I believe many people know that not all birds can be seen all year round. According to the range and distance of movement of birds, it can be roughly divided into resident birds, migratory birds and drifting birds.
Resident birds refer to birds that inhabit the same region all year round, such as magpies, sparrows and other birds generally do not migrate, and even never leave the place where they were born in their entire lives.
Migratory birds refer to the flow of north and south according to a certain time of year, such as swallows, geese, egrets, etc. are typical migratory birds.
In order to better understand and understand birds, ornithologists have also subdivided migratory birds into three types: summer migratory birds, winter migratory birds, and traveling birds.
Drifting birds refer to some resident birds that, after breeding, will leave their small homes during the breeding period, have no place to live, and fly where they can find more and better food.
There are about 1300 species of birds in China, of which there are more than 600 species of migratory birds. Late autumn and early winter are the largest migration seasons for migratory birds.
Thousands of birds migrate from the southern breeding areas to the northern wintering grounds along regular, relatively fixed routes, and fly back to their homeland in droves the following spring.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > swallows move south for the winter</h1>
The swallow is a familiar beneficial bird in our lives, and the habits of life from spring to autumn, coming and going in pairs, have been regarded as the messengers of primrose since ancient times, symbolizing beauty.
There are many species of swallows, which can be roughly divided into two categories: one is the order Finches, which mainly includes the house swallow, the golden-waisted swallow, the cliff swallow, etc.; the other is the swift order, such as the Beijing swift, the white-waisted swift and the white-throated needle-tailed swift.
In life, our common "swallows" are actually mostly domestic swallows and golden-waisted swallows, which like to nest under human eaves. Swifts, on the other hand, prefer to nest and breed under the gaps in the eaves of cliffs and ancient buildings.
"Little swallow, dressed in flowers, comes here every spring..."
The lyrics of this song are very straightforward about the migration of migratory birds and swallows. Swallows are common migratory birds in China, which will migrate with the changes of the seasons, return to the north to breed in the spring, and drag the family to the south to overwinter in the winter.
In order to survive and better reproduce their offspring, they will carry out long-distance migration every year, and the migration behavior of south to north constitutes the most magnificent and moving ecological landscape in nature.
Every year, he is busy traveling to two places – south and north. However, do you really understand the "north" and "south" of the swallow migration?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="95" where is the "south" > swallows flying? </h1>
Most people know that every winter, swallows will go to the warm "south" to spend the winter, but the small partners living in the south of our country said that why rarely see the traces of swallows in winter?
The Line of the Huai River, which runs through the east and west of China, is recognized as the natural dividing line between the north and south of China, however, the "south" of the swallow wintering ground is not the south and north divided by China.
In ancient times, the migration behavior of swallows in early autumn made human beings wonder why swallows did not live in one place. Where do you fly in winter?
There have been many conjectures, some believe that swallows dig holes deep in lakes and ponds for the winter, and some even think that birds such as swallows flew to the distant moon to spend the winter.
With the development of technology, ornithology has gradually unveiled the mystery of the migration of swallows by means of satellite tracking, radar detection, rings, telescope observation and other means.
The "south" where swallows winter is not the south of China as we think of it, but actually refers to the vicinity of the equator, or even the southern hemisphere.
When the autumn is getting stronger, the swallows will gradually integrate into large groups, with children and daughters riding a strong north wind to the south, most of the swallows in China will migrate all the way to the south, will reach Southeast Asia, Australia and other places to spend the winter, some swallows even fly to South Africa.
Of course, a small number of yan will stay in southern Yunnan, Hainan Island and Taiwan to spend the winter in Southern Yunnan, Hainan Island and Taiwan. Therefore, some southern friends may still be lucky to see the swallows in winter.
Beijing Swifts, which live in North China and Northeast China, come to the breeding ground in late April every year and disappear from the end of July to the beginning of August. According to scientific records around the world, ornithologists have found that the Beijing Swift travels to Africa every winter for the winter.
Perhaps many people can't believe that swallows would fly to such a distant place for winter, in fact, the family swallows living in Europe will also migrate to Africa for winter.
For example, swallows from England first fly over the English Channel, through the Pyrenees in France, across the Mediterranean, through the Sahara Desert, and then against tropical storms, to the rainforest of the Congo, and finally to South Africa.
The whole journey of more than 10,000 kilometers and up to 4 months of migration can be imagined how difficult and risky the birds will be in the migration journey.
However, even at great risk to their lives, swallows still wade through mountains and rivers every year, tirelessly migrating back and forth between breeding and wintering areas.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="97" >why do swallows venture to migrate every year? </h1>
Seemingly unusual bird migrations, which are actually the most risky behaviors in their life cycle, are influenced by a variety of factors.
For example, predators, physical fitness, temperature, and the intentional or unintentional destruction and hunting of human beings will cause great difficulties and harm to their migration.
Birds themselves are fragile and vulnerable, and for them, every migration means rebirth and the possibility of dying.
The world's furthest migrating bird is the Arctic tern, which breeds in the northern hemisphere in the spring and overwinters south in the autumn, and every year they travel back and forth between the north and south poles, which is equivalent to a circle around the earth.
Migration, this high-risk, long-distance risk-taking behavior, may be difficult for humans to understand, and it is very likely that they will die at any time. However, why do birds such as swallows migrate every year?
Most scientists believe that birds migrate out of their own instincts, which are not only reflected in their own genetic or physiological aspects, but also have a close relationship with the external environment, such as climate, food, temperature, sunshine, etc.
The migration of birds is a result of adapting to the environment in the long-term evolutionary process, if they are more than migrating, the end in the harsh winter is bound to die, and the adventurous migration will have a glimmer of hope to survive.
Swallows feed mainly on insects, and in addition to resting at night, they are constantly foraging for food almost all day, while in the northern winter there are no flying insects for swallows to prey on. The cold and lack of food force the swallows to make long annual trips.
Long-distance migration is very physically demanding, so swallows will let themselves eat fat before preparing to migrate, and reserve enough fat to provide energy for the body.
Nowadays, we can see fewer and fewer opportunities for swallows, and a series of factors such as the increase in the use of pesticides in farmland, the influence of housing building materials on nesting and the natural environment have made the living environment of swallows face a huge threat.
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