Species - Ox point (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Genus - Ox point (Troglodytes)
Family - spectacled (Troglodytidae)
Row - Sparrow (Passeriformes)
An ox point is a fairly common bird. The range of the species includes the southern part of Asia, Europe, North Africa and North America. Northern populations are migratory and winter in the south of the range.
Description
Body length is about 10 cm.
Wingspan - 13-17 cm
Weight - 9-11 g
Life expectancy - an average of 4 years
An ox point is one of our smallest birds, half the size of a sparrow. The adult has a reddish-brown upperparts with dark transverse black stripes. The bottom is gray with a transverse pattern. At liberty, chest, sides of the body and undertail a red tint. The beak is thin and straight, the wings are short and rounded. Legs very strong, pale pink. Light eyebrows above the eye. There is no sexual dimorphism. The young bird differs from the adult in dark spots on the lower part of the body, the “eyebrows” are almost invisible. The bird is easily recognizable by its very small size and upturned tail, which sticks out almost vertically. The bird is very mobile and almost invisible in its camouflage coloration.
Lifestyle
Since the bird is very small, has an inconspicuous coloration and skillfully hides, it can be heard much more often than seen. Despite its rather small size, the bird has a very loud voice, which is perhaps due to the large area on which it lives. Birds live alone or in pairs, strictly occupying their territory and protecting it from others. However, at night, birds gather in groups in some kind of shelter (tree rhizome, depression in the ground, or something else). About 10 individuals usually gather in one place, although there are cases when 96 birds spent the night in one place. In shelters, the birds keep pressed against each other in several layers, with their heads turned to the center. Thus, the birds retain heat and spend less energy on heating. During the day, the bullock's point stays close to the ground, constantly sniffing and scaring in the thickets of nettles, raspberries and ferns. It flies reluctantly and rarely appears in open spaces. Feeds mainly on insects and their larvae, small beetles, spiders, ants, snails, seeds and berries (in autumn).
reproduction
An ox point is a polygamous bird. In spring, the male begins to build several well-camouflaged nests and attracts the female with loud singing. Sometimes he flies up to the top of a tree or sits on a stump and sings an aria. Nests are located in a thicket of shrubs, under roots, in a hollow, in a crack in the wall of a house, etc. They are spherical, large and have a side entrance. The female chooses one of the nests and arranges a tray in it, where she lays 4-7 white eggs with brownish speckles. The female incubates for 13-16 days. The chicks stay in the nest for three weeks. After the female has begun to incubate, a new female appears on the territory of the male, arranging her nest in one of the empty nests of the male. In this case, the male participates in feeding both broods.
