Attracts the interest of any person who is not indifferent to the natural world.

Christ's bird

During the crucifixion of Christ, when his torment was severe, a bird flew in and tried to pull the nails out of Jesus’ body with its beak. But the fearless and kind baby had too little strength, who only disfigured her beak and stained her breast with blood.

The Almighty thanked the little intercessor and endowed her with special properties. It was crossbill, and its uniqueness is in three manifestations:

• cross-shaped beak;
• "Christmas" chicks;
• incorruptibility after life.

The answers to the mystery lie in the way of life of the birds, but this is no less interesting.

Description of crossbill

Crossbill bird - small in size, up to 20 cm, from the passerine order, it is distinguished by a dense, stocky build, a short forked tail, a large head and a special beak, the halves of which are curved and moved in different directions, forming a cross.

Why does the crossbill have such a beak?, it becomes clear when the crossbill begins to rapidly remove seeds from the cones. Nature has ideally adapted it to obtaining such food.

Tenacious paws allow the crossbill to climb trees and hang upside down from cones. The color of the breast in males is red-crimson, and in females it is greenish-gray. The wings and tails of crossbills turn brownish-gray.

Crossbill feels confident on a branch, even upside down

Crossbills singing on high notes, resembles a chirp mixed with a loud whistle and serves to communicate between flocks of birds. Roll call usually occurs during short flights, and crossbills are silent on branches.

There are five to six species of crossbills, of which three main ones live in Russia: crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill. They all have similar feeding patterns and habitats. The names indicate small characteristics of the species in their preference for coniferous forest environments and the presence of white feathers on the sides.

Habitat and lifestyle of the crossbill

The ancestors of modern crossbills are very ancient, existing about 9-10 million years ago. In spruce and pine forests The main species of crossbills formed in the Northern Hemisphere. Their distribution directly depends on the harvest of cones, which are the basis of nutrition.

Therefore, crossbills live both in the tundra and in steppe regions, make significant flights to places rich in food. There are cases when ringed birds were found 3000 km from the original location.

In the photo there is a crossbill spruce bird

In Russia they live in coniferous forests mountainous area in the south of the country, northwestern regions. The bird can be found in mixed forests with a predominance of spruces. Crossbills do not live in cedar forests. The crossbill has practically no enemies in nature.

This is explained by the fact that due to the constant consumption of seeds, birds “embalm” themselves during their lifetime and become very tasteless, or, more precisely, bitter for predators. Therefore, after natural death, they do not decompose, they mummify, which is facilitated by their prepared body with high content resin

Crossbills can fly well, but to say that crossbill – migratory bird, or crossbill - sedentary bird, no. Rather, the crossbill is a nomadic representative of birds. Nomadism is associated with the harvest.

Pine crossbill feeds on cone seeds

In places rich in food, birds spend time endlessly climbing trees, crossbill beak shape allows you to do this deftly, like . For this feature and the bright coloring of their feathers, they were nicknamed northern parrots. They rarely descend to the ground, but on branches they feel confident even upside down.

Crossbill feeding

It is a misconception to think that crossbill feeds exclusively on the seeds of spruce or pine cones, although this is its main diet. Crossbill beak tears off the scales, exposing the seeds, but only a third of the cone is used for nutrition.

The beak of the crossbill is crossed to make it convenient to remove seeds from the cones

Once upon a time traveling musicians They taught crossbills to use their beaks to get lucky tickets or to participate in fortune telling. Ability to learn simple actions makes birds pets. If a crossbill lives in a cramped cage without maintaining food needs and temperature conditions, it loses its crimson color, turns pale to the color of the female, and then dies.

Breeding enthusiasts strive to achieve different color and vocal variations, so it becomes clear why at the crossbill the voice of a canary or the outfit of a bullfinch appears. Study of crossbills – exciting activity, bringing the joy of communicating with the most ancient birds of our wildlife.

The crossbill is a legendary bird, its bright plumage and the murmuring singing attracts the attention of not only bird lovers, but also indifferent people. This is a bird from the finches of the passerine order, which can easily be confused with a parrot, because the curved beak, extraordinary ingenuity and habits of these birds are somewhat similar. There is something mysterious about these crossbills.

Every bird is sinless

There is a legend that when Jesus was crucified, a bullfinch and a crossbill flew to him. The bullfinch broke the thorns on the crown of thorns and stained his chest. And the crossbill tried to pull out the nails with which Christ was crucified, but the little bird didn’t succeed, it only disfigured its beak.

God thanked the bird and gave several unique properties. Indeed, when closed it forms a cross. The crossbill is incorruptible after death, and hatches chicks in winter around Christmas. Of course, there is a scientific explanation for everything, but this does not detract from its mystery.

Description

The crossbill is a finch bird. The bird is not very large - less than 17 cm, about the size of a large sparrow. The tail is divided in two, the halves of the beak are curved and cross when closed. This is an incredibly durable type of beak that allows you to easily break spruce and pine branches or peel off the bark. It is ideal for removing seeds from buds. The legs are short and strong. This allows the bird to hang upside down and hold heavy pine cones.

Males and females are very different in color. Male individuals have an inflamed red or red-orange color on the abdominal part, back and neck, wings and tail are usually brown-gray. In females, bright feathers are replaced by greenish-gray with a yellow undertone.

During the first three years of life, the “clothing” of these birds is just being formed. IN early childhood their feathers are gray.

The weight of the male is approximately 35-40 g, and the female - 30-35 g. The wingspan is up to 30 cm. The length of each wing is 9-10 cm, the tail is 6-8 cm, the tarsus is 2 cm, and the beak is 1.5 -2 cm.

The singing of this bird is somewhat similar to a mixture of chirping and whistling. The name “crossbill” comes from the “kle-kle-kle” sounds they make. These birds sing, only hovering in the air, sitting on branches, they are silent.

Habitat

The crossbill is not a migratory bird. However, the banding procedure recorded individual individuals that traveled 3000 km. Their habitat depends on the harvest of cones - this is the main food of crossbills. They are constantly looking for places where they can make money. Their beak makes it easy to pick out seeds. Those places where crossbills live are always rich in nut crops.

These birds prefer pine, spruce and mixed forests, but do not live in cedar forests. These birds make their nests from branches and insulate them with moss or feathers. The crossbill has no reason to be afraid of predators, because feeding on cone seeds saturates the bird's body with resins and makes it taste bitter. After death they were embalmed during life.

They rarely descend to the ground; they feel more confident on the branches. They endlessly crawl through trees in search of food. They are helped by their legendary beak, because of the special shape of which they are nicknamed northern parrots.

Nutrition

The main food is the seeds of cones; the crossbill eats only their kernels. If a grain is difficult to process, the bird simply throws it away and looks for another cone. Fallen nuts serve as food for others forest dwellers. The yield of this product determines the place where the crossbill lives in a given season.

When there is a shortage of cones, he eats conifer buds or spruce resin along with the bark. In captivity, it enjoys eating worms, sunflower seeds and oatmeal.

Reproduction

The crossbill is a frost-resistant bird. Like other birds, they breed when there is enough food. Chicks are born in both autumn and spring, but most often at Christmas. Nests are built on the tops of coniferous trees or under the reliable claws of branches to protect the home from moisture. Usually they choose those places that are rich in food, because in this case they will not have to leave the offspring unattended for a long time.

The walls of the nest have two layers of intertwined twigs. “Houses” are insulated with moss, feathers or scraps of fur from wild animals. The housing turns out to be very durable and warm, and has the properties of a thermos.

Usually there are 3-4 eggs in a clutch. The color of the shell varies from yellowish-white to off-white, with grayish or purple spots scattered throughout. Egg weight 3 g, length - 19-25 mm, diameter - 15-18 mm.

Despite the frost, the bird actively protects its offspring. Females incubate the clutch for about 2 weeks. During this time, the male takes care of the expectant mother, carries grains, having previously softened them in the throat. This is one of the elements of the marriage ritual. On the 5th day, the crossbill chick leaves the nest, but its beak is not yet bent. Therefore, parents help him get food for the first time.

When the beak is formed, young crossbills learn to extract seeds from cones. From this moment on, they are considered full-fledged adults and begin to live separately.

The color of young birds is different from adults. At first their plumage is grayish, and in the third year of life they acquire permanent bright clothing.

What is the difference between spruce and pine

Three species of this bird live on the territory of Russia: spruce crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill. Both the first and second live in mixed forests in close proximity. They probably can't tell each other apart themselves. mating songs and other nuances are very similar. Outwardly, they differ slightly in color: the crossbill-spruce plumage has an inflamed red tint, while the color of the clothing of the pine crossbill is not so bright and has a yellowish tint.

The pine tree is more brutal in appearance, its brisket is wider, and its beak is plumper. Some ornithologists consider the division of crossbills into pine and spruce birds to be a mistake. Pine tree is one of the varieties of spruce tree that prefers to feast on pine cones.

The process of removing food from a cone

First of all, the crossbill cuts off the cone, as if with scissors. Holding it by the tail, he tries to pull the food onto a convenient horizontal surface. This, believe me, is not so simple. He balances with his tail and free paw. If you cannot hold the cone with one leg, the crossbill presses it with its entire belly. Now we're talking about specifically about the spruce tree. Frequent contact with pine cones often leaves a resin mark on the hunter's abdomen.

First, the bird gets under the scale and tears it apart. If the cone is open, then the bird penetrates deep and pulls out the seed. A rough tongue comes to the rescue.

But the cone is very heavy for the fragile bird. And it often falls before the crossbill has time to reap the entire harvest. Therefore the bird best case scenario eats 1/4 of the seeds.

Habitat

All crossbills live in the Northern Hemisphere. Many consider them taiga birds. But this is not entirely true. Crossbill lives in Eurasia, America and Africa. The nesting sites of these birds are not permanent, because these birds constantly fly in search of food. If the year turns out to be a poor harvest for pine cones, then crossbills can fly out of the forest even into the steppe. At first glance, the birds do not seem very skillful, but this thought immediately goes away when you see how quickly they move along the branches and turn upside down.

IN North America Spruce grass is also found. There is even one subspecies of these birds that lives only on the island of Haiti.

The crossbill is a very funny and sociable bird. It quickly adapts to new living conditions. He has a great talent for imitating the voices of other birds.

IN good conditions In captivity, birds can live up to 10 years if nesting conditions are created for them. If nutritional needs are not maintained and temperature regime, then the bird’s plumage fades to grayish-green shades, and the crossbill dies.

They are very savvy creatures, so they can easily open the cage. Owners of crossbills admit that communicating with these birds and observing their behavior brings a lot of positive emotions.

Some interesting facts

• The ancestors of modern individuals appeared 9 million years ago.
• In winter, crossbills can coo their songs even in -50 degrees below zero.
• In Ukraine, crossbills are called shishkars, and in Belarus - kryzhadzyubs.
• These birds feed their chicks in a unique way: they drop lumps of food into their mouths; if they miss, they start the procedure again.

Crossbill: children about nature. What bird breeds chicks in winter? What is so amazing about this bird? Riddles, poems, stories, fairy tales, presentation about crossbill and other forest inhabitants for children. Educational fairy tale in pictures “The Crossbill and the Woodpecker.”

Today is a new page of our children's encyclopedia about wintering birds on the “Native Path” website. She will introduce us to an amazing bird - the crossbill.

Which bird breeds in winter?

A story for children about crossbill in pictures

Klesta It is always easy to recognize by its beak. Crossbills have a beak that looks like a cross. Try drawing a cross with a pencil. Now make a cross from two sticks. Does it look like a crossbill's beak? Have you seen such a cross-beak on other birds - sparrows, geese, ducks, chickens, pigeons? No? That's right, you haven't seen it and you won't see it!!! Only crossbills have such a beak! They need it to get food for themselves - to get seeds from cones. You can't get seeds from a cone with a regular straight beak! Therefore, if you see a bird with a cross-beak in a forest or park in winter, then you know that it is a crossbill. You will never confuse him with other birds!

But the crossbill is famous not only for its cross-shaped beak!

Crossbill is the most amazing bird! And the most seasoned! Not afraid of any frost! And hatches chicks in the bitter winter during blizzards, blizzards and severe frosts. And that’s why crossbills make a very warm and durable nest. And their nest is always located very high on a pine or spruce tree, so that no one can reach the chicks.

Crossbills build their winter home for their chicks - their nest from dry spruce twigs, moss and lichens, and soft roots. And to make it warmer, they line the inside with wool and feathers. This nest must have thick walls so that the babies do not freeze in it. The nest is built by the female, the mother of the future chicks. And the male, the papa crossbill, helps her. Crossbills make a warm, durable home! Neither frost nor blizzard are scary in such a house!

The frost outside is such that people don’t even go for walks in the parks, they hurry home as quickly as possible. And at this time the mother bird sits on the nest and does not fly away from it. In her nest she has 3-4 small eggs, from which her little children - crossbills - will soon hatch. The mother of the future mites sits on snow-covered branches for two weeks. She can't fly away - she has to hatch the chicks!

How does the mother eat at this time if she cannot fly away from the nest? Who feeds her at this time?(give the baby time to think and try to find the answer to the question) Of course, dad helps mom at this time - the crossbill, who brings her food and takes care of her.

When the crossbills are born, the mother also does not leave them for a minute - she sits on the crossbills and warms them with her body.

Why do crossbills hatch chicks in winter? Because ticks need special food! Which? Of course, there is special food - children's food - that which is given to children so that they grow well. What kind of food is this very healthy? (Let the baby try to name healthy products, which he knows, and will try to guess which of them may be needed by small crossbill chicks):

“What do you eat in the morning? Porridge. What kind of porridge? (Buckwheat, oatmeal, millet, semolina - remember with your baby). And crossbills also need porridge, but a different one - bird porridge - spruce porridge!!! And there is a lot of such porridge only in winter, because it comes from... cones! Do you know this kind of porridge? No? Listen to what kind of porridge this is and how little crossbills grow.”

N. Sladkov. Spruce porridge

Everyone's birthday is a joy. And the biting people are in trouble. What a joy it is to hatch in winter? It's frosty, and you're naked. One back of the head is covered with down.

All birds have parents like parents; they hatch their children in the summer when it is warm and nourishing. Laws are not written for crossbills alone. I managed to hatch a tick in the winter, and on the twenty-ninth of February! What kind of birthday is this that only comes once every four years? Just cry: no greenery, no caterpillars; snow, cold...
And at least the parents!
There's a daddy crossbill sitting on his Christmas tree and singing songs. And there’s steam coming out of his beak, as if he’s smoking a pipe!
This is what I think about biting.
I just see that the ticks themselves live and do not grieve!
Crossbills eat porridge. Porridge made from spruce seeds is good! They'll eat enough porridge and go to sleep. From below the nest is like a feather bed, from above the mother is like a feather blanket. And the porridge warms you from the inside. The Christmas tree is cradled, the wind purrs songs for them.
A few days have passed - the crossbills have grown. Neither our necks got cold, nor our noses froze. Yes, they are so thick that the nest is cramped. And restless: they almost fall out of the nest.<
This is probably all from my mother’s worries and from the spruce porridge.
<А ещё от яркого солнышка и морозного ветра.
No, a birthday is always a happy day.
Even if it’s winter and frost. Even if it’s the twenty-ninth of February.
Doesn't matter!<

You probably thought that since crossbills are born in such severe frost, they are dressed in a very warm coat, like bunnies or squirrels in winter? But no! Their down is the same as that of the chicks of other birds that hatch in the spring. And only their mother warms them! Without their mother, the crossbills will be lost! Mom warms the nest so much with her little body that it’s warmer than it is at home! Wow! You don't even need batteries or a stove!

Then the crossbills grow up, and the mother begins to fly out of the nest for a short time. How cold it is then for the kids! They hide their heads under their tummy to keep warm. And when mom returns, they quickly warm up under her. The father crossbill feeds the mother and children. He brings spruce seeds and gives them to his mother. And the mother feeds them to her babies - they bite.

Parents have to feed their babies for a long time, because they are still small and do not know how to get food from pine cones themselves. After all, adult crossbills have a cross-shaped beak, while chicks have a straight beak. You can’t get a single seed out of a cone with a straight beak! But as the kids grow up, they begin to learn how to extract seeds from cones, their beak will also bend and become like a cross. Then they will begin to get food for themselves, using their cross-shaped beak to push apart the scales of the cone and take out the seeds.

Crossbills are very friendly birds. They love to fly in flocks and always build nests where there are a lot of cones with seeds. But when the couple wants to hatch chicks, it flies away from the flock, makes a nest and lives in it. And as the crossbills grow up, the family with the crossbills returns to the common flock. It is easier to feed and survive in the forest in a flock.

Crossbills have another name. They are called very funny - "northern parrots" Can you guess why? How are they similar to parrots? Yes, they are bright like parrots, they also have wings, legs, a head, a tail, they also know how to fly. And crossbills, like parrots, can climb branches and even hang upside down! Look at the photo. They are like real dexterous gymnasts! They hang upside down on a branch and eat the seeds!

Crossbills never completely peck out the seeds from the cones. A few seeds will be pecked off, and the rest will be left in the cone. And after eating the cone is dropped on the ground. And therefore we can say that crossbills are very useful birds for the forest. They are like foresters planting forests. How can they plant a forest if they don’t even have hands - only wings? (Give your child the opportunity to think about the answer to this question, prompt him with questions: “What does a spruce or pine grow from? From a cone! Where should a cone be so that the seeds from it fall into the ground and then become small fir trees or pine trees? How can crossbill help to the tree and its children - seeds?” Tell us that from the cones thrown by crossbills on the ground, small trees then grow. That’s why we can say about crossbills that they plant a forest)

Speech exercise “What kinds of crossbills are there: Think of a word”

You've probably seen different dogs. There are dogs - shepherds. There are spaniels, there are poodles, bulldogs, collies and many other different dogs. And crossbills are also different. We have three species of crossbills living in Russia. Try to guess from the name why they are called that.

1. Some crossbills are called like this: “ Crossbill – Sosnovik"(emphasis on the third syllable). Guess why? What does he eat? (Pine seeds).
2. There are other crossbills. They feed on spruce seeds. Guess what they are called? I’ll give you a hint: “The pine seeds are eaten by the crossbill. And the crossbill eats the spruce seeds... ?( elo-vik)»
3. And the third crossbill is called “ white-winged" Have you already guessed why? That's right, he has two white stripes on his wings. He eats larch seeds. And that’s why they call it, guess what? (Listen to all the child’s suggestions, let him come up with his own words, encourage word creativity and any invented word variants. And then say: “Because he eats larch seeds, they began to call him larch. A beautiful word – “larch”, isn’t it? Do you like it?")

Now let's play a fairy tale-finger theater for children.

How the forty crossbill judged:

fairy tale for children 5-6 years old

After reading this story, discuss it with your child:

• Why did the white-sided magpie decide to judge crossbills? What forest orders were violated by crossbills?
• What birds flew to the magpie's call? Did they agree with the magpie? Why?
• What interesting things have you learned about the life of crossbills? What else do you want to know? (The ability to ask questions is a very important skill that needs to be developed already in preschool age. Therefore, encourage any questions your child has and find the answer to them with him in a book, encyclopedia or on the Internet)
• What do the words about the chicks “take wing” mean?

This time the girl went for a walk in the winter forest. Silence in the forest. The forest sleeps under a thick blanket of snow. The birch trees in white hats bowed their heads, the Christmas trees bent their paws under the weight of the snow. Suddenly - noise, flapping of wings, chattering. This white-sided magpie plopped down onto a tree branch, shook the snow off it, crackled, and chirped. A crossbill peeked out from under a heavy spruce paw:
- Listen, don’t make noise, don’t chatter! Don't scare my chicks!
- What? Chicks? In the winter forest? You, crossbill, are violating forest orders. The chicks are supposed to be hatched in the spring. Hey birds, come all here! We will try Klest for violating forest regulations. The first to respond to the magpie's call was a handsome red-breasted bullfinch and sat down on a rowan branch.
- What's that noise? Why should the crossbill be judged? - he asked.
- Well, the magpie says that I’m violating forest rules and breeding chicks in winter.
- Aren’t you afraid of the cold?
- No. We make a very thick nest from small twigs, insulate it with wool and feathers, and hide it among spruce branches. This is where the crossbill lays its eggs.
- What if the eggs freeze even in such a warm nest? - he asked.
- No. Klestiha sits on them for half a month, warming them with its warmth.
- How does she eat? - asked the titmouse, who had been swinging on a birch branch for a long time and listening to the conversation.
“I bring her seeds from fir cones, buds of fir trees and birches,” said the crossbill.
- Well done crossbills! “They are not afraid of frost,” a woodpecker joined the conversation, clinging to the trunk of a spruce tree. - I've been watching them for a long time. Friendly birds! And they have proper nutrition. They love spruce seeds just like me.
Auntie owl crawled out of a hollow in an oak tree and said:
- Although I can’t see anything during the day, I can hear everything well. Well done, crossbills! By spring their mites will be on the wing. Do you know how many Christmas trees will grow from the seeds they dropped?
“You’re wrong, magpie,” said the bullfinch.
“You’re chattering to no avail,” the titmouse supported him.
“There’s nothing to judge the crossbill for,” the woodpecker concluded.
Then all the birds started making noise and chattering. The magpie waved its wing at them and flew away. And the girl, who watched the whole story, smiled, was happy for the crossbill and went home. (Author - N.V. Nishcheva. A fairy tale from the book “Educational Fairy Tales” - Childhood-Press, 2002)

Cartoon for kids about crossbill

In this cartoon, kids will get acquainted with forest inhabitants and find out who spends the winter how. After watching the cartoon, ask your child: “Why couldn’t the thrush (caterpillar, bear, crossbill) come to the little hare for the New Year? Who came to the Christmas tree? (Look at the last shots - bullfinches, foxes, fawns, wild boars, squirrels, hares).” Ask which of the forest inhabitants your child would invite to the New Year's party (who could come to it). Who would you invite to a summer party?

http://youtu.be/wOvOuLQ4VAc

Who are crossbills friends with?

Remember which trees crossbills are “friends” with? (With spruce, pine, larch).

Friends always help each other. How do crossbills and spruce and pine trees help each other? How do spruce and pine help crossbills? (The Christmas tree and pine provide them with food - cone seeds). How do crossbills help these trees? (Remind your child that crossbills eat only part of the seeds, the rest of the seeds remain in the cone. The cone with seeds falls to the ground, and in the spring the seeds germinate. It turns out that crossbills, like foresters, plant forests and help these trees)

What animals are crossbills “friends” with? Who eats the seeds from the cones that the crossbills dropped on the snow? (Squirrels, mice) Crossbills are true friends with mice! The mouse cannot pick a pine cone from the tree. And the crossbills drop cones with seeds on the ground, so the mice feed on these seeds and say “Thank you” to the crossbills for this. We can say that the food itself comes to them, or rather, it flies from the tree!

Who else eats cone seeds in the forest? Squirrels. They also eat the seeds of the cones behind the crossbills. But squirrels are not friends with crossbills. They don’t even say “thank you” for the food. Do you want to know why?

Nikolay Sladkov. How crossbills made squirrels jump in the snow

Squirrels don't really like to jump on the ground. If you leave a trace, the hunter and his dog will find you! It's much safer in the trees. From the trunk - to the twig, from the twig - to the branch. From birch to pine, from pine to Christmas tree. They'll gnaw buds there, cones there. That's how they live.

A hunter walks with a dog through the forest, looking at his feet. There are no squirrel tracks in the snow! But you won’t see any traces on spruce paws! There are only cones and crossbills on the spruce paws.

These crossbills are beautiful! Males are purple, females are yellow-green. And great masters peel the cones! The crossbill will tear off a cone with its beak, press it with its paw, and use its crooked nose to bend back the scales and remove the seeds. He will bend back the scale, bend the second one and throw the cone. There are a lot of cones, why feel sorry for them! The crossbills fly away - a whole pile of cones remains under the tree. Hunters call such cones crossbill carrion.

Time passes. Crossbills tear everything down and rip cones off the trees. There are very few cones on the fir trees in the forest. The squirrels are hungry. Whether you like it or not, you have to go down to the ground and walk downstairs, digging out crossbill carrion from under the snow.

A squirrel walks below and leaves a trail. There is a dog on the trail. There is a hunter after the dog.

“Thank you to the crossbills,” says the hunter, “they let the squirrel down!”

By spring, the last seeds will spill out of all the cones on the spruce trees. Squirrels now have only one salvation - carrion. All seeds in the carrion are intact. Throughout the hungry spring, squirrels pick up and peel crossbill carrion. Now I would like to say thank you to the crossbills, but the squirrels don’t say anything. They cannot forget how the crossbills made them jump in the snow in winter!

• Why don’t squirrels say “thank you” to crossbills? >What can’t they forget?
• Why don’t squirrels like to come down from trees to the ground in winter? What makes them come down from the trees into the snow in winter?
• What is a "carrion"?

Stories about crossbills for children

Educational fairy tale in pictures “The Crossbill and the Woodpecker” (N. Sladkov) for children 6-7 years old

You can download the presentation for this fairy tale for free in our VKontakte group “Child development from birth to school” (see the “Documents” group section in the right column). It contains all the pictures in this article in good resolution and high quality for more convenient viewing with children on a home computer monitor or screen.

“I look, Woodpecker, at your nose and compare it with mine,” said Klest. - Yours is straight, like a chisel, and mine, like two crooked screwdrivers. And yet my crooked one will be better than your straight one.

A story about crossbills by V. Bianchi “To whom laws are not written” (for younger schoolchildren)

Now all the forest dwellers are groaning from the cruel winter. Forest law says: in winter, escape from cold and hunger as best you can, but forget about the chicks. Hatch the chicks in the summer, when it is warm and there is plenty of food.

Well, to whom the forest is full of food even in winter, this law is not written.
Our correspondents found the nest of a small bird on a tall tree. The branch on which the nest is placed is completely covered with snow, and the eggs lie in the nest.

The next day our correspondents came - it was just bitterly cold, everyone’s noses were red - they looked, and the chicks had already hatched in the nest, lying naked in the snow, still blind.
What kind of miracle? But there is no miracle. It was a couple of crossbills who built a nest and raised chicks.
The crossbill is such a bird that it is not afraid of the cold or hunger of winter.

All year round you can see flocks of these birds in the forest. Calling to each other merrily, they fly from tree to tree, from forest to forest. They lead a nomadic life all year round: here today, there tomorrow.

In the spring, all songbirds split into pairs, choose a site and live on it until they hatch their chicks.
And even at this time, crossbills fly in flocks throughout all the forests, not stopping anywhere for long.

In their noisy flying flocks you can see both old and young birds all year round. It’s as if their chicks are born in the air, on the fly.

In Leningrad, we also call crossbills “parrots.” They were given this name for their colorful and bright outfit, like a parrot’s, and for the fact that they climb and spin on perches, also like parrots.

The feathers of male crossbills are orange in different shades; in females and young - green and yellow.
Crossbills have tenacious legs and a grippy beak. Crossbills like to hang upside down, holding the top branch with their paws and grabbing the bottom branch with their beak.

It seems quite miraculous that the crossbill’s body does not rot for a very long time after death. The corpse of an old crossbill can lie for twenty years - and not a single feather will fall from it, and there will be no smell. Like a mummy.

But the most interesting thing about the crossbill is its nose. No other bird has such a nose.
The crossbill has a cross-shaped nose: the upper half is bent downwards, the lower half is bent upwards.

The crossbill has all the power and the answer to all miracles in its nose.

Crossbills will be born with straight noses, like all birds. But as soon as the chick grows up, it begins to take out seeds from spruce and pine cones with its nose. At the same time, his still delicate nose bends crosswise, and remains that way for the rest of his life. This is to the benefit of the crossbill: with a cross nose it is much more convenient to remove seeds from the cones.

This is where everything becomes clear.

Why do crossbills wander through forests all their lives?
Yes, because they are looking for where the best harvest of buds is. This year, in the Leningrad region, we have a lot of cones. We have crossbills. Next year there will be a cone harvest somewhere in the north - crossbills will be there.

Why do crossbills sing songs in winter and hatch their chicks among the snow?
But why don’t they sing and hatch chicks, since there is plenty of food all around? The nest is warm - there is down, and feathers, and soft fur, and the female, as soon as she lays her first egg, does not leave the nest. The male carries food for her.

The female sits, warms the eggs, and the chicks hatch - she feeds them spruce and pine seeds softened in the crop. Cones are on the trees all year round.

If a couple gets together, wants to live in their home, take out the small children, they will fly away from the flock, no matter whether in winter, spring, or autumn (crossbill nests were found in every month). They build a nest - they live. The chicks will grow up, and the whole family will again join the flock.

Poems about crossbills

Crossbills

In winter, when the birds flew south,
Having left my usual place,
Snow and blizzards swirled in the forest,
Animals crawled into dens and holes.

As soon as the crossbills are having fun on the branches,
Spruce cones are quickly peeled.
They will gorge themselves on seeds -
Any frost will then win.

They sing funny songs
And the chicks are hatched into the bitter cold.
Their bright feathers shine in the sun.
Well, who will understand these brave crossbills?

And they hang upside down on the branches,
Holding on to a branch with a grasping beak.
Suddenly they fly up in a flock from spreading branches,
Spinning in the shimmering sky for a long time.

When everything in the forest freezes until spring,
The forest paths are sadly empty,
The ground falls asleep under the cold snow.
But life triumphs - there are crossbills on the branches. (Tatiana Kersten)

Crossbill chicks

The snow is spinning, falling,
rushes like a blizzard,
delighting with whiteness,
spreads softly
and snowflakes with sparkles
powders the ground.
Snow with hard hands
He is in a hurry to cover everything.

If only the chicks wouldn't get cold,
yellow crossbills.
They click like tweezers
cross beaks.
Under the spruce tree
the chicks are sitting.
Mom and dad for the kids
the cones are tugging. (Irina Batu)

Riddles about crossbill

He is not afraid of blizzards,
It builds nests on spruce trees in winter,
His cry is abrupt, simple,
Crooked-nosed red...
(P. Smolin)

The beak of that bird is not simple -
Strong, bent and overlapping,
The height of that bird is small,
And the name of that bird is... (crossbill).
(Vladimir Talyzin)

So our meeting with an amazing bird called crossbill. I hope that it was interesting for you and your children. See you again in the section!

You can download a presentation with pictures of this article in high resolution and good quality in our VKontakte group “Child development from birth to school” (see the “Documents” group section under community videos). The presentation is editable.

To make it more convenient to work with children using the materials in this article, below I give a presentation with pictures of the article. To view full screen, click the icon in the lower right corner of the screen.

Presentation "Klest"

You can make a presentation for children with pictures from this article in good resolution and quality or in our VKontakte group “Child development from birth to school” (in the “Documents” group section).

You will find more interesting materials about wintering birds for games, activities, and projects with children in the articles:

Educational stories, videos for kids, speech and logic problems about birds in winter, riddles, poems, finger exercises, games.

is a beautiful, songbird that usually lives in the forest. Its closest relatives are sparrows. The crossbill is slightly larger than the sparrow, does not exceed 17 cm in length, and weighs about 50 grams. It is easily recognized by its characteristic strong beak, the upper and lower parts of which cross each other. No other bird has such a beak.

They need such a cunning beak to climb trees and get cone seeds. Birds have a large, rough tongue, which also helps them in obtaining seeds. This is their favorite treat. Therefore, crossbills inhabit coniferous or mixed forests, where there are many spruce trees. Crossbills are not found in cedar forests. They also eat insects, pine and spruce buds, and other seeds, such as sunflowers. Sometimes the crossbill eats the resin that protrudes from under the bark of coniferous trees. There are species of crossbills that specialize in spruce, pine or larch trees.

The bird is active during the day and flies very quickly. It practically does not descend to the ground; it spends all its time on branches. Crossbills often fly from one place to another in search of forests where there are many cones. This is a nomadic bird. Their numbers may vary from year to year depending on the cone harvest. The crossbill has very tenacious paws, so it can hang upside down and get to the seeds this way. From the cones, the crossbill takes out those seeds that are easiest to get to. The rest is thrown to the ground, which makes mice and squirrels very happy.

The plumage of males is brighter, red, only gray on the abdomen. The older the bird, the brighter its plumage. Females are paler, gray-green in color. The wings of birds and their tail are colored brown.

Crossbills build nests close to each other and lay up to five blue-shelled eggs. Chicks usually appear in winter, so crossbills build very warm nests, lining them with moss and feathers. There is enough food for these birds in winter. The chicks have a straight beak and cannot get their own food, so they live with their parents for up to 2 months. The young are gray with spots. Bright plumage appears only on one-year-old birds.

- songbird. They often chirp and whistle, calling to each other. They can also imitate the singing of other birds. Because of their beautiful voice, crossbills are sometimes kept in captivity. This is a trusting and sociable bird that quickly gets used to humans and can live in a cage for up to ten years. In nature, crossbills have practically no enemies. This is all due to the fact that crossbills eat a lot of resin, which they literally become saturated with and become bitter and tasteless to predators.

Description for children 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade

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Crossbills

genus of birds of the finch family. Length up to 17 cm. 3 types: spruce crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill. They live in the forests of the Northern Hemisphere; They feed mainly on the seeds of coniferous plants. In productive years they can nest from February.

CROSSCLOSES

Crossbills (Loxia), a genus of birds in the finch family (cm. FINCHES). The size of a sparrow or slightly larger (body length up to 17 cm). Dense build. They have a special beak structure: the ends of the mandible and mandible overlap each other, crossing each other crosswise. The general coloration of adult males is cherry red, with a brighter red rump and brownish-red wings, tail and shoulders. In the female, the red color is replaced by yellowish-gray. Young males have an orange coloration in the first year of life due to the mixed red and yellow feathers. Inhabitants of the taiga zone, but are also found in the mountain forests of the Caucasus, Crimea, Turkmenistan and Siberia.
On the territory of Russia there are 3 species: spruce crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill. The most common in Russia is the spruce crossbill. The pine crossbill differs from it in its thick and high beak and somewhat larger size. The white-winged crossbill is a lighter pinkish-red color with two wide white stripes running across its wings. It is smaller in size than other crossbills.
Common nomadic birds. From the taiga, crossbills, during their frequent migrations, fly into all regions of Russia, often very far from their nesting sites. They were observed in the Volga delta, in the semi-desert steppe zone of the Karaganda region. They live on coniferous trees in flocks, often hanging from cones, tearing them off and dropping them. During the flight they constantly call to each other, but, having settled on a tree, they fall silent. They feed mainly on the seeds of coniferous plants. The voice is a ringing “kle-kle”, which serves for sound communication between flocking birds. The song is a collection of chirps with loud whistles.
In cone-producing years, they can nest from February. At this time, the birds celebrate their “weddings”. The nest is made in trees. The clutch of the white-winged crossbill consists of 4-5 bluish eggs with black-brown speckles in April - June, the spruce crossbill - of 3-4 pale greenish-blue eggs with brown spots in March - May, the pine crossbill - of 3-4 eggs are the same color as those of the spruce tree. Crossbills are often kept in cages. Captured birds very quickly get used to captivity.

Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what “crossbills” are in other dictionaries:

Crossbills ... Wikipedia

- (Loxia), a genus of finches. Dl. up to 17 cm. The ends of the jaws are crossed, which allows K. to bend the scales of spruce, pine or larch cones and extract seeds with a sticky tongue. Some types of K. cope with hard pine cones, others only with soft ones... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

Crossbills, a genus of birds (finches family). Length up to 17 cm. The elongated ends of the beak are crossed, which allows crossbills to bend the scales of conifer cones and extract seeds from them with a sticky tongue. 3 species of spruce crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill; live in... Modern encyclopedia

A genus of birds in the finch family. Length up to 17 cm. 3 species: spruce crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill. They live in the forests of the Northern Hemisphere; They feed mainly on the seeds of coniferous plants. In good years they can nest from February... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Loxia) a genus of birds of the finch family. Length up to 20 cm, weigh 30 58 g. The mandible and mandible of K. are crossed with a device for extracting seeds from the cones of spruce, pine and other conifers. The plumage of males is reddish, females and young ones are greenish. 3… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Genus of birds family. finches. Dl. up to 17 cm. 3 species: K. spruce, K. pine and white-winged K. They live in the forests of the North. hemispheres; eat ch. arr. coniferous seeds. In productive years they can nest from February. Crossbills: / spruce; 2 pine trees... Natural science. Encyclopedic Dictionary

Crossbills- Spruce crossbill. Crossbills, a genus of birds (finches family). Length up to 17 cm. The elongated ends of the beak are crossed, which allows crossbills to bend the scales of conifer cones and extract seeds from them with a sticky tongue. 3 types of spruce crossbill, pine crossbill and white-winged crossbill... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Rod Crossbill- 18.26.10. Genus Crossbill Loxia The birds are slightly larger than a sparrow, with a crossed beak and a relatively short cut tail. Males are red or red-crimson, females are greenish, young birds are gray and mottled. They nest high in trees... ... Birds of Russia. Directory

Crossbills Male crossbills in the Deschutes National Forest, Oregon (USA) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animals ... Wikipedia

Books

• Forest calendar, N. Sladkov. Contents of the collection: January How crossbills made squirrels jump in the snow Boar snowman How the Bear was turned over Bird canteens Ice-hole canteen How long is a hare? Greedy Jay Magpie and...
• Bureau of Forest Services. With questions and answers for why, N. Sladkov. Everyone has long known and loved the works of the wonderful writer Nikolai Ivanovich Sladkov. There is no need to imagine the textbook stories from the “Forest Hidden Hidden” series: they are “passed through” in the elementary...