found in some areas of the African continent. They live in the southern as well as eastern parts of it, in Madagascar, the Maldives.
High in the mountains you can’t meet this bird. The maximum height to which they fly is 1000 m. They live near fresh water, sometimes near seas or lakes with salt water. The bird hunts in shallow water.
Representatives of the species, who live in the center and in the south of Europe, constantly live in the same territory, only occasionally flying to more southern areas. Those individuals that live on the territory of modern Russia fly to warm Africa for the winter. And those populations whose permanent habitat is the territory of Central Asia, fly away to China, India.
What subspecies exist
Herons that live in different territories are divided into subspecies. We list the main ones.
- Ardea cinerea cinerea - this subspecies lives in Eurasia. Their habitat extends from western Europe to the Trans-Urals.
- Gray herons in Madagascar belong to a subspecies such as Ardea cinerea firasa.
- Ardea cinerea monicae - on the coast of Mauritania.
Gender differences
It is not easy to distinguish between different sexes, even if you look at them closely.But they differ in size. Therefore, if you meet two individuals of different sexes that are nearby, you can determine the gender. In males, the wing is longer — 46 cm, and the beak is usually longer than 12 cm. In females, these parts of the body are shorter by a few centimeters or more.
Breeding
Gray heron is a monogamous species of bird. This means that they form a pair and remain faithful throughout life. Already at the age of a year or two, individuals become sexually mature.
During the mating season, their beak acquires a brighter color, orange or pink. At other times, it is gray. In addition, other parts of the bird's body become brighter. This occurs in both sexes.
Herons that live in cold or temperate climates fly away for the winter. They come back with a thaw, which occurs in the second half of March or in early April. As soon as the birds return to the nesting places after wintering, they begin to equip the nest. Populations that live in warmer areas and do not migrate to winter do not have any specific breeding season.
First, the male begins to equip the nest, and then - to call the female. This ritual in birds is very unusual. When a male gray heron calls a female, he makes croaking sounds, while spreading his wings and directing his beak up. The female comes to his cry, but the male does not allow her, driving away from the nest. This happens several times. But, at the same time, the later the female responds to the call, the earlier he will stop chasing her. If 2 weeks or more have already passed since the start of the arrangement of the nest by the male, the pair will form immediately. After that, they finish arranging the nest together.
Representatives of this species nest on very tall trees or large bushes. The material is twigs, twigs and a reed stalk. The cone-shaped nest is flat, pointed downwards. Its diameter is 65-80 cm, and the height is about half a meter. Representatives of this species become attached to their nest. From year to year they return to the same place in order to give birth to offspring.
On average, the female lays about 5 eggs. But sometimes their number ranges from 3 to 9. They have a blue color and white spots. The eggs are often pointed on both sides. Every 2 days a gray heron lays an egg. It begins to hatch them as soon as the first appears. Each partner lays eggs alternately.
After 27 days, the chicks hatch. They do not have plumage and need the full care of their parents. Only after a week the first feathers begin to appear. Three times a day, a gray heron burps food from its stomach, and feeds its cubs. But it often happens that not everyone gets food. This results in older, stronger chicks just eating the younger ones. Sometimes they can simply take food from them.
When the age of the chicks approaches a month, they first try to take off and begin to learn hunting. After another 2 months, individuals begin to live independently.
The voice of the bird
Representatives of this species make rude sounds reminiscent of a rattle. They seem to croak, but very low and short. Such a bird makes a sound during flight. This loud scream is heard quite far. By this cry, the approach of a bird can be recognized much earlier than it is in sight. When she is about to land, she makes a sharp sharp cry several times, which also resembles a rattle.
A heron can make other sounds. Most often they can be heard when the birds are in colonies and not far from their nest, since individually they usually remain silent. The alarm signal emitted by a representative of the species of gray heron is a gaggling. When a bird shows aggression and expresses a threat, it emits a lingering vibrating cry.
Interesting Facts
- Representatives of the gray heron species have a special system of peculiar signals that allow them to communicate. The bird is able to express various emotions. The presence of a long neck helps her in this. When a bird threatens, it arches its neck, as if about to rush forward. The crest, located on the head, rises. This is followed by a scream.
- There is also a welcome signal. It manifests itself in the clicking of a beak when a bird sees its brethren. They also behave during the performance of the marriage ritual.
- The meat of this bird can be eaten. Sometimes hunters shoot a heron to taste. But, according to reviews, it does not have a pleasant taste, so hunting for these birds is not very common.
- Previously, falconry was quite popular, the object of which was often chosen as a gray heron.
Video: Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea)
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