The nightingale winters or not. Starling: migratory bird or not, description

View: Southern nightingale - Luscinia megarhynchos and common nightingale - Luscinia luscinia
Family: Thrushes, flycatchers
Squad: Passeriformes
Class: Birds
Type: Chordata
Subtype: Vertebrates
Lifespan: 8 – 12 years

Perhaps no other bird has been the subject of so many poems and works as the nightingale. And for good reason. His singing amazes with the variety of his repertoire, the power of sound and voice. At the same time, it is absolutely surprising to see this homely artist after hearing a delightful performance. The Nightingale does not attract attention with its external characteristics, but its singing skill amazes. In addition, nightingale songs herald the arrival of spring and the blossoming of nature around, which makes the soul feel warmer.

Habitat

At the moment, there are 13 species of nightingales in nature, of which the most popular are two species: the southern one (lives in Africa, Asia and Europe) and the common or eastern nightingale (its habitat is East Europe and western Siberia). Nightingales are migratory birds. For the winter, they fly far from home, somewhere in northern Africa, southern Iran, and Arabia. They return back in mid-April, when leaves begin to appear on the trees and insects crawl out. If anyone doesn’t know what the nightingale bird looks like, the photos give an idea of it.

Interesting! Males return home before females. Having found a suitable territory, the nightingale announces this with a ringing song.

Characteristic

The nightingale bird, the photo and description of which speaks of a nondescript appearance, but amazing singing qualities, has the following characteristics:

The nightingale's weight reaches 25 g, and its dimensions are 18 cm in length. He is only slightly larger than a sparrow.
Looking at the nightingale, you would never think that this is one of the best bird singers. Its plumage is most often chocolate brown with elements of gray. But the big black eyes stand out.

The nightingale became famous for his extraordinary singing skills. He begins to sing a few days after returning to his homeland, and sings all night long.
The nightingale's repertoire is quite extensive. He has 12 knees (i.e. song elements) in his arsenal, which can be repeated and swapped. Depending on the mood or weather, the nightingale's song can be sad or cheerful. With his singing, he also warns of impending danger and sounds the alarm.
The nightingale's concert lasts for hours, so the bird takes a comfortable position: it sits on a low branch, hunches a little, hangs its wings, slightly raises its tail and begins to sing.

Interesting! Young nightingales adopt the singing skills of their elders, imitating their performance. Therefore, often not far from one nightingale another, and then a third, settles. And the nightingale trills begin.

Nutrition

The nightingale's nightlife is devoted to singing, and its daytime life is devoted to searching for food. He runs along the ground, rakes leaves and heaps, takes out caterpillars, bugs, worms, spiders, larvae and other living creatures. The nightingale is a dexterous bird, so it can catch prey in flight. In summer, the bird's diet is replenished with ripe berries and fruits; the nightingale especially likes elderberry.

By autumn, the nightingale's feeding becomes more intense, as the bird tries to stock up on fat for the long flight to wintering.

Interesting! The nightingale feeds on insect pests that harm foliage and trees, thus saving plants from death by doing great service for all humanity.

Reproduction

After the females have arrived, mating games begin. Males compete in the skill of singing, thus attracting ladies. It also happens that couples remain together since last year. When the time comes for mating, the male climbs deeper into the bushes and courtes his chosen one, flapping his wings and tail, until she deigns to let him come to her. Such is the female lot of nightingales that after mating she has to build a nest alone while her partner gets food.

Nesting

For its habitat, the nightingale chooses places with bushes or thick grass, where it can hide from unexpected guests. For our artist, bushes and tree branches serve not only as a stage, but also as places where danger can be seen from afar. There should also certainly be shady areas nearby, where many insects live in the fallen leaves, which the nightingale feasts on.

Soon after the nest is ready, the female begins to lay eggs. The clutch contains 4 – 6 olive-brown eggs. The diameter of each egg is approximately 2 cm. Eggs are laid in late May - early June, and by the end of June the chicks appear. It takes about 15 days to incubate the eggs, during which time the female only occasionally leaves for rest and lunch. At the end of August - beginning of September, nightingale families with already strong chicks begin to prepare for migration to wintering grounds, so that in April - beginning of May they can return home again.

You need to catch the nightingale in the first days of its arrival at home, no later than the first week of May. By this time they will not have time to form pairs.

The nightingale is a free bird, not accustomed to life in captivity, so it is very frightened of its new home. At first he can fight in the cage.

The nightingale's cage must be special - not with iron, but with wooden rods, with a cloth top, so that the recluse does not harm himself. It is also recommended to cover the home with a light-colored cloth so that people do not frighten the bird. Gradually the bird gets used to captivity and remembers its singing abilities. Already on the second or third day you can hear nightingale trills coming from your apartment. At home, the nightingale, as in the wild, sings until July. Some amateur ornithologists prefer to keep nightingales only for a couple of months - while they sing, and in mid-summer they are released into the wild.

The nightingale will like mealworms and ant eggs as food. If you plan to keep a nightingale all year round, in the fall it’s time to switch to special food - a mixture for insectivorous birds. His diet should also include grated carrots with ground white breadcrumbs, and his favorite ant eggs as the main dish.

With proper maintenance and care, by December the nightingale will begin to sing again, at first quietly, and with the first days of spring - in full force. A nightingale can live for several years in captivity with a good owner.

This slender, small bird with a wonderful, ringing, clear voice has long been loved by connoisseurs of ringing trills. Not everyone wakes up with the first roosters. Someone was lucky to greet the morning with the cheerful song of a nightingale. Kursk residents are also among the lucky ones. They have their own “family” vocalist. And, although such a biological species does not exist, numerous fans are sure that the Kursk nightingale is different from other tribesmen.

There are also whistlers, redthroats, and bluethroats. And they all belong to the nightingale family. The vocal abilities of feathered artists were glorified by poets of past eras in their works. In Homer's Odyssey, one of the heroines of the myth magically turns into just such a feathered creature.

Nightingale - songbird: description

The great Russian writer Nikolai Nekrasov turned out to be closer to the hero of this presentation. In his poem dedicated to everyone’s favorite, he noted that “our Kursk nightingale is valuable...”.

Of course, it was primarily his singing that made him famous. After all, if you look from the outside, the appearance of this winged phenomenon is completely unremarkable. Many have heard, but, however, fewer have seen and know who the nightingale is - a bird whose description you read, but when you meet it you won’t recognize it. The sprout is small, only seventeen centimeters, the legs are long, the eyes are dark, brown in color, only the tail with a reddish mark.

Habitat

The bird, which belongs to the eastern subspecies, lives almost throughout the entire European part of our vast homeland, to the Caucasus and Crimea, to the Altai and Yenisei. You can meet it in East Germany and Poland, and it doesn’t fly past the Baltic states. And there is also a Western representative living in Ukraine, Southern and Central Europe, and Asia Minor. The Persian and African subspecies nest in Kazakhstan and Transcaucasia. In general, he lives almost everywhere, does not bother, and is friends with sparrows, since he belongs to this order. And their families are flycatchers and thrushes.

Nutrition

The nightingale, a bird whose description we have already practically outlined, is not at all whimsical in food. Spiders, various insects and berries are included in the permanent menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The nest is made low, in thickets of grass or in the roots of bushes.

Reproduction

He drags literally everything for his home: dry leaves, stems, straws. If you are lucky enough to pick up scraps of wool somewhere, the bottom of the nest will be soft and warm. In this cozy apartment, the offspring of feathered singers are born. Only the female incubates the eggs.

They are just over twenty millimeters long and their color blends perfectly with the dried leaves. This means that during the thirteen days that are necessary for the chicks to hatch, it is unlikely that someone will accidentally see them and be able to harm them. Moreover, throughout this entire period the expectant mother and her offspring are reliably protected and fed, like a real man, the head of a friendly family.

Wintering

Nightingale - migrant, so he goes to spend the winter not just anywhere, but to Africa. He also likes to warm the fragile bones in the sun. However, he does not forget to return in time to signify spring and warmth by singing. This happens in early May, when the weather has already settled and the sun is warm like summer. In the southern regions, their early return is noted, back in April.

Singing

Some poets claim that winged vocalists sing only at night. But this is completely wrong. Trills can be heard at other times of the day, but only performed by males. This is how they show attention to their girlfriends and look after them. Probably, the knights, having spied the birds at one time, began to perform serenades under the windows of their lovers.

When it comes to singing, the famous Kursk nightingale always comes first among Russians. For connoisseurs and connoisseurs, their vocal art has become a whole science. The solo is distinguished by a large number of so-called “knees”, roughly translated into human language - couplets. These features are reflected in catchphrases. Who do you think is “throwing away their knees”? Folk talents study the nightingale's style of performance and try to imitate it, competing with each other in skill, like those same birds.

Various kinds of "songs"

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev understood the habits of feathered choristers. He even detailed ten “verses” in his message to a fellow hunter. Pul-pul, kly-kly, captivity-captivity, go-go-go-tu... Here is Yulia's boredom, and the peal of thunder, Lesheva's pipe and the cuckoo's flight. Experts attribute up to twenty-four tribes to the singers, especially noting their unique formation in each locality. Kursks sing “verses” more than others, for which they have always received increased attention, even during large fairs several centuries ago.

People came here from all over Russia and bought nightingales. In the mid-nineteenth century, 150 rubles was a considerable amount. That's exactly what they paid for local birds, or even more. For this money then you could buy a couple of horses, and even add a couple of cows to the barnyard. As indicated in the statement for 1836, local residents sold 420 birds at the Root Fair that year.

Catching the songbirds of the Kursk land was a profitable business in those days. It was not for nothing that they said that they “sing like a yardstick.” Happy owners were ready to shell out tidy sums so that they could be touched and admired by the sonorous trills every day. Training small birds in vocal art also brought considerable profit. The chicks were specially placed next to adult males so that the young would listen and repeat the knees of the “professionals.” The Kursk tune could also be heard in St. Petersburg, because the Imperial Court also had a weakness for this sound.

The nightingale has not lost its popularity today - it is heard at dawn and dusk from spring to autumn. Nowadays, unlike parrots and canaries, these birds are not kept at home. Perhaps only enthusiastic ornithologists. But a few years ago they opened a museum dedicated to the life and phenomenon of feathered singers. More than 500 exhibits, historical data, literary works, sayings and signs. Everything that the Kursk nightingale can tell about itself is collected here; photographs and clay figurines of the bird from local artists arouse constant interest and daily attract hundreds of visitors, young and old, to the museum.

Singing competitions and bard song festivals named after the proud bird are held in the region and beyond. You can also get from Kursk to Belokamennaya by the “nightingale” train.

Kursk nightingale

This sonorous nickname was given to famous stage voices: in Tsarist Russia - singer Nadezhda Plevitskaya, in the forties of the last century - tenor Ivan Surzhikov, now this is the name of the public's favorite, People's Artist of the Russian Federation Lev Leshchenko.

What remains surprising is the fact that for all the reverence and pride in the local “feathered stars,” there is no respect for them. But there are three flying partridges. That's how they passed by main symbol region.

Unlike the end of the nineteenth century, when bird hunting in the Kursk province threatened the warblers with extinction, in our time there is no need to include them in the Red Book. There are about two thousand pairs in the region alone. But this does not mean that they do not need protection, like all living things around us. It’s nice to meet and see off the day with pure singing, which gives a feeling of peace and makes you smile.

Conclusion

The singing of this bird is so pleasant to the human ear that the expression “Sings like a nightingale” has become a catchphrase. This is exactly what people say about a talented singer or singer. And the culprit himself, the nightingale, is a small bird with long legs and big eyes, which has long become the singing symbol of Russia. The vocalist looks dull. The nightingale's feathers have a brown tint, and the tail is reddish. Nightingales live mainly in Europe and western Asia.

The nightingale is a migratory bird. The singer does not like winter and he waits out the cold season far from his native land, in Africa. But as soon as spring comes, the nightingale hurries back home. Moreover, flocks of nightingales fly exclusively at night. Having flown to their native places, they settle not far from forest rivers and lakes, in dense thickets of willow trees or in bird cherry and rose hip bushes.

As soon as the foliage appears, the nightingales are ready to sing. Nightingale concerts begin in the evening, at sunset, and continue throughout the night, sometimes extending into the morning. Nightingales are great dreamers and constantly diversify their musical works by inserting new trills into them. At the same time, nightingales know how to learn from each other. It is enough for one of them to come up with a new melody, and soon the neighbors already have time to memorize this tune and begin to repeat it in every way.

The power of nightingale trills so amazed our ancestors that they came up with the fabulous image of a mighty robber who sits on a tree and is able to bend grass and trees with his whistle. They gave him the name Nightingale the Robber.

Why does the nightingale need to sing so loudly and attractively? Everything is explained quite simply. Flocks of nightingales fly to their native places at night, and in each such flock there are females who have not yet chosen a mate. Here the nightingales, having arrived home early, are trying to attract a girlfriend to their territory with beautiful melodies. Birds that sing louder and more attractively than others have a mate faster.

While singing, the nightingale is completely in motion. He either presses against the branch on which he sits, then stretches out to his full height, then bows, like a real artist during a concert. And how his eyes sparkle when he sings!

But the goal of singing is achieved and the nightingale has a girlfriend. The time of troubles and worries is coming. A new married couple needs to build a nest for future chicks. The female does the construction. From last year's leaves she builds on the ground, under the protection of thorny bushes, a structure somewhat reminiscent of a disheveled head of cabbage. In this nest, the female patiently incubates the eggs, only occasionally going out in search of food. Meanwhile, the future father continues to sing funny songs, but he does this away from the nest, so as not to endanger the offspring.

Nightingale chicks grow quite quickly. For rapid growth, they constantly need food and the nightingale father has practically no time to sing at this time. He constantly brings food to the nest, gives it to the female, and she distributes the food among the children. Since chicks develop from at different speeds, the family is separated at some point in time. One of the parents wanders around with older chicks in search of food, and the other parent continues to carry food into the nest, feeding those babies that cannot yet walk on their own. What is included in the nightingale's diet? Bugs, worms, butterflies, ants, and for dessert - berries.

Nightingale trills usually subside by the end of June. And by mid-summer, families also break up. The grown-up chicks begin an independent life, parental care ends, and until autumn the nightingales already lead a solitary lifestyle. Of course, they are not silent during this period of time, but the sounds they make for the rest of the summer are in no way reminiscent of those charming roulades that were heard in the spring.

With the onset of autumn, the nightingales become uncomfortable in their native lands and they, gathering in flocks, also fly to distant Africa at night to wait for the arrival of a new spring.

Nightingale dimensions

Description of the bird

This is what a nightingale looks like on earth

The most famous songbird in the CIS countries is the nightingale from the flycatcher family of the passeriformes order. Despite their wonderful voice, nightingales are not distinguished by their external beauty.

Appearance

In the photo: a nightingale sitting on a branch

A common representative of the species is common nightingale weighs 25 g, body length in males and females is 16-17.5 cm, wingspan is 24-27 cm. The color of the plumage of the common nightingale is olive-brown, the tail and wings are darker, and the abdomen is lighter, the sides are gray, the beak is small , yellow. The nightingale looks quite ordinary, more like a sparrow than a bird with an outstanding voice.

What do they eat?

Nightingales feed on worms, earthen insects, spiders, and ant eggs. In summer and autumn, nightingales add berries to their diet. In captivity, bone meal, shells, feed yeast, hamarus, cottage cheese, chicken eggs, and sunflower seeds are used as substitutes for natural food for nightingales. Nightingales also eat walnuts, boiled meat and millet, fruits, berries and vegetables.

Where does he live?

This is what a nightingale looks like when it sings

The distribution range of the nightingale is wide. Birds are found in Europe, Western Asia and the Yenisei. Nightingales winter in Africa. For nesting, they prefer bushes or forest edges located near bodies of water, as well as groves, gardens and parks.

Migratory bird or not

This is what a nightingale looks like in flight

The nightingale is a migratory bird. Migration begins in mid-August and lasts until mid-October. The nightingale flies to southern countries for the winter. Winters in Africa, south of the equator, but not north of southern Ethiopia. Nightingales fly to their native lands in the spring from mid-April to early May.

Species

Today, ornithologists track 14 species of nightingales, which differ in external signs, singing ability and area. In this article we will talk about the most popular nightingales in the CIS according to search queries.

Common Nightingale

Latin name: Luscinia luscinia
Weight: 24 g (large adult bird)
Highest classification: Nightingales
Conservation status:

Common Nightingale ( Eastern nightingale) - this species has the largest population in the nightingale genus. The bird's plumage is warm brown with a characteristic gray-brown pattern of spots on the chest. IN wildlife The lifespan of an ordinary nightingale is 8-10 years, some nightingales live up to 12 years.

The size of this species reaches the size of a sparrow. The belly and chest of the birds are gray-yellow, the plumage of the back and wings is brown with an olive tint. There are no patterns on the chest, thanks to which the species can be distinguished from the common nightingale.

Latin name: Luscinia calliope
Weight: 20-30 g (large adult bird)
Highest classification: Calliope
Conservation status: Least Concern

The Ruby-throated Nightingale is a small bird with a light breast and an olive-brown back. Characteristic difference the male of this species has red throat plumage. These birds sing loudly, but their song is shorter than that of an ordinary nightingale.

Latin name: Tarsiger hyperythrus
Weight: 11-16 g (large adult bird)
Body length: 12-13 cm
Highest classification: Nightingales
Conservation status: Least Concern

The male red-breasted nightingale is a handsome man with an orange belly and a blue tail and wings. The body length of this species is about 13 cm, weight - up to 16 g. This species is widespread in the Himalayas, India, China, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

The blue nightingale is a small species (about 15 g) with a pronounced difference between females and males. Males have blue-black plumage on the back, brown wings, black beak and cheeks, breast and abdomen are pearly gray. Female blue nightingales are similar to females of the common nightingale. Sometimes their color has a blue tint. But the song of blue nightingales sounds simpler.

Male and female: main differences

Sexual dimorphism in nightingales differs depending on the species. For example, females and males of the eastern and southern nightingales practically do not differ from each other. But the males of the blue, red-breasted and ruby-throated nightingales have bright and noticeable plumage.

Keeping at home

Thanks to their sonorous voice, nightingales often become pets and favorites. However, you should pay attention to the fact that birds do not adapt well to captivity and may behave restlessly at first. If a bird fights in a cage, then cover the cage with thick cloth and try to disturb the nightingale as little as possible until it calms down.

Cage requirements

Minimum size cages for keeping nightingales - 40x60x30 cm. The smaller the cage, the greater the chance that the bird will develop obesity, which leads to death. The inside of the cage is equipped with a bird feeder and water bowl. The bars and jumpers in the cage must be wooden. In captivity, nightingales live up to 5 years.

Insectivorous nightingales are demanding on their diet. To ensure that nightingales do not lack nutrients in captivity, they are fed flies, mealworms, crickets, and ant eggs. Plant components are gradually added to animal feed. For example, berries, fruits or vegetables. However, insects cannot be excluded from the nightingale’s food. It is worth noting that if a bird has stopped feeding for at least two days in captivity, then the nightingale should be released in order to save its life.

The photo shows nightingale eggs

Due to weakly expressed sexual dimorphism, it is difficult to select a pair of nightingales. If this is successful, then such a pair is placed in a large aviary, a lot of material is left for the nest (grass, leaves, moss, bark) and the birds are provided with peace. In one clutch, a female nightingale has from 4 to 6 eggs, which she incubates for two weeks.

This is what nightingale chicks look like

They fly out of the nest at 10-12 days, and their parents continue to feed them for another 10 days.

What to do if you find a nightingale chick

If you find a nightingale chick that has fallen out of its nest near a tree or bush, then you should not immediately pick it up. Pay attention to the nest; if it is not destroyed, then do not panic. In order to make sure that everything will be in order, and the chick’s parents will find it and accept it, it is worth observing the chick. When the hungry nightingale starts screaming, the parents will hear the scream and fly in. If you see a destroyed nest, wait more than 2-3 hours, and the parents do not arrive, take the chick home and try to feed it.

What to feed a nightingale chick

Padovan food for insectivorous birds is suitable for nightingale chicks. Suppress the food in a cup and give the already suppressed food to the chick. Live insects are also suitable, but there are cases when a bird is poisoned by insects or worms stored in stores and this leads to its death. Recommended food: padovan + mashed eggs (mashed eggs - eggshells).

In Russia, the city of Kursk on the street. Pionerov, 84-a there is a museum “Kursk Nightingale” dedicated to the symbol of the Kursk region;
John Milton's sonnet "To a Nightingale" (1632–33) contrasts the symbolism of the nightingale as a bird for lovers, and the cuckoo as the bird that called when wives were unfaithful (or "cuckolded") to their husbands;
The nightingale is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 1 kuna coin minted since 1993;
The nightingale was the inspiration for the Korean court dance Chunaengjeon (춘앵전). The dance was originally performed by the male dance group of the Joseon Dynasty court, Mudong;
Nightingales are secretive and cautious birds, do not adapt well to captivity;
Adult nightingales teach chicks to sing from the moment of birth; when the chicks grow up, they imitate adult nightingales with their voice;
In addition to their own famous trills, nightingales easily and well adopt the singing of other birds;
In eastern countries, the singing of nightingales was considered a harbinger of happiness, and therefore nobles, kings, and emperors bred them.

Singing

The birds sing melodious trills from the beginning of May until the end of summer. Each nightingale song consists of 12 repeating elements, which are also called knees. In them, the low “fiuit-trr” is combined with a characteristic clicking and whistling sound. More to interesting facts It is true that nightingales often add the sounds of other birds to their melodies. In crossword puzzles, the question “what is the name of the nightingale’s singing” has 5 letters and 4 answers are suitable: whistle, trill, tickle and lekot.

One of the most famous feathered singers is the common nightingale, which is also called the eastern nightingale. If you have ever walked at night or in the morning along lush trees and bushes, then you have probably heard the ringing and enchanting singing of this little guy.

Description of the nightingale

All species of nightingales are classified as members of the thrush family. Females and males do not differ from each other in appearance. The common nightingale is a small bird, slightly larger than a sparrow. Its color is also inconspicuous, mostly monochromatic, brown-olive. Part of the bird's abdomen and neck are white. On the sides and chest the color is slightly darker than the main color. The top of the tail has a faint reddish tint. The color of nightingales remains virtually unchanged all year round.

Juveniles can be distinguished by their scaly coloring below and light streaks on the upper side. The round eyes appear almost black. The length of the nightingale does not exceed 20 cm, and its weight is on average 25 grams. The bird's wings are about 9 cm, and the span can be 29 cm. These birds have a straight tail. But there are individuals with curved ends. When a nightingale sits, its tail rises and falls.

Spreading

The eastern nightingale is a fairly common bird that lives in eastern Europe. It can also be found in western Siberia. These birds are migratory, so they choose North Africa, Southern Iran and Arabia for wintering.

Habitats

But where do nightingales live when they return to their homeland after wintering? Since these are moisture-loving birds, they choose succulent areas, such as marshy thickets, bushes in parks and gardens. They also love forest edges, which are found in forest and forest-steppe areas. Some individuals may settle in dry places, but usually they do not return to these areas the following year.

Lifestyle

This bird is in no hurry to return from its wintering place. The nightingale arrives in the spring, when the trees are already covered with greenery, and insects are flying stormy life, since they are the food for these birds. Typically this time falls at the end of April to mid-May. Experienced singers are usually the first to return. After a few days, the one-year-old birds arrive. With their arrival, life changes. Young mature individuals tend to settle near experienced, old nightingales. They are trying to conquer part of the territory of those males who live here from year to year. But he actively defends this area. The old nightingale vehemently tries to drive away all the envious people and only gives in to some, conceding part of its territory. But at the same time, he himself decides who to give in to, as if he chooses with whom he wants to be neighbors. The matured young nightingales become new neighbors; the old ones will never be able to occupy someone else's territory.

In this way, a hierarchy of a small number of nightingales is formed. The head is the oldest male, there are also from 1 to 3 adults, and the rest, the youngest, stand lower, subordinate to the leader. All of them can create families and settle at a distance of 15-30 meters, sometimes the neighboring nest is only five meters away. In such cases, the old and young nightingales can sit on the same branch and sing. At the same time, the younger bird strictly observes its turn to start singing. It happens that an inexperienced male gets carried away and begins to sing earlier, then the old bird attacks and drives away the intruder or begins to sing as loudly as the young one cannot yet, thereby silencing him.

If the males live a few meters apart from each other, each is given his own time to sing. This is usually observed in places that are particularly favorable for nesting. Here there may be no leader among the adult males. Also, eastern nightingales, which are only a year old, can group and live separately in settlements. These are inept, with wheezing and blots, or overly zealous, with “heat.”

In other areas, usually further north, individual pairs settle at a distance of several hundred meters from each other.

More about singing

Among this family of birds, the best singer is the western nightingale. The bird begins its songs only three to five days after it returns from wintering. His song begins around 10 p.m. and continues throughout the night until dawn. But in the first weeks after it arrives, the bird’s singing can be heard during the day. It plays all the time, only going silent for a couple of hours at lunchtime.

The nightingale performs her song on a branch that grows not high from the ground. At this time, he hunches a little and lowers his wings. In normal times, it is almost impossible to notice the nightingale, since this little guy has a secretive and cautious character. But while singing, he can forget himself so much that some managed to come very close and examine the carried away performer.

The songs of the nightingale are very characteristic, they are filled with whistling, rumbling and clicking sounds. But his “dictionary” contains many signals that he uses not only for singing. But he uses these sounds only for a specific purpose, and therefore very rarely. For example, the nightingale uses several different signals to indicate impending alarm.

The nightingale's songs can gradually improve as the birds learn this art gradually. Young males listen to older males and imitate them. If there is an experienced performer in the area, soon all the nightingales here will improve their singing. It is known that in places where good singers are caught, the next generation will perform their tunes poorly until they are taught.

A description of the nightingale, or rather his song, will not convey all the beauty of this extraordinary event, so it is better to set aside a day to go for a walk in nature, and maybe you will be lucky enough to hear the tunes of this famous singer.

Pairing

Females fly to the territory of males in the evening and quietly wait until the morning. At dawn they begin to whistle softly to attract attention. Often at this moment they jump along the branches of a bush or on the ground. The male, in turn, begins to wriggle, taking different poses, lowers his wings, hunches over and opens his tail. This is how a couple is formed. The female takes off and the male follows her, making creaking sounds. So he chases his chosen one.

A few days later, when the female has become accustomed to the male’s nesting site, she finds a good place to build a nest.

Nesting

Nightingales’ favorite places to build a nest are thickets and roots of shrubs, woody growth, groves, and nearby gardens. These locations are usually located near wet areas, such as near ponds or wetlands. The nest is usually built on the ground, and sometimes on a pile of dry leaves. The place is hidden by branches or roots. To build a house, they do not make holes, but only go a little deeper into the forest floor. The sides of the nest remain at the level of dry leaves. So, its diameter is 110-130 mm, height - up to 100 mm. The tray itself inside the nest has a diameter of 7-8 cm and a depth of 5-7 cm.

The common nightingale builds roughly. The bottom is lined with several layers of last year's leaves. The edges of the tray, and in rare cases the walls of the nest, are lined with stems of grass and sedge. Also, the bottom of the tray is covered with small particles of cereals and even horsehair. The new nest is in a hidden place, so the nightingale walks to it. The female builds such a dwelling. This takes her up to 6 days.

Bird's offspring

After arranging the nest, the female lays a clutch containing 4-5 olive or olive-brown eggs. This time falls at the end of May and beginning of June. Only the female incubates. At this time, the “father” sings and protects the territory and the female with the nest. After 13-14 days, offspring appear. Feeding lasts up to 12 days, and the father helps the female with this. Around the 19th day, the chicks begin to fly, and the father stops singing. The parents feed the young for another two weeks. Already at the end of June, all the nightingales stop singing, and the broods scatter. Birds begin a normal solitary life. The common nightingale flies away from the nesting site at the end of July.