The blue-sized blue-sized blue-gray is a medium-sized bluestone grey is a bluestone-gray turquoise, with almost pure blue upperparts and nearly black wings and tail; and a bluish underparts and a later maroon red. The upperparts of the female are bluish grey with black wings and tails , while the underparts are brownish-white with black wavy spots on each feather. In summer, it often inhabits rocky mountains or coasts. In winter, it moves south, occasionally in the city walls, ancient towers, ruins and other places. They feed either from a high place and directly on the ground, or suddenly fly out of the air to hunt for flying insects. Male birds are good at singing during the breeding period, the song is full of rhyme, very beautiful, the breeding period is from April to July every year, the nest is placed between the rock gaps on the mountainside, shaped like a bowl. The base of the nest is made of moss, branches, bark, etc., and the inner pad is made of fine grass, whisker roots, etc. Each clutch lays 4 eggs, pale blue, sometimes embellished with reddish-brown dots at the blunt ends. It mainly feeds on insects, such as slugs, locusts, etc., and also eats spiders. It is widely distributed as a resident and migratory bird found in Eurasia, China, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. It is the national bird of Malta.
Morphological characteristics
Male adult birds (summer feathers) have blue upperparts from the forehead to the upper tail coverts, both sides of the head and neck, and the lower body from the chin to the chest; The eyes are first nearly black; The small coverts on the wings are blue, the remaining feathers are black brown, while the outer narrow margins are blue, and the large coverts and secondary flight feathers are mostly slightly white-ended; The tail feathers are black and the feathers are blue. The lower body is pure chestnut red from below the chest; The axillary feathers are also the same color. To autumn. The ends of the feathers from the top of the head to the upper back turn black-brown, with black-brown transverse spots; Covert feathers from the lower back to the upper tail, with slightly dark spots and brownish-white feathers; The inner coverts on the wings are the same color as the lower back , and the remaining feathers are dark brown with distinct brownish-white feathers. The lower body is blue from chin to thorax, and the ends of each feather are brownish-white, with black-brown secondary spots; The later maroon feathers have brownish-white or white pterodies, and most of them are more inline with black-brown sub-terminal spots, and some have some blues.
Male adult birds (summer feathers) have brownish gray upperparts from the forehead to the upper back, with faint black spots; The underside to the upper tail coverts are grey-blue, and each feather has white-ended and black-brown sub-terminal spots; The wings and tail are similar to those of the male, but are paler, with covert feathers and feathers on the wings decorated with white margins; The eyes are white first; The cheeks and ear feathers are dark brown with white dots. The chin and larynx and larynx are all white or brownish-white, and each feather is edged with a circle of black spots; Slightly the same below the thorax, but these ring-shaped spots turn transverse; The undertail coverts are more brown. The center of the larynx is sometimes not patched, but this part does not become a patch.
Male juveniles (collected in August) have pale blue upperparts, brownish-white spots at the ends of each feather from the forehead to the upper back, and have black ends; The lower back and waist feathers have white ends and are covered with black spots; The upper feathers , the upper coverts , and the tail feathers all have brown or brownish-white feathers. The lower body is slightly identical to the autumn feathers of female adult birds, but the lower abdomen is brownish-white or only centrally brownish-white with slightly dark spots. The iris is dark brown, and the mouth and feet are black.
iris dark brown; Beak near black ( ♂ ) , or dark brown ( ♀ and juveniles ); The feet and toes are dark brown.
Size measurement: weight ♂45 ~ 56g, ♀45 ~ 64g; Body length ♂196~227mm, ♀182~225mm; Mouth peak ♂17~23mm, ♀19~21 mm; ♂Wings 113~126mm, ♀105~119mm; Tail length ♂73~93mm, ♀76~91mm; Tarsal ♂27 to 30 mm, ♀26 to 30 mm (South Asian species).
Habitat
It mainly inhabits rocky low mountain valleys and rocky mountains near waters such as mountain streams and lakes, but also inhabits coastal rocks and nearby mountain forests, and also appears in the river rocky beach shrubs above 3900 meters above sea level in Tibet, China, and in winter, it is mostly in the plains at the foot of the mountains, and sometimes into towns, villages, parks and orchards. It often stops at the branches of roadside branches or protruding rocks, power lines, house roofs, ancient towers and the top of the city walls.
Habits of life
Individual or paired events. They tend to forage on the ground, often hunting from the height of their habitat, or suddenly flying out to prey on insects that are active in the air, and then flying back to their original habitat. During breeding, the male birds stand on the top of the protruding rocks or the branches of small branches for a long time, and the tail is cocked, the song is varied, crisp and pleasant, and can also imitate other birds. It mainly feeds on insects such as beetles, scarab beetles, walking insects, locusts, lepidoptera larvae, bees, caterpillars, dragonflies, and kowtows, especially Coleoptera insects. It is mainly a resident bird, and some migrate in summer.
Distribution range
It is found in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Guinea, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan , Republic of Korea, North Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka , Sudan, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.
Traveling Birds: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, Germany, Mali, Palau, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom.
Breeding methods
Spawning begins in late April each year. During breeding, males often stand on the top of a rock protruding near the nest or on the branches of small trees, sometimes flying back and forth, or flying from one place to another, and sometimes fanning their tails out and upturned onto their backs. Nests usually nest in crevices or between rocks in ravines. The nest is cup-shaped and has a rough structure, mainly made of moss, twigs, dry grass stems and grass leaves, and has fine grass stems and grass roots inside. The nest is mainly carried by the female, and the male only assists in transporting the nest material. Each clutch lays 3 to 6 eggs, mostly 4 to 5, the eggs are light blue or pale blue-green, some are covered with a few reddish-brown spots at the blunt end, and the size of the eggs is 24 to 29 mm× 18 to 21 mm. After the eggs are laid, the incubation of the eggs begins, and the incubation of the eggs is undertaken by the female bird, and the male bird is alert, and the incubation period is 12 to 13 days. The chicks are late in nature, and the male and female birds co-breed the chicks and stay in the nest for 17 to 18 days.