Woodcock belong to the migratory species of hunting birds. The duration of total season hunting in Europe in the Kulik forest is about 10 months out of the year. June and July are the two months when the birds no hunting. Every year the number of European hunters who prefer this type increases, and therefore it can be argued that woodcock in the future will experience significant hunting press.
Russian hunters good idea biology spring life of the forest Kulik, and that spring hunting on draught, many of them prefer. However, after the season of his life is practically unknown. Let’s start with the fact that vast areas of the European part of Russia, inhabited by woodcock, various levels of its population, but also shape and impact on the population. For all the data related to the areal in General, trends of decreasing numbers of woodcock in Russia or the progressive fragmentation of his settlement are not revealed. However, in some large regions experiencing ongoing woodcock hunting load directional in nature. And at the same time, the extinction of small villages accompanied by deterioration of land, particularly in remote regions, which is favorable for many wildlife including woodcock. In the European part and beyond woodcock for many years will maintain its value of an object of sport hunting.
STRANGE BUT TRUE.
Eggs in the nest of the woodcock is usually 3-4, in rare cases, 5-6. A surprising discovery was able to do in Burgundy March 25, 1991: valdshnepy the nest was 7 eggs. In 50-ies of XX century, a litter of 7 snipe were found in the Loire. In the South of Germany in the nest were 8 eggs — an absolute world record. In respect of unusual clutches there is a hypothesis Danta Fraguglia, who believed that they correspond to two different females laying in the same nest. Similar cases are known from partridge and pheasant.
Photo atora
Amateur hunting of the woodcock is held in Russia in spring and autumn. Spring hunting is one of the few remaining traditional hunts in Europe, and it should not lead to the widespread of its prohibition, and its optimization. Hunters should always remember that on the spring hunting confiscated birds, who arrived in our country to multiply.
In species that exhibit courtship (and these include and woodcock), and most females mate with a small percentage of males. For them, it is a common situation, when the ratio of males to females is 1 to 3 or 4.
Reproduction is triggered by seasonal stimuli: in the temperate zone of the Northern hemisphere spring with lengthening daylight hours. Breeding snipe, like most other birds, timed to the season with the most favourable feed resources that provides Chicks to conditions optimal for survival. Delayed breeding reduces reproductive success.
Woodcock — secondary forest bird. It is only a terrestrial way of life, the branches of the trees sits very rarely. From ancestors woodcocks inherited attachment to the open parts of the forest in the mating behavior. Birds mate on the ground near the nesting places, meeting in the open air. This can be a small clearing in the forest, a wide forest road, the edge of the forest. So flights pulling males are often confined to forest edges, glades, forest roads, streams with the floodplain and other more open places.
Pairing snipe all extensive breeding habitat occurs from March to July. This period of life Kulik remains the least studied.
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Few observations show that during the thrust, the females usually sit on the ground, and if the male caught her attention, she takes off in a little arc. Its flight relative to the ground is low, vpoldereva. The male, seeing the flight characteristic of the female, follows her, and the birds sit together on the ground. Occasionally the female utters a call signal, on hearing which the male, not even seeing the female, is reduced and sits on the ground. Signal such ciganu, only coarser in tone similar to the urge of snipe in flight. This is based on the alluring snipe hunting rod. Hunters mimic the signal females or throw any object, thereby stimulating the male to approach.
The male in the presence of females on earth performs a complicated mating ritual specific issue barking sounds, raises the tail slightly and duck her head. The female for some time sitting motionless and tense. As soon as she relaxes, the male begins to approach her in a circle, gradually narrowing its diameter. Bird walks hunched over, head plunging heavily, turning to the female side only. If the partner suits her, she can let him touch his beak to beak, with the first emits a short beep. The male is responsible. Their singing becomes louder and after some time the female is lifted into the air. Immediately takes off after her male. A while birds fly and again sit on the ground. The male begins rotation around its axis from time to time turns his back to the female, which is stationary. The female raises her head, stretches his neck and beak at an angle of 45° and maintain this position for 20 seconds. The males are somewhat removed from the stationary females, while from time to time stirs the tip of the beak forest floor, as if about to feed, then turns to his lady. After a pause begins to open and close the beak with the same time interval. The tip of the beak is slightly inclined to the ground. Jumping aside at some distance and making a low jump, it lifts the wings. The male timidly repeats her movements and approaches her. (This behavior woodcocks demonstrate in a stressful situation. So, during the autumn trapping of individual birds, illuminated by the light of headlights, Bouncing on the spot, spread the tail, and sometimes rotate around the axis). Soon both birds crossed beaks and jump at the same time in one place. Finally, the male sits on the female. The friction of the tail feathers of both tails together stimulates emptying copulating hole male. Mating is accompanied by strong flapping of the wings of the male, trying to gain stability.
Occasionally on the ground, attracted by the female, may fall two males. They make a kind of grumbling, quiet song that can be heard from snipe in captivity. Like the sounds of woodcocks make, and in the hands of Kalevala fall when trying to escape.
It is believed that the male spent in the society of females from 3-4 to 11 days and for this period the craving for it stops. When the male remains with the female the whole period of oviposition, the other males-pedominantly to become dominant and mate with females.
At the end of April — early may of valdshnepy aktiviziruyutsya in search of a place suitable for a nest. For its construction they choose a dry space, but as close as you can to the damp area where the population density of earthworms and other insects several times larger than any other part of the forest.
Making nests, valdshnepy prefer extensive deciduous, mixed forests with prevalence of alder, aspen, birch, Linden, rarely pine and fir. There have also been cases of finding wildshaping nests at the edges of sphagnum bogs. This is especially true for the Northern territories of European part of Russia, where large areas are covered by these types of forest formations. At the device socket, special attention is paid to the richness of the soil. As a rule, it is loose, with lots of last year’s leaves. The grass cover is present, but small and discontinuous.
Nesting sites must meet the following requirements: availability of food, safety, protective conditions. Downy Chicks after rain or morning dew, need a quick warm up and drying, so that future mothers are not satisfied with the nests in the depths of the “old”, closed forest, then 50-100 meters from forest edges, forest roads or firebreaks.
Another important factor of the biological productivity of the territory near the nest. Heavier soils (clay, loam) sandy more productive light. In the areas with spreading of sandy soils, generally on flat or undulating plains and lowlands covered with pine forests, finds nests are extremely rare, as, indeed, the thrust of the males over these areas are weaker than hilly loamy plains with spruce and spruce-mixed forests.
Most snipe are produced in Moscow region — 20-30 thousand birds.
Photo ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
The nest of the woodcock is often under the protection of the bushes, near a stump or tree trunk and covered by overhanging branches or grass. And at the same time, it can be found in open areas with sparse woody vegetation, on dry mounds in coniferous forest or on tussocks in damp places of the forest.
The socket is arranged so that in case of sudden danger the female was able without delay to take off. Woodcock never makes nests under dense low canopy trees, especially conifers.
The nest is a simple depression in the forest litter with a diameter slightly more than 12-15 cm and a depth of 2-3 cm, which is formed gradually under the weight of the female. Litter in the nest either scarce or abundant, consisting of dry grass, dust, dry leaves. It provides camouflage for females in the environment. The nest is built amongst grass or pine needles, are rare.
Nests of females are usually located far away from each other. The shortest distance between them is 75 meters, and once in a radius of 170 meters was discovered 4 nests
Just demolished a egg weigh 26-27 grams, which is approximately 9% of the weight of the female. Woodcock refers to those species of birds whose eggs relative to the size of the females very large. Shell color — fawn beige. Reddish-brown, bluish-gray, rusty and chocolate spots located randomly. Most of them are on the rounded end.
The female lays eggs with an interval of a day or two dense and begins incubating only with the latter demolished eggs. Incubation lasts 21-23 days depending on the weather. Date of the masonry is computed by the method of Morgan and Shorten. So, in the discovery of nests with eggs counted 12 days, plus 2 days/egg. For downy Chicks 27 days plus 1 day/chick. For flightless young 34 days plus 1 day/young chick. For the flying young — 45 days plus 1 day/young chick. For well flying young — 50 days plus 1 day/ young chick.
The word “Wald-snap” taken from the German language. In countries closer to the West this bird under the influence of the Polish language affectionately called vayut “valve”.
ILLUSTRATION: ARCHIBALD THORNBURN
To feed, the female comes off the nest at least four times a day while she feeds nearby for 20-30 minutes. Return the bird behaves very carefully. Stop near the socket allows it to explore the area. If there is no danger, she sits on the eggs. During the brooding the female is all the more reluctant to leave the nest. Closer to the hatching of absence be reduced to two times a day. This is the crucial moment, and the female, as a rule, does not throw the nest in the last stages of incubation. During this period, between the female and Chicks is already underway acoustic communication. About 24 hours passes between the appearance of the first cracks in the shell and the hatching chick. Newly hatched of wildshaping weighs 17-18 g. he is at birth strong, sturdy legs, making possible to implement banding the Chicks from the first minutes of life.
To observe the behavior of the females are on the nest, — a great success for researchers. The bird completely merges with the surrounding landscape. The color and pattern of her feathers is indistinguishable from last year’s leaves, fallen needles, dry grass and leafless scales of bark. The female on the nest help to track down her large bright eyes, which from time to time be delayed a transparent nictitating membrane. Worth a minute to look away from the nest, and the silhouette of a bird becomes indistinguishable. You’ll need some time to see him again. In General, the masking helps everything: body shape, posture and woodcock. Females during incubation are more like a piece of bark thrown by the wind on the old tree than a living creature.
To be continued.
