Ecological groups of birds by type of nutrition. Herbivorous animals - list with examples and names Herbivorous birds examples

The size of the bird, its strengths and abilities, as well as the abundance of food, needs and competitors.

Most bird species can be divided into 3 categories based on their diet:

Carnivores or birds of prey

This group includes birds whose diet consists mainly of meat, insects, other birds, and. Birds of prey may hunt their prey or eat dead carcasses. Some carnivorous birds include hawks, falcons, eagles, ospreys, vultures, owls, etc.

This is a general term used to describe a diet of animal meat, however there is a more specialized diet that requires birds to eat a specific type of meat, including:

Piscivores, or ichthyophages

The diet of ichthyophages consists mainly of fish, but may also include aquatic insects, and. Many birds in this category have specialized beaks and strong claws that help them capture their prey. Some bird species that are classified as piscivores include ospreys, terns, cormorants, albatross and. Herons, pelicans and gulls are also considered to be partially piscivorous.

Insectivores

Insectivores are various species of birds whose diet primarily consists of insects such as: aquatic insects, flying insects, grasshoppers, caterpillars, dragonflies, butterflies and many others. These insects are an important source of protein for most birds and especially for young chicks.

There are many birds that are considered insectivores, although they eat more than just insects, as their diet is dominated by these. Some species choose to feed exclusively on insects at certain times of the year when other food is not available. Birds that are predominantly insectivorous throughout their lives include bluebirds, flycatchers, swallows, warblers, woodpeckers and wrens.

Ornivores

The diet of poultry eaters consists mainly of meat from small birds. Both and small birds of prey can eat other birds. They are agile flyers with strong legs and claws that are capable of catching and holding their prey. Examples of such birds are peregrine falcons and hawks.

Molluscivores

The diet of these birds consists of eating large quantities of shellfish such as snails, oysters, mussels and slugs. Many molluscivores have sharp beaks and strong jaws that help them find and capture prey and crack hard shells. Birds that feed on shellfish include oystercatchers and kites, and occasionally ducks, coots, dippers and spoonbills.

Snake-eaters

The diet of serpent eaters consists mainly of snakes. Such birds have quick reflexes and sharp claws for catching snakes. Snake-eating birds include: the secretary bird, black snake-eater, heron and representatives of the raven family.

Herbivores

Unlike carnivores, the diet of birds consists of products of plant origin, including vegetables, fruits, berries, seeds, grains, nectar, etc. Depending on their food preferences, herbivorous birds can be divided into the following groups:

Frugivores

Their diet consists mainly of fruits such as bananas, apples, pears, oranges, and berries. Frugivorous birds often have specialized beaks that help effectively cut fruit and remove skins. This group includes waxwings, thrushes, starlings and many other birds that feed exclusively on fruits.

Granivores

Granivores feed mainly on seeds and grains. These include large birds with thick, strong beaks capable of splitting hard shells and smaller birds with thin beaks for extracting seeds from pine cones and flowers. Many granivorous birds may also consume insects as an additional source of protein. Examples of granivores are galliformes, passerines and finches.

Nectarivores

The diet of nectarivorous birds consists mainly of nectar. They may also consume small amounts of fruit, insects and juice. These birds have specialized beaks that provide access to flower nectar. The most famous nectarivorous birds are hummingbirds, cauliflowers and honeyeater tanagers.

Omnivores

Birds eat plants and animals. Preferred food sources include insects, fish, lizards, crustaceans, rodents, seeds, grains, grasses, nectar and fruits. The diet may vary depending on the season and the abundance of food. Most species of hummingbirds, ducks, woodpeckers and eagles are examples of omnivorous birds.

Ecological groups of birds

An ecological group unites different types of organisms that have similar adaptations to certain environmental conditions or lifestyles. Ecological groups of birds are distinguished on the following basis: by the nature of their diet, by their habitats, by the nature of their nesting and some other characteristics.

Birds from different, sometimes distant from each other, systematic groups often fall into the same ecological group, since taxonomy is built on the basis of genetic proximity, degree of relationship, and common origin.

Ecological groups of birds by habitat

By habitat There are four groups of birds:

Forest birds They differ from other groups in that they have rather small legs, as well as medium-sized heads. Their necks are not visible, their eyes are on the sides.
has a very long neck and long legs. They need them in order to get food in the swamps.
Birds of open spaces They are adapted to migration and therefore have very strong wings. Their bones weigh less than those of other types of birds.
The last group are waterfowl who live near or in bodies of water. These birds are distinguished by a fairly powerful beak, which helps them feed on fish.

Birds of the forest. Most modern birds are associated with forests. Everyone knows our forest birds: tits, woodpeckers, thrushes, hazel grouse, black grouse, wood grouse, well adapted to life in forests. They have short, rounded wings and long tails. This allows the birds to quickly take off and maneuver between trees.

Among forest birds there are herbivores (granivores), insectivores, predators and omnivores. Depending on the nature of food, birds have differently developed beaks and limbs.

Large forest birds - hazel grouse, black grouse, wood grouse - spend a lot of time on the ground. With strong legs armed with large claws, they rake the forest floor, selecting seeds of plants, insects, and earthworms. With strong beaks they bite buds, young shoots of trees and shrubs, and feed on juicy blueberries, blueberries, and lingonberries.

They have a typical appearance for forest birds magpie And goshawk : relatively short, rounded wings and a long tail. These birds maneuver beautifully among forest trees and have nimble flight. However, due to the use of different foods, their legs and beaks are developed differently. Hawk - predator: its prey is various small birds. With strong legs armed with powerful claws, the hawk grabs its prey and dismembers it with its curved predatory beak. The magpie has a small cone-shaped beak, which helps it eat a variety of foods (be omnivore ): collect fruits and seeds from the ground, grab insects, worms, a large beetle, and even catch a small mouse.

Birds of open spaces They live in meadows, steppes, and deserts. They spend a lot of time on the ground, looking for food among plants. They have strong legs and a long neck, allowing them to detect enemies at great distances. One of the typical representatives of the steppe regions of our country - bustard. This is a large bird weighing 15-16 kg, feeds mainly on plant foods. Possessing a protective coloring, it often hides among vegetation, becoming completely invisible. The nest is made on the ground, in areas of virgin steppe. Brood type chicks. Due to the plowing of virgin steppes, the number of bustards has sharply decreased, and it is included in the Red Book of Russia.

Typical birds of open spaces are ostriches.

Waterfowl They swim well, many dive. They have a flattened, boat-shaped body, webbed feet, and legs set far back. They move along the ground, clumsily waddling, with a duck's gait. The plumage is thick and has water-repellent properties: the feathers are prevented from getting wet by the secretions of the coccygeal gland, with which the birds thoroughly lubricate the plumage. Representatives of waterfowl - ducks,geese, swans .

A typical representative of waterfowl - mallard duck feeding in shallow water. Along the edges of its flattened wide beak are horny denticles . When the jaws are not fully closed through the lattice formed by the teeth, the ducks filter the water, leaving food objects in the mouth: crustaceans, insect larvae, small fish, vegetative parts of plants. The mallard feeds at shallow depths. Sometimes, lowering its head into the water, turning over and exposing the back of its body from the water, it collects food from the bottom and strains it. Mallards make nests on the ground among plants. The nest is lined with its own downy feathers plucked from the chest and belly. There are 8-14 eggs in a clutch. Brood type chicks.

Birds of the coasts of reservoirs and swamps They live on the banks of reservoirs and in swamps and have many common structural features. They have long thin legs and neck, and a large beak. In swampy places, their body, raised high above the ground, does not get wet. They feed on frogs, fish, insects, worms, and mollusks. Moving through swamps and coastal shallows, they use their beaks, like tweezers, to grab prey. These are storks, herons, waders . Many of them nest on the banks, not far from the water, others make nests in trees. Storks have long lived next to humans. People take care of them by creating platforms for nests.

Seabirds - guillemots, puffins, gulls - form bird markets on steep cliffs. They are adapted to hover over the sea surface.

Ecological groups of birds by nesting sites

There are five groups of birds in total. nesting sites . The main difference is only in the type of nest in which these birds live:

Crown-nesting birds they build their nests, as the name suggests, in the crown of trees ( orioles, blicks).
Bush birds place their nests near or in the bushes themselves ( wren, robin ).
Ground-nesting decide to place their nest directly on the ground ( larks, pipits, buntings, waders ).
Hollow-nesting birds live directly in hollows ( woodpeckers, tits, pikas, flycatchers ).
And the last group of birds, burrowers (sand martins, bee-eaters, kingfishers) , live in burrows, underground.

Ecological groups of birdsby food type

On this basis, four groups are distinguished. Representatives of each of them eat a certain type of food:

Insectivorous birds (For example tits or pikas) have thin pointed beaks, thanks to which they can pull their prey off leaves or out of thin crevices.
Herbivorous birds , including granivores (For example greenfinches) have a powerful beak thanks to which they can break through the dense shells of fruits. And the sharp ends of the beak help us pull out seeds from the cones of various trees.
Predator birds (For example eagle) feed on a variety of small birds. They have strong legs with powerful claws, thanks to which they grab prey.
Omnivorous birds (For example magpie) have a cone-shaped beak that helps them feed on different types of food.

Insectivorestits, pikas, kinglets, warblers They have thin pointed beaks that allow them to get insects from crevices in the bark, grab them from leaves, and remove them from the scales of cones. Sharp claws and long fingers allow these birds to stay on branches.

A peculiar group of birds that forage in the air - swallows And swifts. They spend almost their entire lives in the air, hunting for insects from morning to evening. They have long sickle-shaped wings. The beak is small, and the mouth opening is huge, the corners of the mouth go behind the eyes. With their mouths wide open, they catch flying insects, while the size of the oral funnel is increased by the bristles located at the corners of the mouth. In good dry weather, insects rise high above the ground, and when air humidity rises, the wings of insects get wet and they fly low above the ground. Swallows and swifts follow them, so the flight of swallows and swifts predicts the approach of rain.

Granivorous birds - greenfinches, bee-eaters, grosbeaks . They have a powerful beak, which is used to split the dense shells of fruits. So grosbeak successfully breaks the strong fruits of bird cherry and cherry. Sharp ends of crossed beak crossbills allow them to deftly extract seeds from pine and spruce cones.

They have common characteristics predators. They have large, strong legs armed with sharp claws and a hook-shaped beak. They have such signs diurnal carnivores birds, owls and even shrikes, related to songbirds. The prey of many predators are small animals, which they look out for from great heights, flying over the fields. Other predators catch small birds, feed on fish and large insects. Birds of prey fly beautifully, among them there are those that soar for a long time, for example buzzards,eagles And vultures. Falcons chase prey in the air, and then, diving on it, can reach speeds of up to 300 km/h. They have sharp, crescent-shaped wings that enable fast flight.

The food of herbivorous birds can be very diverse. They eat grass (usually the more tender, juicy and nutritious parts of it), grain seedlings, often together with sprouted grains, leaves and needles of various shrubs and trees, leaf and flower buds, fresh blossoming flowers, shoots and even thin twigs.

Among the birds of the domestic fauna there are no species that specifically feed on flower nectar. In tropical countries, these include numerous hummingbirds, nectarbirds, etc.

Some of our herbivorous birds, woodpeckers, suck tree sap in the spring. To do this, they ring trees, that is, they make holes in the bark in parallel rows, and either drink the sap, applying their beak to each hole in turn, or lick the liquid with their tongue. Woodpeckers ring various trees, especially birch and spruce. Banding is carried out by great spotted, middle, white-backed, three-toed and black woodpeckers.

The main food of herbivorous birds are fruits and seeds, in which the most plant nutrients are concentrated. At the same time, in some cases, the juicy shells, for example, the pulp of cherries, are eaten by starlings and orioles; in other cases - only the seed, for example, the kernel in the pits of cherries - grosbeaks, and rowan seeds - bullfinches.

It is hardly possible to name among our birds a species that feeds on one type of plant food throughout its entire life. However, many have developed special devices in the beak, tongue, and in various parts of the digestive tract, which serve to obtain a certain type of food.

It may seem strange that the same food is consumed on occasion by other species of birds that do not have special adaptations. So, grass was found, among other things, in the stomachs of vultures, berries - in honey beetles, and both - in owls. Warblers and thrushes, typically insectivorous birds in the summer, switch to berries in the fall, and primarily finches, herbivorous birds - sparrows in the summer feed and feed their chicks mainly with insects.

These seemingly incomprehensible exceptions cannot yet change the overall picture. And if, as we see, there are no insectivorous or fish-eating birds in an ideally pure form, then there are no or almost no strictly granivorous or other herbivorous bird species; however, based on the predominance of plant food, special adaptations for its acquisition and assimilation, and, finally, many biological features that distinguish herbivorous animals, there is every reason to distinguish herbivorous birds.

Herbivorous birds such as wild geese are largely herbivorous. Many of them graze in meadows, and during migration and migrations also in fields, where they energetically pinch greenery with their beaks. They have highly developed muscles that compress the jaws, and the jagged edges of the beak serve as a reliable grasping organ. Their tongue is an organ of both touch and taste, with which they carefully select the best that can be extracted from comparatively poor nutritious material.

Rooks usually pluck out the seedlings along with the grains. With its beak peeling at the base, the rook digs up seedlings and insect larvae in the ground. Many eat grass: lamellar-billed birds (especially geese), chicken birds, some birds of prey, crane birds, bustards, pigeons, and passerines - larks, crows, orioles, thrushes, warblers, waxwings and starlings.

In early spring, when there is a general lack of both plant and animal food, many bird species peck off buds or opening leaves. When there is an abundance of woody vegetation, such bird activity usually does not cause much harm, but in a desert landscape, for example in Turkmenistan, pecking of buds and leaves on a few trees causes significant damage.

According to the observations of A. N. Formozov in Ashgabat, in February, when the elm flower buds opened, sparrows, as well as desert finches, fed on them all day long. In March, sparrows ate the swollen flower buds of dried apricots (small apricots) in droves; later they tore off the flowers, pecking out the ovaries and nectaries, i.e. most plant nutrients.

The ground under the trees was covered with white flowers, like snow. The sparrows and cherry plum buds were pecking. In April, when the greenery bloomed on the trees and bushes, the sparrows began to pick off the leaves of mulberries, roses, and also parsley, watercress and other garden plants, not only for food, but also to build nests.

Herbivorous birds also eat flowers of garden and meadow plants. Thus, in the subalpine meadows of the Caucasus, broods of lentils at the end of August fed on the light yellow flowers of the bark. Eating flowers has been established for greenfinch, bullfinch, blue tit, willow warbler, garden warbler, some shrikes and other bird species.

The nature and conditions of nutrition are important in the life of birds. They influence their placement in space, seasonal movements, rates of reproduction and mortality, interspecific and intraspecific relationships, etc.

Based on the nature of their diet, birds are conventionally divided into three groups: herbivorous, animal-eating, and mixed-feeding (birds that consume both plant and animal food). Among our birds, in terms of the number of species, the last group is the most numerous, which is associated with seasonal changes in the food supply. The appearance of new food (berries, seeds) in the fall and the reduction of animal food in winter forces a significant number of birds to switch completely or partially from animal food to plant food, and in the spring - vice versa.

Within these groups, ecological subgroups are distinguished, reflecting a clearly defined, narrower feeding specialization in birds. Thus, in the group of herbivores, birds can be called granivores, frugivores, in the group of carnivores - insectivores, myophages (feeding on mouse-like rodents), ichthyophages (feeding on fish).

American curlew. Photo: Mike Baird

The ratio of animal and plant food in birds with a mixed diet varies within very wide limits. The noted narrow food specialization in most birds is not absolute. For example, granivorous and frugivorous birds in the summer not only feed on insects themselves, but also feed their chicks with them. Many insectivorous birds switch to plant food in winter, myophages switch to birds, etc. Nevertheless, it well reflects the predominance of food eaten by birds.

Based on the variety of food they eat, birds are divided into stenophagous (birds with a narrow range of food) and polyphagous or omnivorous (birds with a wide range of food). However, there are, in essence, few omnivorous birds: each natural group is characterized by a certain specialization in the choice of food and in the methods of obtaining it. This specialization is characteristic of each species and even of individual groups within a species that have adapted to a specific type of nutrition.
The geographic distribution of birds largely depends on the nature of their diet.

Omnivorous birds, as a rule, have very extensive ranges. For example, the family of corvids, most of whose species are omnivores, has populated almost the entire globe. The raven settled throughout almost the entire northern hemisphere. Conversely, stenophages (bird species with a narrow range of food) have limited habitats. Thus, the nutcracker, feeding on cedar seeds for a significant part of the year, lives only where this plant is found. The spruce crossbill feeds mainly on spruce seeds, with the distribution of which it is closely related. The vulture eagle feeds mainly on the fruits of one type of palm tree and lives only where this palm tree is found in Africa. A remarkable example of monophagy is the slug-eating kite living in Florida, which feeds only on snails of one species. Widespread in South America, the guajaro is the only “vegetarian” in the order of nightjars. Unlike its relatives, who feed on animal food, mainly insects, the guajaro feeds on tree fruits. Spending the day in deep mountain caves, with the onset of darkness he begins to fly over the tropical forest and pick fruits mainly from palm trees and laurel trees. In addition to acute vision, a well-developed sense of smell helps him find food (the fruits he eats, as a rule, have a strong groin). Particularly associated with the spread of certain types of plants are those birds in whose nutrition flower nectar plays an important role (loris parrots, hummingbirds, etc.).

Finding food is the main activity of any songbird, from the blackbird, which searches for worm after worm using a probing method that baffles ornithologists, to the loudly rustling tauhi, hopping around and digging at the forest floor with the talons of both legs. With their small bodies and fast metabolisms, most passerines must expend ten percent of their body weight each day to survive. Each species evolved in its own characteristic way to suit its needs.

Jays, crows and most other members of the raven family eat almost everything, along with fruits and grains: small mammals, other birds, eggs, frogs, snakes and snails. Some even join the vultures in feeding on carrion. And those living near water eat fish or shellfish. Although many other songbirds do not have such a mixed menu (usually either meat-only or vegetarian-only), they change their diet completely depending on the environment or time of year. Insectivorous thrushes and orioles, for example, often collect fruit in the summer, and thrushes gorge on cherries.
The method of obtaining food in birds is very diverse and depends primarily on their morphophysiological organization. The simplest way to obtain food is to pick it up from the ground (partridges, larks, pigeons, etc.). Some birds, such as shorebirds, sink their beaks into soft, marshy soil. Our ancestors, who had to watch the sandpiper stick its beak deep into the soft earth, believed that it blew into the ground in order to drive worms out of there. The absurdity of such a statement is obvious. With its beak, the sandpiper takes prey out of the ground, and it is apparently helped by the sense of touch. Chickadees and New Zealand parrots search for food by tearing up the ground with their feet. When catching flying prey, some birds lie in wait for it, sitting on a branch, and then pursue it. Woodpeckers, with their beaks, like a chisel, crush wood affected by insects, and extract their larvae from the passages gnawed by these pests. In spring, woodpeckers make special rings on trunks and branches. The bird, with blows of its beak, pierces the bark along a ring-shaped circle to the cambium and vascular-fibrous bundles. In the mornings, the woodpecker visits such rings and feeds on the flowing plant juice. Tits, pikas and nuthatches pull insects and their larvae out of cracks in the bark. Falcons strike prey in flight, eagles soar for a long time, looking for prey, and then overtake it. Swans, geese and ducks plunge their beaks, heads and even necks into the water and retrieve food from the bottom of the reservoir. Cormorants, grebes, and kingfishers dive and catch fish and aquatic insects underwater.

Digestion in birds is unique. Having no teeth, birds crush food with their beaks, tear them with their claws, or swallow them whole. Many birds, such as chickens, pigeons and parrots, have a crop - an enlarged part of the esophagus, where food lingers for some time, accumulates and enters the stomach in small portions. In pigeons, during the period of feeding chicks, the walls of the crop secrete a curdled substance - “crop milk”, which is especially necessary for chicks in the first days of their life. Adult birds regurgitate this mass directly into the mouths of the chicks.

In cage and aviary conditions, it is difficult to provide birds with the full range of food that they obtain in nature. However, you should diversify feeding as much as possible, bringing it closer to natural, and monitor the presence of the required amount of protein, vitamins and mineral supplements in the diet.
Substances necessary for bird nutrition: water, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals. All nutrients and biologically active substances contained in feed of plant and animal origin are necessary as a source of energy, plastic material for the construction of bird tissue, as well as for normal metabolism.

To environmental groups by habitat (Fig. 180) unite birds that have the most characteristic adaptations (adaptations) to life in certain conditions, for example in forests, open spaces, reservoirs, their coasts, swamps. In this case, not only the structure, but also the behavior is taken into account.

Often the ecological groups of birds determine by nesting sites : crown nesters, shrub nesters, ground nesters, hollow nesters, burrowers.

Ecological groups of birds are distinguished and by food type : herbivores (including granivores), insectivores, carnivores, omnivores, carrion eaters.

Among forest birds there are herbivores (granivores), insectivores, predators and omnivores (Fig. 181).

Depending on the nature of food, birds have differently developed beaks and limbs. So, insectivores tits, pikas, wrens, warblers They have thin pointed beaks that allow them to get insects from crevices in the bark, grab them from leaves, and remove them from the scales of cones. Sharp claws and long fingers allow these birds to stay on branches.

Granivorous birds – greenfinches, bee-eaters, grosbeaks. They have a powerful beak, which is used to split the dense shells of fruits. So grosbeak successfully breaks the strong fruits of bird cherry and cherry. Sharp ends of crossed beak crossbills allow them to deftly extract seeds from pine and spruce cones.

Large forest birds - hazel grouse, black grouse, wood grouse– spend a lot of time on the ground. With strong legs armed with large claws, they rake the forest floor, selecting seeds of plants, insects, and earthworms. With strong beaks they bite buds, young shoots of trees and shrubs, and feed on juicy blueberries, blueberries, and lingonberries.

They have a typical appearance for forest birds magpie And goshawk(Fig. 182): relatively short rounded wings and a long tail. These birds maneuver beautifully among forest trees and have nimble flight. However, due to the use of different foods, their legs and beaks are developed differently. Hawk – predator: its prey is various small birds. With strong legs armed with powerful claws, the hawk grabs its prey and dismembers it with its curved predatory beak. The magpie has a small cone-shaped beak, which helps it eat a variety of foods (be omnivore ): collect fruits and seeds from the ground, grab insects, worms, a large beetle, and even catch a small mouse.

Birds of open spaces They live in meadows, steppes, and deserts. They spend a lot of time on the ground, looking for food among plants. They have strong legs and a long neck, allowing them to detect enemies at great distances. One of the typical representatives of the steppe regions of our country is bustard(see Fig. 179, 6 ). This is a large bird weighing 15-16 kg, feeds mainly on plant foods. Possessing a protective coloring, it often hides among vegetation, becoming completely invisible. The nest is made on the ground, in areas of virgin steppe. Brood type chicks. Due to the plowing of virgin steppes, the number of bustards has sharply decreased, and it is included in the Red Book of Russia.

Typical birds of open spaces are ostriches.

A typical representative of waterfowl - mallard duck(see Fig. 179, 9 ), feeding in shallow water. Along the edges of its flattened wide beak are horny denticles . When the jaws are not fully closed through the lattice formed by the teeth, the ducks filter the water, leaving food objects in the mouth: crustaceans, insect larvae, small fish, vegetative parts of plants. The mallard feeds at shallow depths. Sometimes, lowering its head into the water, turning over and exposing the back of its body from the water, it collects food from the bottom and strains it. Mallards make nests on the ground among plants. The nest is lined with its own downy feathers plucked from the chest and belly. There are 8-14 eggs in a clutch. Brood type chicks.

Birds of the coasts of reservoirs and swamps They live on the banks of reservoirs and in swamps and have many common structural features. They have long thin legs and neck, a large beak (see Fig. 179, 5, 10 ). In swampy places, their body, raised high above the ground, does not get wet. They feed on frogs, fish, insects, worms, and mollusks. Moving through swamps and coastal shallows, they use their beaks, like tweezers, to grab prey. These are storks, herons, waders. Many of them nest on the banks, not far from the water, others make nests in trees. Storks have long lived next to humans. People take care of them by creating platforms for nests.

Seabirds – guillemots, puffins, gulls– form bird colonies on steep cliffs. They are adapted to hover over the sea surface (Fig. 184).

Ecological groups of birds according to feeding methods. A peculiar group of birds that forage in the air - swallows And swifts(Fig. 185 and 180, 1 ). They spend almost their entire lives in the air, hunting for insects from morning to evening. They have long sickle-shaped wings. The beak is small, and the mouth opening is huge, the corners of the mouth go behind the eyes. With their mouths wide open, they catch flying insects, while the size of the oral funnel is increased by the bristles located at the corners of the mouth. In good dry weather, insects rise high above the ground, and when air humidity rises, the wings of insects get wet and they fly low above the ground. Swallows and swifts follow them, so the flight of swallows and swifts predicts the approach of rain.

Predators have common characteristics (Fig. 186 and 180, 3 ). They have large, strong legs armed with sharp claws and a hook-shaped beak. They have such signs diurnal carnivores birds, owls and even shrikes, related to songbirds. The prey of many predators are small animals, which they look out for from great heights, flying over the fields. Other predators catch small birds, feed on fish and large insects. Birds of prey fly beautifully, among them there are those that soar for a long time, for example buzzards, eagles And vultures. Falcons chase prey in the air, and then, diving on it, can reach speeds of up to 300 km/h. They have sharp, crescent-shaped wings that enable fast flight.