Cricket bird, its characteristics, lifestyle and habitat


What does chirping mean?

decomposition Talk quickly and incessantly, chatter. , -I see, -you see; chirping; nesov. Make a chirping noise.

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Distribution of crickets in nature

Crickets live in a wide range throughout Europe and Asia. For the winter they migrate to the tropical zone of Africa. Secretive and cautious crickets choose dense thickets along fresh water bodies, in reeds or tall grass to live. Birds fly poorly and reluctantly, run well on the ground like mice, and deftly climb branches and stems of bushes and trees.

Nutrition

Although the bird chirps like a cricket , the insects for which it takes its name are its food. Cricket birds are completely insectivorous birds. They absorb flies, mosquitoes, beetles and their larvae, small dragonflies, crawling and jumping insects.

Only in the fall do they allow themselves to add some berries and seeds to the menu, since insects become more difficult. Birds hunt mainly on the ground, briskly catching up and pecking at their prey. It is appropriate to add here that birds have fairly acute vision.

It is very difficult to see insects of the same color on the dark ground, but the hunter copes with this task. If the bird lives in your cage, mixtures for insectivorous birds are suitable as food. In addition, the baby's diet must include live insects, such as mealworms.

Now in pet stores you can buy cockroaches, locusts and the same crickets. Some people buy waxed moth from beekeepers; it is also useful for the birds. All types of “naked caterpillars” can be fed. In addition, birds happily eat cabbage butterflies.

You don’t need to give ant eggs often; they can be allergenic for some birds. The most optimal and affordable option is grasshoppers. Insects can be frozen only in small portions, at a time.

Description and features

Crickets (Locustella) are birds from the passerine order. Previously they belonged to the warbler family, with which they are very similar. They were considered a “junk” taxon, and later they, along with warblers and pied warblers, were separated into a separate family. All this suggests that in appearance they are very similar to many passerines.

The size is small, approximately 12-16 cm, weight up to 25 g. The plumage is usually gray with brown, sometimes enriched with olive or ocher tones. They have a straight, even, wide tail, sometimes rounded at the end, and sometimes stepped. The main decoration of most representatives is the scaly pattern on the head, neck, back and wing coverts.

It is composed of variegated longitudinal spots of dark or charcoal color, is more clearly visible on the upper part of the body, closer to the lower back it becomes blurry and less clear.

Interesting! Boys and girls are almost the same, except that the former have more “colored” glimpses in the midst of gray-brown tones.

The beak is wide at the base and awl-shaped towards the end. There are no bristles at the base of the beak. Of the flight feathers, the longest are the second and third.

The main quality of the bird is its rare caution. In addition, it is a very nimble and agile bird. This explains why it is very difficult to see it in dense foliage, and even more difficult to photograph. The cricket bird in the photo is usually caught during its hunt - peering intently into the grass. Perhaps at this moment she is so busy doing what she loves that she skips the photography process.

The singing of a cricket bird is the singing of a babbling stream, the sound of rustling grass, the gurgling of air bubbles in the water. It waxes, rustles, and crackles comfortably. Such sounds are recommended by doctors for deep and healthy sleep.

Habitats of the nightingale cricket

The nightingale cricket inhabits dense reed thickets, as well as places with other semi-aquatic plants: reeds, cattails.

Selects impassable thickets of plants and dense willows.

At the same time, it prefers to be near the water next to open creeks or wetlands. It lives on islands of vegetation or along the edge of a reservoir.

For nesting, it chooses dry, non-flooded places or dense accumulations of fallen dry reeds.


The nightingale cricket spends the winter in the Sahel, migrating primarily at night.

Types of cricket

Common cricket

The bird's body length is in the range of 12-14 cm, its weight is 15-20 g. The plumage on the back is olive-brown with characteristic stripes, the belly is whitish-yellow. The tail is wedge-shaped, the legs are thin, red in color. The male and female are colored the same.

The habitat of the species is Europe. In winter, the common cricket flies to the tropical regions of the African continent. Birds nest near the banks of rivers, swamps, on damp plains and meadows.

song cricket

A small bird with a body length of 12 to 16 cm. The species is olive or brown in color with streaks on the chest and back.

The species lives in northern Asia and Russia. Goes to South Asia for the winter. The song cricket inhabits bushes on forest edges and tall grass near the shores of fresh water bodies.

spotted cricket

The body length of the species is 11-12 cm, weight reaches 15 g. The tail and neck are short. The plumage is brown with black spots on the back and black streaks on the belly. The species does not exhibit sexual dimorphism.

The spotted cricket is distributed in northeastern Europe and northern Asia up to the island of Hokkaido (Japan). The bird is a migratory bird. For the winter it migrates to southeast Asia to the island of Java. Flies away around mid-August. It returns to its usual habitats in May-June.

During its life, the bird chooses shores along fresh water bodies with dense thickets of bushes. In winter habitats it is found in rice fields.

river cricket

The species is large, from 14 to 16 cm in length. The bird is characterized by a wide tail, rounded at the end. The plumage on the back is brown with a greenish tint. The chest and throat are decorated with black longitudinal streaks. The belly is whitish with brown sides. A light ring around the eyes and a white-gray eyebrow are clearly visible. The undertail is greenish-brown with white. The beak is dark. The legs are pink.

The river cricket is an inhabitant of wide areas from Western Siberia to Central Europe. Recently, the range has been expanding to the west. It goes to the tropical regions of Africa for the winter. At the same time, it begins to fly away in mid-July and only reaches its goal in December. In mid-spring, the river cricket returns to its native land.

The nesting places of the species are floodplain and swampy forests, meadows, swamps with dense bushes.

nightingale cricket

The nightingale cricket is about 14 cm long, weighs 15–20 g. The bird has a wide, rounded tail. Brown color, no patterns. A light short eyebrow is slightly noticeable.

The species is found in Western Europe and up to the Urals. Most common in Russia, Hungary and Romania. It flies to Africa for the winter, making its flight mainly at night. The nightingale cricket likes to live near swamps and lakes with dense thickets of reeds.

taiga cricket

The largest representative of the genus crickets with an elongated body, a rounded stepped tail and wide short wings. The bird has a narrow and straight beak and a flat crown. The taiga cricket looks a little like a nightingale, in size and color of plumage.

The birds live in the south of Western Siberia and up to Korea. The taiga cricket is included in the Red Book of the Tomsk Region as a rare species.

External signs of the nightingale cricket

The nightingale cricket is a small bird measuring 13–15 cm. The wingspan is 18–21 centimeters. Weight - 14–18 grams. The plumage is evenly colored. The upperparts are brown, without greenish tints. The underparts and sides of the chest are brownish.


Nightingale cricket (Locustella luscinioides).

The abdomen in the middle is white or whitish with a faint brownish tint. The undertail is formed by long dense feathers of light brown color. The rump feathers have fuzzy light areas. A thin light stripe runs along the outer side of the wing. The flight feathers are darker.

There is an almost invisible reddish “eyebrow” that runs along the dark eye. Fan-shaped tail. The beak is dark at the top and pinkish-yellow at the bottom. The paws are brownish with a pink tint. The color of the plumage of males and females is practically the same. Juvenile Warblers are slightly darker above and rufous below than adult birds, with barely visible mottled spots on the throat.

Lifestyle and habitat

Crickets are migratory birds. They nest in Europe or Asia, and fly to hot countries for the winter - to the distant African continent or to southern Asian countries.

The flight is long, sometimes taking four months or more. In mid-April, the birds appear in their native places, and at the end of August they prepare to fly away. So it turns out that they do not spend a long time in a foreign land.

Lifestyle is their main feature. They spend a lot of time on the ground, moving along it very quickly. To be more precise, these birds fly little and reluctantly, which is unusual for passerines. But in the grass they run and skillfully hide, like mice, and also quickly climb bushes and plants.

Their favorite pastime is to stay close to the river, where it is wet, there is tall, thick grass, and willow thickets. Some even try to live in the reeds. Sometimes there are also lovers of dry places, but this is rather an exception to the rule.

This bird is rarely kept in captivity, as it is difficult to catch. But if you managed to buy a cricket bird, provide it with a little shelter in a cage and put up a small tree. You can place a small bath for bathing and drinking; it should be filled with clean water.

Is this a migratory bird?

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Crickets are migratory birds. From their breeding grounds in Europe, they migrate to the African continent during the cold winter months. The flight can take a long time. For example, for a river cricket it takes 4-5 months. Around mid-April, the birds return to their native lands.

Listen to the voice of the nightingale cricket

The nightingale cricket differs from many other crickets in the absence of streaks on the chest, very long undertail feathers, the shade of the feather cover below, a wide stepped tail, voice, and behavioral features.


The Nightingale Cricket needs long expanses of water in nutrient-rich lakes and swamps.

Causes of chirping


Crickets
The main reason why you can hear crickets chirping is because of their breeding habits. In this way, a sexually mature male tries to attract a female. Its rubbing can continue from dawn to dusk until the cry is heard. The success of the process will largely depend on the strength of the male’s sound; the more energetic, melodic and sonorous he is, the greater the chance of attracting a female.

You can hear a cricket sing not only if it wants to reproduce. Insects lead an isolated lifestyle and occupy several square centimeters. The site is carefully guarded by its owner and does not allow guests except the female. He walks around his property several times a day and checks the integrity of the territory.

Interesting!

The chirping is intended to scare away uninvited guests and warn about the belligerent attitude of the owner of the site.

A person enjoys listening to crickets, regardless of the reason for these sounds. Their trill is as melodious as the singing of birds, so some even prefer to breed Orthoptera representatives at home. This is not difficult to do, and optimism is fueled by the fact that in captivity singers can chirp not only at night, but also during the day.

What bird makes such sounds?

The sounds characteristic of the bird are a kind of chirping: “jiv-jiv-jiv.” The sounds characteristic of the tree sparrow are a sharp “chir-chirr”. The sounds are a characteristic loud croak “kruk... kruk...” or a dull “kro-kro”.

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