The white partridge is a predator or not. Looking for white partridge. What does it look like in summer
The white partridge is a traditional inhabitant of the tundra, taiga forests and forest-steppes of the Northern Hemisphere. In the forest zone, birds usually settle in vast wetlands; in the forest-steppe, they inhabit thickets of bushes, which provide them with protection and food.
Several times a year the bird changes color: in winter its feathers become a protective snow-white color (except for the tail), in summer they become reddish-brown. During the mating season, the feathers on the head and neck of males are colored reddish-brown, sharply contrasting with the white plumage of the body. The bird is tightly built and leads predominantly sedentary image life. Its flight is quite maneuverable and fast. Evidence of revival mating season is the appearance of the first bright red feathers in males. By this time, their eyebrows are filled with red. In females this process is less pronounced.
Ptarmigans in the photo above.
A member of the grouse family, the ptarmigan is well adapted to life in extreme conditions. During the fierce winter frosts, birds burrow deep into the snow, where comfortable conditions Snow chambers retain strength and energy well. Structural features digestive system partridges allow you to stock up on food for the whole day. One more seasonal feature Northern birds are characterized by the appearance of white fluffy plumage on their feet in winter. At this time, the partridge feeds mainly on the buds and branches of bushes, dwarf birch, and willow. Lack of winter food can cause mass migration of birds to more southern regions along big rivers, rich in willow trees. In spring, the ptarmigan feeds on weed seeds or shoots of the first green plants. The bird's summer diet includes blueberries, cloudberries, shoots, leaves and inflorescences. The timing of nesting depends on the altitude of the area and the characteristics of spring. In steppe regions, laying can begin in late April - early May, in northeastern regions Altai at an altitude of 1950 m - in June. The female incubates up to 15 eggs.
White partridge.
Lives in Eurasia and the British Isles, in North America. In our country, Russia, it is distributed from the Baltic Sea to Kamchatka and Sakhalin. Prefers taiga forests, forest-tundra and swamps with abundant moss in mixed forests. The bird is about 38 cm long, wingspan 66 cm, weight 500 - 700 grams. Females are smaller than males. In summer and autumn, the back, head and tail are brown with red streaks. Belly and throat white. By winter they molt, their plumage becomes pure white all over their body, even their legs are heavily feathered, only their beak and tail feathers are black. The ptarmigan is the only species of the grouse family that molts. Moreover, females 3 times a year, males 4 times a year. The physique is dense with a short neck. The legs are low and strong. There is an explanation for this: the bird walks a lot on the ground and digs up upper layer land in search of food. The wings are wide and short. The flight is fast, but over short distances. It takes off noisily and often flaps its wings.
Leads a sedentary lifestyle in the southern regions. Birds from the northern regions (tundra) migrate to the northern borders of the forest (fly away in the fall). They gather in flocks of about 300 birds. Spends most of its time on the ground in search of food. Camouflage perfectly camouflages it among vegetation in summer and among snow in winter. And if she freezes in place, she will not be visible at all. winter bird most spends time under the snow, sheltering from the wind and cold. This cover also protects from enemies. Partridges gather in small groups of up to 15 individuals. Feeds predominantly plant foods. Moving quite quickly across the area, the bird pecks seeds and buds of plants, shoots and berries. She has many enemies: peregrine falcon, gyrfalcon, .
The mating season begins in spring. Males dress up in attractive attire. His head and neck become reddish-brown. Having flown up to the female, he sings a song to her, then demonstrates various poses and cries, in a word, he dances. He already has a nesting site, he took care of it in advance. Fights often arise between males for such areas. They usually nest in open areas of the tundra, where there are small thickets of willow bushes, berry bushes, and dwarf birch trees. When the pair has united, the female begins building a nest. Digs a hole and lines it with twigs, stems and grass. The nest is well hidden under a bush. At the beginning of June she will lay 5 – 12 motley eggs. She incubates them for about 3 weeks. The male protects the family. The chicks are born feathered, sighted and soon follow their mother. Parents take their children to a safe place and monitor them for up to 2 months, protecting and raising them. The chicks eat insects that they find for themselves.
IN wildlife white partridge lives 8 – 12 years.
Class – Birds
Includes 22 subspecies ( see text)
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Ptarmigan(Lagopus lagopus (Linnaeus, ) listen)) is a bird of the grouse subfamily, order Galliformes. Inhabitant of the tundra, taiga and forests of the Northern Hemisphere.
Appearance
Body length 35-38 cm; weighs 400-700 g.
Inhabits the tundra, forest-tundra and northern taiga zone; in forests it is found mainly in moss swamps; in the mountains it reaches the subalpine zone. Individuals living in the marshy areas of England and especially Scotland, due to the milder climate, do not change their color, but have summer dress chestnut-brown in color with brown flight feathers and gray legs.
Lifestyle and nutrition
The white partridge is universally attached to bushy vegetation, which provides it with its main food. Its most typical nesting sites are areas of open hummocky tundra, alternating with thickets of willow, dwarf birch and berry fields. In the southern regions, ptarmigan are usually sedentary; from the northern ones (tundra, Arctic islands) they fly south for the winter. The flight takes place along the valleys of the rivers - Pechora, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma. In March, partridges begin reverse movement to nesting sites.
It stays and feeds mainly on the ground, taking off only as a last resort. The white partridge is adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle: it runs quickly, thanks to patronizing coloring skillfully hides. In most of its range it lives in winter conditions for 6-9 months a year, in winter spending most of the day in “chambers” under the snow. IN harsh winters digs passages in the snow, partly to look for food, partly in order to hide from enemies.
Ptarmigans are gregarious birds, forming pairs only during the breeding season. They form large flocks (up to 100-300 birds) during seasonal migrations; In winter they usually live in flocks of 5-15 birds.
The diet is predominantly plant-based; the amount of animal feed in adult birds is only 2-3% of the diet volume. IN winter months partridges eat buds and shoots of woody plants (especially willows and birches); in summer - leaves, seeds, berries. In the first days of life, chicks feed mainly on insects.
Mating and breeding
In spring, the birds scatter in the thawed areas, and the males, having occupied the nesting territory, begin to court the females. Fierce fights arise between males over nesting sites, sometimes with fatal results.
The mating ritual of the ptarmigan includes the flight of the male with a mating song, special calls and a series of poses and movements performed near the female. Being a silent bird the rest of the time, in the spring the white partridge is quite noisy; at the height of the mating season, males in the tundra mating around the clock, especially intensely in the mornings and evenings; females make clucking sounds. The song performed by the male during lekking flight consists of a series of guttural sounds produced in strict sequence: the male silently flies over the ground for several tens of meters, then soars up 15-20 m with a cry of “kok”, and descends steeply with a laughing trill of “ke” -ke-ke-krrrrr” and already on the ground ends the song with a quiet “kebe-kebe-kebekebe”.
Ptarmigans are monogamous birds. They are finally divided into pairs with the establishment of a stable warm weather. Egg laying in May-June. The female makes a nest - a hole in the ground, lined with stems, branches and leaves, usually under the protection of bushes.
Number and commercial importance
The number of white partridges varies from year to year. A 4-5 year cycle of fluctuations in their numbers has been established, which is directly dependent on the number of lemmings: when it declines, predators (Arctic fox, snowy owl) switch to white partridges.
Notes
Links
- White partridge on the website “Wintering Birds of the Moscow Region” by Dmitry Korotkov
- Central Russian white partridge on the website APUS.RU
- Ptarmigan- article from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
The head and neck become brick-brown in color, contrasting sharply with the white body.
Inhabits the tundra, forest-tundra and northern taiga zone; in forests it is found mainly in moss swamps; in the mountains it reaches the subalpine zone. Individuals living in the marshy areas of England and especially Scotland, due to the milder climate, do not change their color, but throughout the year they have a chestnut-brown summer dress with brown flight feathers and gray legs.
Lifestyle and nutrition
The white partridge is universally attached to bushy vegetation, which provides it with its main food. The most typical places for its nesting are areas of open hummocky tundra, alternating with thickets willow, dwarf birch and berry bushes. In the southern regions, ptarmigan are usually sedentary; from the northern ones (tundra, Arctic islands) they fly south for the winter. The flight takes place along the valleys of the rivers - Pechora, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma. From March, partridges begin to move back to their nesting sites.
It stays and feeds mainly on the ground, taking off only as a last resort. The white partridge is adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle: it runs quickly and, thanks to its protective coloring, skillfully hides. In most of its range, it lives in winter conditions for 6-9 months a year, spending most of the day in winter in “chambers” under the snow. In severe winters, it digs tunnels in the snow, partly to look for food, partly to hide from enemies.
Ptarmigans are gregarious birds, forming pairs only during the breeding season. They form large flocks (up to 100-300 birds) during seasonal migrations; In winter they usually live in flocks of 5-15 birds.
The diet is predominantly plant-based; the amount of animal feed in adult birds is only 2-3% of the diet volume. During the winter months, partridges eat the buds and shoots of woody plants (especially willows and birches); in summer - leaves, seeds, berries. In the first days of life, chicks feed mainly on insects.
Mating and breeding
In spring, the birds scatter in the thawed areas, and the males, having occupied the nesting territory, begin to court the females. Fierce fights arise between males over nesting sites, sometimes with fatal results.
The mating ritual of the ptarmigan includes the flight of the male with a mating song, special calls and a series of poses and movements performed near the female. Being a silent bird the rest of the time, in the spring the white partridge is quite noisy; at the height of the mating season, males in the tundra mating around the clock, especially intensely in the mornings and evenings; females make clucking sounds. The song performed by the male during lekking flight consists of a series of guttural sounds produced in strict sequence: the male silently flies over the ground for several tens of meters, then soars up 15-20 m with a cry of “kok”, and descends steeply with a laughing trill of “ke” -ke-ke-krrrrr” and already on the ground ends the song with a quiet “kebe-kebe-kebekebe”.
Ptarmigans are monogamous birds. They finally break up into pairs when stable warm weather sets in. Egg laying in May-June. The female makes a nest - a hole in the ground, lined with stems, branches and leaves, usually under the protection of bushes.
Number and commercial importance
The number of white partridges varies from year to year. A 4-5 year cycle of fluctuations in their numbers has been established, which is directly dependent on the number of lemmings: when it declines, predators (Arctic fox, snowy owl) switch to white partridges.
Of the predators, only the arctic fox and the gyrfalcon regularly feed on ptarmigan; chicks are also attacked by skuas, glaucous gulls and herring gulls. Among the factors unfavorable for numbers great importance has the character of the weather during the hatching period, as well as the character of spring. Cold, long springs often lead to the fact that most females do not start nesting at all.
In the northern regions, especially in the forest-tundra, the white partridge is an object of commercial hunting. Ptarmigan meat is quite tasty and therefore pre-revolutionary Russia(until 1917) in winter, many of these killed birds were brought frozen to the cities.
The white partridge is not very suitable for breeding in captivity; in aviaries it survives much worse than other grouse birds.
Classification
There are 22 subspecies of ptarmigan:
- Lagopus lagopus alascensis Swarth, 1926
- Lagopus lagopus albus (Gmelin, 1789)
- Lagopus lagopus alexandrae Grinnell, 1909
- Lagopus lagopus alleni Stejneger, 1884
- Lagopus lagopus birulai
- Lagopus lagopus brevirostris Hesse, 1912
- Lagopus lagopus dybowskii
- Lagopus lagopus kamtschatkensis
- Lagopus lagopus koreni Thayer & Bangs, 1914
- Lagopus lagopus kozlowae Portenko, 1931
- Lagopus lagopus lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Lagopus lagopus leucopterus Taverner, 1932
- Lagopus lagopus maior Lorenz, 1904 – large
- Lagopus lagopus muriei Gabrielson & Lincoln, 1949
- Lagopus lagopus okadai Momiyama, 1928
- Lagopus lagopus pallasi
- Lagopus lagopus rossicus Serebrovski, 1926 - Central Russian
- Lagopus lagopus scotica (Latham, 1787)
- Lagopus lagopus septentrionalis
- Lagopus lagopus sserebrowsky Domaniewski, 1933
- Lagopus lagopus ungavus Riley, 1911
- Lagopus lagopus variegatus Salomonsen, 1936
Subspecies Lagopus lagopus scotica (
Includes 22 subspecies ( see text)
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Ptarmigan(Lagopus lagopus (Linnaeus, ) listen)) is a bird of the grouse subfamily, order Galliformes. Inhabitant of the tundra, taiga and forests of the Northern Hemisphere.
Appearance
Body length 35-38 cm; weighs 400-700 g.
Inhabits the tundra, forest-tundra and northern taiga zone; in forests it is found mainly in moss swamps; in the mountains it reaches the subalpine zone. Individuals living in the marshy areas of England and especially Scotland, due to the milder climate, do not change their color, but throughout the year they have a chestnut-brown summer dress with brown flight feathers and gray legs.
Lifestyle and nutrition
The white partridge is universally attached to bushy vegetation, which provides it with its main food. Its most typical nesting sites are areas of open hummocky tundra, alternating with thickets of willow, dwarf birch and berry fields. In the southern regions, ptarmigan are usually sedentary; from the northern ones (tundra, Arctic islands) they fly south for the winter. The flight takes place along the valleys of the rivers - Pechora, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma. From March, partridges begin to move back to their nesting sites.
It stays and feeds mainly on the ground, taking off only as a last resort. The white partridge is adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle: it runs quickly and, thanks to its protective coloring, skillfully hides. In most of its range, it lives in winter conditions for 6-9 months a year, spending most of the day in winter in “chambers” under the snow. In severe winters, it digs tunnels in the snow, partly to look for food, partly to hide from enemies.
Ptarmigans are gregarious birds, forming pairs only during the breeding season. They form large flocks (up to 100-300 birds) during seasonal migrations; In winter they usually live in flocks of 5-15 birds.
The diet is predominantly plant-based; the amount of animal feed in adult birds is only 2-3% of the diet volume. During the winter months, partridges eat the buds and shoots of woody plants (especially willows and birches); in summer - leaves, seeds, berries. In the first days of life, chicks feed mainly on insects.
Mating and breeding
In spring, the birds scatter in the thawed areas, and the males, having occupied the nesting territory, begin to court the females. Fierce fights arise between males over nesting sites, sometimes with fatal results.
The mating ritual of the ptarmigan includes the flight of the male with a mating song, special calls and a series of poses and movements performed near the female. Being a silent bird the rest of the time, in the spring the white partridge is quite noisy; at the height of the mating season, males in the tundra mating around the clock, especially intensely in the mornings and evenings; females make clucking sounds. The song performed by the male during lekking flight consists of a series of guttural sounds produced in strict sequence: the male silently flies over the ground for several tens of meters, then soars up 15-20 m with a cry of “kok”, and descends steeply with a laughing trill of “ke” -ke-ke-krrrrr” and already on the ground ends the song with a quiet “kebe-kebe-kebekebe”.
Ptarmigans are monogamous birds. They finally break up into pairs when stable warm weather sets in. Egg laying in May-June. The female makes a nest - a hole in the ground, lined with stems, branches and leaves, usually under the protection of bushes.
Number and commercial importance
The number of white partridges varies from year to year. A 4-5 year cycle of fluctuations in their numbers has been established, which is directly dependent on the number of lemmings: when it declines, predators (Arctic fox, snowy owl) switch to white partridges.