Day and night birds: list, characteristics and interesting facts. What does the night bird sing about? The voices of many birds can be heard in the dark. How blackbirds sing

Even the backstory of this meeting is interesting. The other day I was re-reading Iris Murdoch’s novel “The Bell.” There was a mention of a clearing with nightjars. Nightjar is such a bird. And a day or two later we went for a swim to the Don. We return at night. I myself don’t know why I bring nightjars into the conversation among various fictional creatures walking and wandering in the dark and in the moonlight. I mentioned it, okay. We go and talk about various extraneous things. Suddenly there is some movement in the headlights from the side. I only have time to see a bird flash through the right window of the car. That the bird is something I guess rather than see. Obviously not a bat. Something brownish and dim. As if it were predatory, but they no longer fly at this time, all these hawks. Let's move on. We manage to forget. And here again the phenomenon. Already from the asphalt it takes off and flies almost above us. I can already see in the direct light of the headlights and through the windshield. Some are mottled reddish-brown-whitish. All this diversity reminded me of a hoopoe. But not at the same time of day! Well, oh well. Let there be a hoopoe. Let's move on. We forget again. The third phenomenon was again from the right side of the road, but I already clearly saw the outline of a bird taking off. All. No doubt about it. It was all them. Nightjars. The rest of the way they were the only people talking about them. Upon entering, we left our bags and ran to the Internet. Read about nightjars and look at photographs. Everything came together. No doubt about it. Now is the time when there are many of them on such unlit side roads with sparse traffic. Asphalt heated up during the day attracts insects. A particularly favorite delicacy of the nightjar is butterflies and all sorts of hawk moths. And the birds themselves like to rest in a warm place. That’s how I saw nightjars for the first time in my life. The photo is not mine, of course, where in those split seconds was it possible to understand who it was and what to do with it!

The common nightjar, or simply nightjar (lat. Caprimulgus europaeus) is a nocturnal bird from the family of true nightjars, nesting in the temperate latitudes of Eurasia and northwestern Africa. Slightly larger in size than a thrush, it is distinguished by discreet grayish-brown plumage, which hides the bird well against the background of bark or forest floor. The plumage is soft and loose, like that of an owl - this makes the nightjar sometimes look a little larger than it actually is. Like other species of the family, it has large eyes, a short beak combined with a very large (“frog-shaped”) mouth opening and short legs, poorly adapted for moving on the ground and grasping branches (for this reason, birds sit along the branches, and not across them) .


Inhabits light pine forests, clearings, clearings, wastelands, wastelands. A migratory bird that winters in sub-Saharan Africa. It feeds on insects, which it hunts in the air.
The flight is energetic and maneuverable, but at the same time silent. In addition, the bird is able to hover in one place like a kestrel, and also glide with its wings spread wide apart. It moves reluctantly on the ground, preferring to sit on a patch of soil without vegetation. Sensing the approach of a predator or a person, a resting bird tries to merge with the surrounding landscape, hiding and clinging to the ground or branch. If the danger is too close, the bird easily takes off, loudly flapping its wings, and moves away a short distance.


Being an inconspicuous bird, the nightjar is primarily known for its peculiar singing, unlike the voices of other birds. His song - a dry monotonous trill "rryrryr" - is somewhat reminiscent of the rumbling of a green toad or the rattling of a small motorcycle, only louder. The monotonous rattling with short breaks continues from sunset to dawn, while the tonality, frequency and volume of the sound periodically change. From time to time the bird interrupts the trill with a high and drawn-out “furr-furr-furr-furrry…”, as if the measured rumble of the engine suddenly choked. If a long trill is characteristic only of the male, then birds of both sexes can produce other sounds. In flight, nightjars often call abruptly “week...week.” Alarm signals are various variations of monosyllabic clinking glasses or dull hissing.


The name, based on an erroneous opinion, was preserved not only in science, but also migrated to several European languages, including Russian. It is borrowed from the Natural History (Liber X 26 Ivi 115) of Pliny the Elder. He wrote such horrors about nightjars:
Et ingenia aeque aria, ad pastum maxime. caprimulgi appellantur, grandioris merulae aspectu, fures nocturni; interdiu enim visu carent. intrant pastorum stabula caprarumque uberibus advolant suctum propter lactis, qua iniuria uber emoritur caprisque caecitas, quas ita mulsere, oboritur. platea nominatur advolans ad eas, quae se in mari mergunt, et capita illarum morsu corripiens, donec capturam extorqueat. eadem cum devoratis se inplevit conchis, calore ventris coctas evomit atque ita ex iis esculenta eligit testas excernens. Which in a free retelling on Wikipedia is listed as “these birds drink goat’s milk at night, sucking on the udders of animals, which subsequently go blind and die.” Aelian went even further in his book “On Animals,” mentioning in passing “some drink blood, as nightjars do in Greece.” Horrible! The truth is that nightjars love to hang out with grazing herds due to the abundance of insects disturbed by the animals or flocking to the smell of manure. Here are them, those insects, nightjars, they are already brutal to us, yum)))

In conclusion, a huge request from Tanaquil:
PLEASE BE ALERT ON THE ROADS AT NIGHT SO YOU DON'T KNOCK OFF NIGHTJARS, FOXES AND OTHER HEDGEHOGS!
(To do this, it’s enough just not to fly at crazy speed....)

Birds that hunt their prey in flight are called birds of prey. Their characteristic features are excellent vision, as well as strong claws and beaks, used to capture and kill targets. Hearing also plays an important role in the hunting of feathered predators.

• diurnal carnivores;
• nocturnal predators.

The families of diurnal birds of prey include

• hawks;
• ospreys;
• falcons;
• secretaries;
• American vultures.

The nocturnal birds of prey include the order of owls, in which two families are distinguished: owls and barn owls. The most famous representatives are owls(white, arctic, long-eared, marsh, hawk and others), eagle owls, owls and owls (brow, sparrow and others), owls (bearded, long-tailed, gray), barn owls and scops owls.

Owl

Features of appearance and their impact on lifestyle

Almost all owls have common features. On the large head are large eyes, which appear even larger due to the plumage arranged like a fan around them. This is the facial disc. They have a short, curved beak with nostrils at the base.. These birds have thick and soft plumage, a rectangular tail, and fairly large rounded wings, with the help of which it glides and flies quickly and silently. The wings may differ depending on the species: birds that hunt in the forest have them quite short, while birds that search for prey in open areas have long wings.

The legs and fingers are covered with feathers down to the claws, with the exception of fish owls. Due to the fact that the front fingers are reversible, owls can sit on branches, and the presence of long and sharp claws gives them the ability to firmly grasp their prey. A striking feature that distinguishes them from other birds is the absence of a crop.

The coloring of owls is protective; it helps owls to camouflage themselves against the background of their environment and to be practically invisible during the daytime. Birds of prey of this species that live in the forest have a brown tint of feathers, while those living in coniferous forests change it to gray. Owls living on the plains have lighter colored feathers, while those in the deserts have a reddish tint. The color of males and females is always the same, with the exception of polar owls. Males are snow-white in color, while females are variegated with a brownish tint.

Owls are nocturnal birds of prey; their keen eyesight and good hearing help them hunt in the dark. Owls have large eyes that look forward, but the ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees provides a wider range of vision. The ears are located on either side of the facial disc, and not in all species they are symmetrical, they may differ in size or be shifted up or down. These birds have a very large inner ear, as well as a huge number of neurons in the area responsible for hearing. Due to these features, owls perfectly hear their prey at night.

Most owls have a nocturnal lifestyle. Exceptions are the little owl and short-eared owl. Hawk and snowy owls that live in the Arctic hunt at night during the summer and search for food during the day in winter. The remaining representatives of the owl family sleep during the day on branches, in rock crevices, and in the attics of houses. Some species build their nests in burrows or depressions in the ground.

Almost all species of owls live their entire lives in one place and fiercely protect it from other birds, especially predators. However There are also species migrating for the winter, for example, the short-eared owl. The rest can change their habitat only if there is no food.

These birds feed on mice, rats, rabbits, earthworms, insects, snakes, fish, and crustaceans. In rare cases, they may eat carrion. Mammals are caught in flight, and fish are waited for, sitting on a branch above the water.

Owls are very talkative. Apart from the famous hoot, their vocabulary includes a large number of other sounds, which they emit when they are hungry, guarding territory, during the breeding season, etc.

Breeding owls

The reproduction of these nocturnal predators is greatly influenced by favorable weather conditions and the availability of food. If these factors are met, then the breeding season begins earlier and there will be more eggs in the nest. Otherwise there will be 2-3 eggs in the clutch.

Depending on the species, some owls mate for the rest of their lives, while others form a new pair in each subsequent mating season. In most cases, nests of other birds are found for laying eggs., tree hollows, rock crevices. Some species use rodent burrows for these purposes or lay eggs in the grass. They very rarely build nests on their own. Having chosen a suitable place, the female lays up to 10-14 eggs within a few days. Hatching of chicks, depending on the species, lasts from 24 to 36 days and begins from the day the first egg is laid. Accordingly, the chicks appear within a few days. In the future, there are often cases when older chicks take all the food in difficult times, and the younger ones go hungry.

Chicks are born helpless, at 2 weeks the eyes open. First, the male brings food, and when the cubs grow up and more food is needed, the female also flies off to hunt. After 20-25 days, the owlets emerge from the nest. At first they fly poorly, so they do not move far from the nest.

The appearance and lifestyle of other nocturnal birds of prey are very similar to owls, although there are minor differences and features.

In this article we will talk about the history of the song “Night Bird” by Konstantin Nikolsky, which was first played by the group “Resurrection”. Later, the composition entered the repertoire of the author, who began his solo career. It was written as a dedication to drummer Yuri Fokin, with whom Nikolsky played in Stas Namin's band. Konstantin composed it after Yuri immigrated to the United States. That's why the first title was "Farewell to a Friend."

Nikolsky himself did not stay long in the team either. He later recalled:

The song “Night Bird” appeared out of great sadness. There was such a group “Flowers”, then it became known as Stas Namin’s group. This was my first professional team. Before that there were all toys, but here we had to play seriously. Stas Namin invited me to be a guitarist in the first line-up of Tsvetov. There were two to four concerts a day. The Philharmonic realized that they could pump money out of us, and they charged it to the fullest. And so the first lineup broke up. And with the collapse of the lineup, I had mental trauma and the collapse of all my hopes. And on this basis, I immediately came up with three sad songs - “I myself am one of those who hid”, “When you understand with your mind that you are alone in the world” and “Night Bird”.

In 1979, the composition, along with five other Nikolsky songs, was recorded by the newly formed group “Resurrection” for the debut album “Resurrection” (also known as “79” and “Who is to blame?”). Andrey Sapunov sang “Night Bird”. Konstantin was categorically dissatisfied with the result and did not want the recording to be released, but it fell into the hands of pirates and made the group famous.

According to Nikolsky, Soviet censors saw sedition in the lyrics of the song, which caused all sorts of problems:

There were also troubles because of “Night Bird”. Not everyone today remembers that it is called “Farewell to a Friend.” After all, at the end of the 70s they began to slowly move away... But in general, you can get attached to anything, you can go to prison for any nonsense.

Having started his solo career, Konstantin Nikolsky included the song in his second solo album, “One Look Back” (1996).

Let's watch a music video with a concert recording of "Night Bird", which can safely be called one of the masterpieces of modern Russian music.

Lyrics and chords of the song “Night Bird”

Dm | Edim7 | Fdim7 | C A/C# | Dm

Dm Edim7 A7
What does the night bird sing about?
Dm C Bb C
Alone in the autumn silence?
Dm Edim7 A7
About what you will soon be separated from
Dm C Bb D7
And he will only see in a dream

GM C7
About the fact that tomorrow is a long journey,
Am Dm C
Spreading its wings, it will fly
Bb Bb/A Gdim7 A7
That life is stupid without risk,
Dm C Bb C
And the truth will still win.

Night songs of birds of things
They became food for my soul,
I suddenly realized a simple thing:
It will be difficult for me to say goodbye to her

Only throws me aside

Dm C Bb D7
Fly, I'll finish the song

On a cold morning the last cry
Only throws me aside
Night singer, I am your heir
Dm C Bb Bb/A Gdim7 A7 Dm
Fly, I'll finish the song

Quote about the song

What song do you like to perform the most?

Probably “What the Night Bird Sings About” is incredibly dear to me. You understand what’s going on: there’s a program going on, there’s a concert going on, and I’m leading this concert, but there’s a song that’s leading me. It's called "What the Night Bird Sings About."

"Lenin's Change", 1994

How many amazing creatures are there next to humans! Insects, birds, animals, microorganisms. These are our little brothers that we sometimes forget about. And they help us, feed us, please the eyes and ears. Now I would like to talk about birds.

Some lyrics

“What are you singing about, night bird?” - this expression became popular thanks to the song of Konstantin Nikolsky. People often turn to the theme of birds in their creativity. Well, their wings, the feeling of freedom of flight, nobility and beauty haunt me! These wonderful creatures attract people so much!

Among poets and writers one can often find: “hands like wings”, “like a bird in a cage”, “why don’t people fly?” and other expressions.

Ornithologists specifically study the life of birds. Feathered friends, based on their visual perception, are divided into two main types: diurnal and nocturnal birds. This division is quite arbitrary. In fact, there are not so many nocturnal birds of prey.

Owl

The owl is a night bird (who doesn’t know about this). After it we can name the little-known nightjar, the nightjar; also, few people have seen the night heron and the nightjar.

Their vision is structured in a special way. Nocturnal birds see well in the dark; the following is noted in the structure of their eyes: tubular structure, a small number of color receptors. In addition, they have a very strong ciliary muscle, the task of which is to instantly change the lens from a round shape to a thin slit.

Even nocturnal birds, in addition to the two usual eyelids, have an additional eyelid, or rather a membrane, on their eyes. All these natural adaptations help the bird hunt at night and protect its eyes from unexpected changes in lighting. The beak of birds of prey is strong, hard, and often curved at the end. The legs have sharp claws of quite large size.

Let's look at how night birds hunt using the example of owls. These are typical nocturnal birds. They do it in a very unique way. The owl has a kind of facial plate, with frontally located eyes. This plate is a kind of screen or radar for more accurately capturing sounds. The owl cannot look to the sides and turns its entire head, creating a location for the sound.

The wingspan is large, the body is dense and strong. An owl, having heard the slightest squeak made by a rodent, seems to strain this same facial disc and determine the direction to its prey with great accuracy. Then he rushes in the right direction. Thanks to its very soft plumage, the predator flies barely audible, and in flight it can pause for a fraction of a moment, refining its trajectory.

Having overtaken the victim, the owl grabs it with its paws, slightly tilting its body back. Owls feed mainly on rodents. But some large species can “feast” on a hare, duck or crow. There are several species of owls found in nature, here is a short list of them:

• long-eared owl;
• owl;
• scoop and others.

There are approximately 140 species of these birds. Owls range in weight from 0.5 kg to 4.5 kg or more. They are found in different parts of the planet. The long-eared owl can be found in Eurasia (forest zone), as well as in North America.

Owls live in trees, in nests left by other birds. The polar owl (or white owl) lives on the coast and islands of the Arctic Ocean. Very large body (up to 160 cm), feeds mainly on lemmings.

Daytime birds

Ornithologists count 270 species in the order of diurnal birds! The most famous of them: falcons, hawks, buzzards, eagles. The appearance of these birds is very impressive. Almost half of the head is a beak, a strong body and very powerful claws. It looks beautiful and scary. Man has long tried to tame predators and adapt them for hunting. I must say, successfully!

Falconry

Falconry is still popular among connoisseurs today. For such a hunt, special gloves are made, on which the bird sits (so as not to injure the person), and a cap for the falcon’s head. Daytime birds of prey have especially acute vision. Their eyes are very reminiscent of reptilian eyes, located on the sides of the head. They are large in size and capable of focusing vision, pointing it at the victim from a great height. The structure of the eye is such that the image of the victim seems to be enlarged. Such unusual “optics” is admirable!

Sapsan - "clear falcon"

One of the most famous falcons is the peregrine falcon. This predator is exceptionally beautiful, with black eyes and a pattern of brow ridges above them. He is the strongest and fastest. The peregrine falcon, when hunting, “dives” on its prey at tremendous speed (230 km/h). Can grab it with his claws. And if the prey is large, the peregrine falcon knocks it down with sharp protrusions of its claws and picks it up on the fly. The favorite compliment to a young man in Rus' - “clear falcon” was not said without reason, it hinted at many masculine qualities! Unfortunately, the peregrine falcon has been practically exterminated; it is listed in the Red Book, like many other birds.

Common diurnal predators

These birds are noble. They do not live long in captivity. It is interesting that many representatives of bird species have monogamous pairs. Daytime predators are more common than nocturnal ones. Let's look at a small list:

• The buzzard is found in tundra and forest-tundra zones in Russia. It builds nests on bank cliffs or in trees. Buzzard food in this area includes mice and lemmings.
• The white-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in Russia, similar to the golden eagle. The eagle tends to settle near people and bodies of water. It feeds on fish, waterfowl and wild birds.
• Hawk. These birds are considered “orderlies of the forest.” They can feed on carrion, thereby benefiting nature. But hawks also hunt squirrels, hares, and fish.

Not birds of prey

There are a huge number of bird species on earth - 9800! The cutest creature is the kiwi bird. It is the smallest and feeds on pollen and nectar. What other non-predatory birds are most famous? Let's sketch out a short list: storks, swans, geese, ducks, herons, crows, rooks, sparrows, jackdaws, tits... This article is not possible to list and describe them all. They lead a diurnal lifestyle, are available to humans for study and need his help.

An interesting fact of nature is that the division “day and night birds” is very approximate. It has been repeatedly noted by ornithologist scientists and ordinary people that nocturnal birds feel quite comfortable in daylight. In the structure of their eyes, nature has provided a protective film - an additional eyelid that protects the retina from excess daylight. Also, their pupil is capable of narrowing to an extremely thin slit. An owl will be able to stalk its prey perfectly even during the day. And seagulls, for example, easily switch from daytime to twilight mode. This usually occurs in May, during the mass appearance of cockchafers.

The visual organs of birds living on the icy shores of the Arctic and Antarctica very easily adapt to the long polar day and the same polar night (or rather, “polar twilight”). The chirping of birds can be heard, for example, in the summer, after dark. Conversely, nocturnal birds can make sounds while awake during the day.

And in the fall, many small birds flock to the south and they prefer to do this after dark. Moreover, birds can sleep right in flight, they do not need to stop to sleep!

The only truly diurnal birds are chickens. “Night blindness” overtakes them as soon as night falls.

And another amazing thing. Small, agile swifts can fly without stopping for four years!

The very first bird on Earth was Archeopteryx. More precisely, it was a hybrid of a reptile and a bird.

The heart of a bird in flight makes 1000 beats per minute! Birds have something to surprise people.

Conclusion

So what does the night bird sing about? This question is asked by two categories of people: ornithologists and poets. The first ones record the voices of birds and study them. They are trying to understand what these sounds mean, what information signals our feathered friends send us. How they communicate with each other: expressing fear, requests for help, joy or anxiety.

But poets are more straightforward, they enjoy the trills of nightingales, as well as the chirping of other birds, and write their own lyrical works. They see only love in bird songs.

Mysterious melodic sounds were heard from the park. Pauses between individual “verses” made you freeze, become wary and ask the question: who can’t sleep at such a late hour? I looked at the dial: almost three o'clock in the morning. He went out onto the balcony and began to peer into the still bare branches of the trees of the April forest. Gentle trills were heard again from the blackness. During the winter you have time to forget a little the familiar voices of spring and summer. And every time you wonder again: who is singing this? So this time I could not believe that I heard the voice of a robin in the pitch darkness. And although this wonderful bird with a brick-red throat also sings “at dawn” during the day, its night performance always has the greatest effect on the listener. Perhaps it is the night singers who are most liked by the feathered ladies, to whom the performance is primarily addressed.

Why at night?

A completely logical question about the meaning of night performances for “daytime” singers has a simple answer: you can hear better at night. This is why, near noisy, busy highways, as well as in cities, you can especially often hear twilight or night concerts of birds.

Classic singer

People's Artist Nightingale also often gives night concerts addressed to her chosen one. However, it is possible that the wonderful roulades also contain aggressive notes. At least, if the songs of a stranger are heard in the territory chosen by the male, he will immediately, as a rule, fly in to deal with the competitor. And after that he would perform his compositions for a long time and furiously. And even though the nightingale’s singing may sound bewitching from afar, if it performs right under the open bedroom window, it’s not a fact that you will be able to fall asleep... Moreover, although its song is complex, it is still repeated and will ultimately even tire you.

Rival

Of all the night singers, the garden warbler is perhaps the most inventive in its repertoire. It's like a good radio, which, although it plays familiar melodies, is not distracting or boring. In addition, the garden warbler is a small bird - much smaller than a nightingale, therefore, perhaps, its voice is gentler, a little quieter and the timbre is much more pleasant. And although the warbler’s song is not so clearly defined, it is often mistaken for a nightingale, and it is in vain to attribute the merits of this modest bird to the “promoted” singer.

How blackbirds sing

Not exactly at night, but often at dusk, no less outstanding birds appear - blackbirds. No, no, we're not talking about the piping thrushes - these, as a rule, go to bed early. We are talking about a blackbird playing the flute, and a song thrush - another feathered pop star, whose performances are called nightingale-like. But unlike the nightingale, which, when singing, stays low in the bushes or on the lower branches, thrushes prefer “scenes” on the tops of trees, so that they can not only be clearly heard, but also visible from afar against the darkening sky.

Good night!

The list of night soloists includes not only the birds listed above. In the evening and at night, crickets - the honored namesakes of famous insects - love to sing. Many people heard them, but few understood that a bird was singing. It is also rare that anyone manages to see a corncrake chattering in a meadow all night or a great bittern singing in the dark. But all these birds perform with pleasure both in the morning and during the day. So if we talk about vocalists who basically sing at night, the circle of “suspects” narrows sharply to “guys” like nightjar and owls. However, the sounds made by real night figures can hardly be called a song - rather, it is a wish for good night.

Bird singing is useful!

As a rule, this is true. The volume level can be easily adjusted by the degree of openness of the window. If sleep does not come to the nightingale’s serenades, you should not be surprised. Scientists have found that his songs improve your mood, help you cheer up and increase your ability to work. So it’s better to “turn it on” in the morning. If you have problems with the cardiovascular system, then the song thrush is recommended for rotation. And the song of the blackbird is useful for hypertensive patients. Listening to cricket is calming. The melodic trills of the robin relieve headaches and help you sleep.