Introduction: Because China's land area is relatively large, the north-south east-west span is relatively large, so the birds commonly found in various regions are not the same, but most bird nests have a common feature, that is, the nest mouth is facing upwards, and the nest outside the open air will face the problem of rainfall and snowfall, so why is the bird's nest mouth facing upwards but not afraid of rain and snow? Today we will reveal the secret.
It is understood that there are more than 9,000 species of birds that have been found in the world, and 14% of them are in China, a total of 1331 species, belonging to 24 orders, 101 families, and 429 genera.
Although the vast majority of birds will build their own nests, there are always some lazy people who like to take shortcuts, such as some birds will occupy the nests of other birds, the common is the "dove to occupy the magpie's nest", and some birds will use some naturally formed tree holes or stone gaps to make their own nests. Birds that build their own nests have a common feature, that is, their nests are all facing upwards. One of the problems facing the upward nest is that every time it rains or snows, there may be snow or water in the nest, which can cause damage to young birds. Many birds are called "master builders" by humans because they can build beautiful nests, so why would a master builder build a bird's nest for himself that will be blown by the rain and wind?
Our human dwellings or the nests of other animals are mainly used for night rest, but most bird nests are not for birds to rest and sleep, but to breed offspring. After having offspring, adult birds go out during the day to find food and feed their young birds, and at night they rest in trees, grasses and other places near the nest. The bird's nest is to provide a platform for the bird's egg or young bird to prevent it from falling under the tree, and whether it will be blown by the rain and wind is not in the category of bird consideration. And the nest is also conducive to feeding their young birds, and birds can also see the situation inside the nest from a distance, so as to better protect their young birds.
There are advantages and disadvantages, and the biggest problem with the nest facing upwards is that it will cause the young birds inside to be blown by wind, sun, and rain, especially on rainy days. But in fact, it is not what we think, because adult birds have a "sharp weapon", which can effectively protect young birds. It is the feathers covered on the body of birds, and the feathers can help birds fly on the one hand, and can play a warm role on the other hand. And adult birds will have a waxy layer on their feathers, which prevents rain or snow from wetting the feathers. Adult birds rely on their own feathers to shield young birds from the wind and rain, whenever the rain comes, adult birds will protect the eggs or young birds under their wings, and the rain that pours down will flow down the birds' feathers to the outside of the nest, so the size of many nests is made of their own size.
Of course, not all nests are opened upwards, and some birds build taller nests for their young birds, such as the magpies commonly found in the countryside. Although magpies will peck at peanuts, corn and other crops grown by farmers, and will also peck at apples, pears, grapes and other fruits, but in fact magpies are omnivorous birds, destroying crops while also protecting crops to a large extent, because 85% of their food comes from pests harmful to agriculture, and only 15% comes from grains. Some farmers also regard magpies as "auspicious omens", and if there are magpies chirping above their heads or roofs when they go out in the morning, it means that something good may happen to them on the day.
Magpie nests are very common in rural areas, especially on some tall trees. At first glance, the magpie's nest looks very rough with some branches on the branches, but in fact there are holes in the interior of the magpie's nest.
The magpie's nest can be divided into three layers from the outside to the inside, the outermost layer is the rough branches we see, this part is mainly to play a fixed role, the largest magpie nest can be more than 80 cm high, so high nest will not be blown away by the wind is the role of these branches, in order to make the nest more strong, the magpie will also add some weeds and dirt between the branches. The middle layer is a thin branch with mud, which mainly plays a role in shielding the wind and rain. The innermost layer is an inner pad composed of bark, grass roots, bird feathers, mammalian hair, etc., which mainly plays a warm role. And in order to prevent rain and snow from entering the nest, the magpie will also open the nest mouth above the southeast side, so that not only can the young birds living in it not be blown by the wind, sun, and rain, but also shelter from the wind and the morning sun, which is really a luxury "villa".
Just because the magpie's nest is too "luxurious", there will be birds like cuckoos and red-footed falcons seizing the magpie's nest. For magpies, it is not easy to successfully build a nest and then successfully reproduce in it, sometimes it is not finished with a wind to blow the semi-finished product to the ground, and sometimes it is preempted by other birds just after it is covered. Sometimes the nest will be picked up by some naughty children, even if the nest is not picked up by the bird eggs, many magpies will give up using it, because they feel that such a nest is not safe. All of the above can cause magpies to miss the best breeding season once a year.
I believe that many readers have done such a thing as digging a bird's nest when they were young, but it should be reminded that the current bird's nest is not something that can be dug out if you want to, because this is not only related to the breeding of birds, but also related to whether the person who digs the bird's nest will go to jail. One of the most typical cases is that on July 14, 2014, a student in Henan Province was sentenced to 10 and a half years for digging a bird's nest in a forest, and the first-instance judgment was upheld in the second instance, and the family's application for retrial was also rejected.
In this incident, although many netizens feel that children who have taken out a bird's nest and been imprisoned for 10 and a half years are a bit of a fuss, you will not say so after reading the following.
1. What they dug out is not an ordinary bird's nest, but the nest of the national second-level protected animal, the swallow falcon.
2, they took benefits from the birds they took, 7 of which sold for 800 yuan and 2 for 280 yuan.
3, swallow falcon generally lay 2-4 eggs, most of them are 3, more than a dozen swallow falcon young birds can not be obtained from a nest, at least to dig four or five bird nests.
4. The young man who digs the bird's nest belongs to the "Henan Falconry Interest Exchange Group", indicating that he should have some understanding of falcons and should know that he is catching a bird falcon.
5. The young man was also pulled out by netizens about the homemade guns he posted in Tieba and the information on the purchase and sale of falcons.