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A small bird, a bright representative (thanks to the peculiar red-orange beak) of the family Haematopodidae, the national representative of the Faroe Islands is all a sandpiper. It also belongs to the order of charadriiformes. This bird, because of its characteristic appearance, is quite easily recognizable, and in size it is similar to the crow.
The individual adult sandpiper weighs about 420–820 g., The bird’s body length ranges from 40 to 50 cm., The wings' wingspan is 85–87 cm. For the individual, black and white contrasting plumage is characteristic. Thanks to the piegum plumage, which is similar to the plumage of magpies, the bird has received such a Russian nickname. Some subspecies: Far Eastern and Mainland, are listed in the Red Book of Russia (3rd category - a subspecies that has become rare as a result of human activity).
In black with a characteristic metallic sheen, in the mating season, in an adult sandpiper, the front area of the back, the neck, are paintedmedium and small covering wings, the top of the chest and the end of the wings. A strip of white passes over the wings. Also the abdomen, sides, the lower part of the wings and other parts of the body not mentioned above are painted white. In addition, a small white spot of the forty-forty sandpiper "marked" in the area below the eye.
A characteristic feature of the sandpiper is a bright red-orange beak, 8-10 cm in length. The same color is observed in the iris. The legs, sufficiently short for such sizes, are painted in red-pink color.
With the advent of autumn, there is no trace of the metallic reflection of plumage. But there is a stain in the throat, white in color, resembling a semi-collar. Moreover, during this period, the end of the beak changes color - it becomes darker. Due to poorly developed sexual deformity, it is not possible to distinguish the female from the male in appearance.
Unlike adults, young animals are distinguished by the presence of a brownish tinge of the dark part of the plumage. Also, the latter have no white spot on the throat. The distinctive features of the young stock include: light gray color of the legs and the color of the beak - in young individuals only its base is colored orange, the rest is dark gray.
Habitat of sandpiper
The kulik-forty-three populations into which this species is divided inhabit the territory of Eurasia. However, each population exists in isolation from each other and is isolated into a separate subspecies. Characteristic differences of each subspecies are the size of birds, the length of their beak, and the color of details of the plumage. Let us dwell in more detail on each of the subspecies.
Northern sandpiper-forty. This subspecies is considered to be nominative. It nests along the shores of the seas of Europe and Iceland. This subspecies is widely distributed in the northern Mediterranean, as well as in the northern parts of the Atlantic. The greatest number of individuals of the northern Kulik-magpie is concentrated in the area of the North Sea. From here, the population moves inland and settles in the river valleys. This subspecies is often found on the territory of the Arctic coast of the Russian Federation, as well as in the east, near the mouth of the Pechora River. Inland waters of the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland and Turkey are the favorite habitats of the northern sandpiper
Mainland sandpiper-magpie.The range of this subspecies is represented by the mainland territory of Asia Minor, Eastern Europe in the west and Western Siberia, down to the lower reaches of the Ob and Abakan rivers in the east. The area of the western part of the Russian Federation has a sporadic (irregular) character. Most often, the mainland kulik-magpie is found in the valleys and tributaries of the Northern Dvina, Don, Volga, Desna, Pechora, Irtysh, Ob.
Far Eastern kulik-magpie. This subspecies is considered to be the easternmost. Nesting sites of this subspecies are found in Kamchatka, in Primorye, in the west of the Korean Peninsula, and in northeast China.
How does the forty-year-bird live?
Under the biotope of this bird should be understood island terrain, the coast of the seas, river valleys (preferably flat) and the shores of lakes. Often the sandpiper is found near the mouths of small rivers and along their coastline.
The ebb and flow rhythm is directly related to the life cycle of these birds. And all because the retreated during low tide water exposes the bottom, which is replete with food.
What feeds the kulik-magpie?
The basis of the diet of this species of birds are various representatives of invertebrates.Kulik feeds on polychaete worms, mollusks, insects, and crustaceans. Occasionally in the diet found small fish. Those subspecies that live off the coastline feed mainly on bivalve mollusks: mussels, heartworms, Baltic maccommas, etc. On river banks and inland waters, the basis of the diet is earthworms, larvae and insects.
Due to their aggressive nature, magpies-magpies often clash with each other over more attractive feed areas. They use the long beak to tear sand in search of food.
How do the magpie magpies breed?
At the nesting birds arrive in mid-April. Moreover, there are frequent cases of arrival at the same nesting areas that the pair occupied a year earlier.
There are 3 eggs in the sandpiper laying, although there are nests with 2 or 4 eggs. During the entire incubation period (26-27 days), the eggs hatch both the male and the female.The nest should be under the clock "protection", because its contents are not averse to eat crows and seagulls. As soon as the chicks are born, they are already able to leave the nest, but parents control and feed them for 6 weeks.
Video: kulik-magpie (Haematopus ostralegus)
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