Avdotka bird: photo, description, lifestyle and interesting facts. Avdotka is an unusual bird Avdotka sat for some time and warmed the egg and the chick in turn, but then rolled the egg to the chick and sat on both of them

This is a bird of dry steppes and deserts; in Russia it is found in the Lower Volga region, Ciscaucasia and, possibly, on the Don. Avdotka is tall-legged, large bird with a short, plovers-like beak and large yellow eyes, indicating its nocturnal lifestyle. The color of the plumage is sandy-gray with dark longitudinal spots, reminiscent of the coloration of a curlew.

A flying bird has a white spot in the area of ​​the wing fold and 2 light stripes above the secondary flight feathers. There is also a light stripe at the top of the tail. The bird is the size of a large pigeon, about 43 cm long and 81-87 cm in wingspan. Body weight is about 500 g. Their habits resemble bustard birds.

Avdotka is rare in Russia. I have seen this bird only a few times, and in recent decades I have not found any trace of it. Drawings of avdotka traces and a brief description of them are also given in the books of A.N. Formozov, and in the book by P.G. Oshmarin and D.G. Pikunov.

The drawings bear little resemblance to each other; judging by them, one was made from an imprint in damp sand, and the other from the tracks of a bird running across the loose sand, which moved strongly to the sides under its paws. However, looking at both drawings, one can understand that the tracks of the sandbird can be easily distinguished from the tracks of other waders and other birds in general. They also differ noticeably from the tracks of bustard birds, with which many taxonomists compare the avdotok.

Paw print and traces of a car walking with long strides

The toes of avdotok are not as short and thick as those of bustards. The side toes are very close to the middle one and form sharp angles. The heel produces an elliptical shaped imprint. There is no back finger. The avdotka often moves by running, the stride length is about 36 cm. When running, it places its paws directly on the midline. A.N. To Formozov, the three-toed tracks of a running avdotka reminded the tracks of a jerboa, but it also walks with small, clumsy steps.

The avdotka feeds on insects, mainly large beetles and orthoptera; it also eats worms and snails, and catches reptiles (especially small lizards) and amphibians. Sometimes small rodents and perhaps small birds are enough. The running mouse is hit with its beak, then grabbed and slammed several times on the ground. But after that it doesn’t peck, but swallows it whole. To ease digestion, swallow coarse sand.

The bird's droppings have not been described, but judging by its diet, it should be similar to the droppings of waders (a white liquid blob), and not of bustards, which eat a lot of plant food and whose droppings look like the droppings of domestic chickens. Eating large beetles along with a dense chitinous cover, it would seem, should force the avdot to shed pellets, but whether she sheds them is unknown.

Avdotka is a migratory bird that winters in Africa. Returns in April, apparently in already formed pairs. However, in the spring I also saw solitary birds migrating. Immediately upon the arrival of these birds, the nights are filled with loud, peculiar voices. After a few days, mating occurs. Avdotka eggs are laid directly on bare ground or in a small hole with a litter of small pebbles and twigs.

A full clutch usually contains 2, occasionally 3 eggs. In shape and size they resemble chickens, but are colored brownish-yellow and covered with brown-red and dark brown spots. Their average size is 54×37 mm. The incubating bird is very careful and, in case of danger, leaves the nest in advance and runs away. The crows approaching the nest are driven away by the male. Immediately after hatching the chicks, adult birds move the shell to the side, although, having dried, the chicks immediately leave the place where they hatched and never return there.

During the day, the avdotka dozes, standing in the shade of a small bush. There it is quite easy to spot it not only from a passing car, but sometimes even from the window of a train rushing through the desert. She lets the person very close, after which she takes a running start and takes to the wing.

Finding this secretive bird is very difficult.

Avdotka — migrant, winters in Africa.

Returns in April, apparently in already formed pairs.

A carnivorous bird, the basis of its diet consists of insects, snails, frogs, lizards, mice, and, possibly, eggs of other birds.

It is nocturnal and has acute hearing.

The classification of avdotka is controversial among ornithologists.

Some believe that the bird's closest relatives are waders, others choose bustards.

Having dried, the chicks immediately leave the place where they hatched and never return there.

Avdotka is an unusual bird.

Shooting a shotgun is an activity for the patient, and you couldn’t expect much variety from it.

The only moments that were a little entertaining from contemplating the car sitting on eggs for a long time were the moments of shift change.

Shooting in the rain was a particular challenge.

Both for me and for the car.

But you can’t leave when it’s raining, because the eggs cool down very quickly under water.

I had to get wet with the birds.

But, unlike them, I still had some kind of protection.

The main intrigue in the shooting was the hatching date.

We saw birds in the quarry for the first time on April 14, and eggs were discovered on May 1.

The incubation period, according to various sources, ranges from 22 to 30 days. This is a big spread.

It was generally unrealistic to understand the exact date from the behavior of the birds - in terms of frostbite, the birds would give a head start to the sentries at the Tower of London.

She sits, sleeps, moves pebbles from place to place, and then bam - she explodes and flies off into the distance on her stilts.

A couple of minutes later, from the other side, a second bird creeps up to the clutch, as if walking through a minefield.

It is very difficult to capture two birds at once.

And then, around the 15th, it seemed to me that the egg jumped.

I was confident in what I saw and began to expect the hatching any day now.

But daily trips did not produce results, just another sitting and contemplation of the imperturbable car.

Thanks to the hare for at least entertaining me with his appearances.

I was already desperate to film the moment of hatching, but my patience was rewarded.

Not quite as I would have liked, but still on May 27 I was able to see the newly born Avdotik.

I thought that during the hatching process the avdotka would get up from the eggs, and I would be able to film the very moment of its appearance, but this did not happen.

Avdotka continued to sit on the eggs and the only thing that seemed strange to me was that she picked something up from under her and ate.

I thought that she, as usual, out of boredom, was sorting through the stones and shells near the nest, but as I now understand, it was she who was destroying the shells from the shelled egg.

And then she gets up, and I see a wet little black chick.

The shell lay to the side, everything was opened in a circle, like a can opener.

After some time, the bird grabbed the shell and dragged it away from the nest.

Despite the fact that Avdotik had just been born, he was very restless.

Half an hour later, while trying to rise, he slid down a small slope a few tens of centimeters from the second egg.

Avdotka sat for a while and warmed the egg and the chick in turn, but then she rolled the egg towards the chick and sat on both of them.

The next day the nest was already empty.

I sat down and began to watch the quarry, because they couldn’t have gone far.

After some time, about 10 meters away, the baby began to stir and was immediately covered by his mother who appeared out of nowhere.

Parents protect chicks much more strongly than eggs.

If during incubation the hare could pass between me and the bird without any problems, now he had the imprudence to walk to the side much further, as the avdotki almost cooked him in sour cream sauce.

It was funny to watch how parents taught their babies how to feed.

They picked up food with their beaks and threw it in place, letting the baby try to repeat the same thing.

The baby smeared at first, and the parent repeated this again and again.

Day old baby:

Well, about the safety of filming.

Despite the fact that the birds were accustomed to the hiding place itself and did not pay attention to it, it was still impossible to climb into it unnoticed. Usually in such cases they try to get to the shooting location before dawn, but avdotkas are very active at night and see perfectly in the dark.

So we had to drive her away.

The first time was the most stressful.

We decided that if the bird did not return within 40 minutes, then we would abandon filming and try our luck remotely.

But the car arrived in 5 minutes!

The bird reaches a length of 45 cm, a wingspan of 80 cm, a wing length of 25 cm, a tail of 13 cm. The plumage of the upper body is rusty-gray with black-brown stripes; the underside of the body is yellowish-white; flight and tail feathers are black.

Thanks to its color it can camouflage well.

The homeland of these birds is Southern Europe, North Africa and Central Asia.

This bird, as a rule, lives in steppes and deserts; it is not a flocking bird and prefers solitude.

Family Avdotki / Burhinidae

By appearance Bustards resemble waders, but many ornithologists, in a number of ways, compare them with bustards, with which they are also largely similar in habits. These birds lead a crepuscular and nocturnal lifestyle, so they have very large eyes. They run and fly well. The color of the plumage of avdotok is variegated, their size is approximately the size of a pigeon and somewhat larger (weight 0.4-0.5 kg). Avdotki are monogamous birds. They nest on the ground. Some species reproduce twice a season. They feed on insects, mollusks, small lizards, etc. There are 9 species in the family, classified into 3 genera: Burhinus, Orthorhamphus, Esacus. The first of them includes 7 species, the others have 1 species each. They are distributed in Africa, Europe, South and South-West Asia, Australia, Central and South America. They live in steppes, deserts, wastelands and sea coasts.

Avdotka / Burchinus oedicnemus

In Europe, this bird inhabits mainly various heathlands, as well as potato and beet plantations. Immediately after their arrival, which usually happens in April, avdotkas make their appearance known with a melodious, far-audible cry. They do not make a real nest, but lay their eggs directly on bare soil or in a small hole in the sand. Once a bird has chosen a nesting place, it returns to it in subsequent years. There are 2, occasionally 3 eggs in a clutch. The eggs have a variety of shapes, sometimes they resemble duck eggs, sometimes they have the usual shape of shorebird eggs. Their general tone is yellowish-brownish-sand with spots. Apparently, only the female incubates; incubation begins after the second egg is laid. The duration of incubation is 26 days. In Western Europe, 2 clutches are common. The avdotka feeds mainly on insects, mainly beetles, orthoptera, and also eats worms, reptiles and small rodents.

Avdotka – Burhinus oedicnemus- a bird, approximately the size of a pigeon, 40-44 cm long, weight 400-500 g, wingspan 77-85 cm. The color is typical - sandy with streaks on the top, white bottom, narrow black and white longitudinal stripes stand out on the folded wing. The voice is the characteristic mournful lingering whistle of the “burrchia”, hence the generic Latin. During the current, whistle signals of different durations quickly alternate.

Avdotkas arrive at nesting sites in April; they prefer clayey areas with poor vegetation, takyrs, and solonetzes. In Europe they nest in fields and pastures. Avdotka requires a clay or sandy dry soil surface suitable for running, and proximity to water within 20 km.

Avdotka has one brood per season, sometimes two. In case of loss of chicks, re-laying is possible.

There are 1-3 eggs in a clutch. Avdotka lays eggs at intervals of two days; incubation begins, as with most waders, from the last egg and lasts 25-27 days. The background of the shell is clayey, densely spotted with brown and black spots, curls, and lines. The female incubates slightly more than the male. At first, the parents feed the chicks from their beaks, then they feed on their own. The chicks rise to the wing at the age of about 6 weeks. The bird breeds in the first year of life, but more likely - not earlier than 3 years. Maximum age 15 years 9 months. The avdotka feeds on animal food. Its diet is dominated by large insects and lizards, and occasionally it kills small rodents.

Advotka is widespread mainly in the arid regions of Eurasia, as well as in northern Africa and tropical Asia south to Ceylon and Indochina. In Europe it reaches across heather heaths and dunes to central England and the Baltic countries, but the habitat of the avdotka here is mosaic. In Russia, it inhabits steppes, semi-deserts and deserts from the valley of the middle reaches of the Don, Volga to the south of the Orenburg region, where it occurs regularly, is found on the Curonian Spit, as well as south of the forest zone in the European part and the Urals, perhaps it also nests in Altai and in Tuva, there are flights to the south, all the way to Equatorial Africa.

In Europe the species is quite common, with a population of 160,000 pairs. In Russia, it is a rare, cautious bird; its numbers are declining and its range is shrinking as a result of anthropogenic transformation of deserts and semi-deserts. Hardly more than 10,000 pairs nest in the country every year; the species is included in the Red Book of Russia.