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The common lane bird is sometimes called the locust starling. It belongs to the starling family. In total, there are about 12 subspecies in nature.
A feature of the lane is that it is a good mockingbird. She remembers various sounds, and is able to repeat them. The bird also remembers human speech. The Latin name for the bird is Acridotheres tristis.
Appearance
If you look at the common lane in flight, it looks like a medium-sized bird with a motley color. If you look at the bird closer, the color looks darker.
These birds are somewhat larger in size than other starlings. The body reaches about 27 cm in length. A bird weighs 125-135 g.
If we compare the lane with other starlings, it has a denser build, its head is larger, and its tail is shorter. Representatives of this species are distinguished by strong legs, as well as perfectly developed claws.
He searches for food on the earth, moving on it measuredly, with wide steps. If the bird is in a hurry, it does not move in steps, but in leaps. The lane, although it has rather short wings, flies very rapidly. But the flight can not be called easy. Young individuals in their appearance are very similar to adult birds. But their plumage is somewhat paler.
Habitat
Representatives of this species live in Afghanistan, Iran, as well as Pakistan. They can also be seen in India, Ceylon, in some countries of Central Asia, where representatives of the species appeared only at the beginning of the last century. In a short time, the lanes settled there everywhere. Today, many of these birds live in Kazakhstan. The habitat of the common lane continues to expand further towards the north, as well as the northwest.
Today, representatives of this species can be seen in Australia and in southern Africa, where they were introduced by people. This bird was also brought to many islands across almost the entire oceans.
Lanes are resistant to external living conditions, so sometimes they can be seen even where the birds usually do not live. There were times when they were met in Russia and Israel. It is known that a small population of these birds settled in Moscow.
This is due to the fact that the birds were originally purchased for home keeping. Man was attracted by their ability to memorize and repeat words. But after a short time, many birds were simply released, as they made too much noise. The owners simply could not stand the amount of loud sounds made by the bird. And when the lanes were free, they adapted to life in nature, and created their own colonies on the spot.
Nutrition, lifestyle
In nature, these birds love to settle close to humans. They can be found in gardens, kitchen gardens. Another favorite place for them is the edge of the forest.
The basis of the diet is various large insects. As a rule, these are orthoptera or beetles. These birds are sedentary, so they do not fly away from nesting sites in winter. Representatives of the species are quite capable of surviving the winter. People sometimes call the bird a locust starling because locust is their favorite treat in the summer.Parents feed their chicks also with locusts. They do not eat legs and wings, but tear off. The food for them is the head and trunk of the locust.
Thanks to this, it can be noted that lane brings a significant benefit to a person. When they catch locusts to feed their offspring, in one season, one pair of birds can kill about 150,000 animals that threaten agriculture. But the benefit of the lane is not so clear. After all, they themselves cause considerable damage to the gardens. When cherries, apricots and other juicy fruits ripen, the bird becomes a frequent visitor to the garden.
In the autumn and winter, when it is becoming increasingly difficult to find food, lanes become visitors to landfills, stockyards. There they find leftover grain and garbage suitable for food.
Breeding
In early spring, pairs form in the northern areas of the habitat in schools. The lanes during this period are singing. Between males there is a war for good breeding sites.
The song of these birds has a very peculiar character. They emit a characteristic croak along with creaky whistles.
They nest in colonies consisting of a large number of individuals. Their nests are in hollows of various trees. Often they are high. Sometimes a place for arranging a nest for them becomes a mink on a cliff, a crack in a rock or a crack in an abandoned building.
Why did people tame them
As already mentioned, a lane is able to copy any sound, including words from human speech. In this, they can safely compete with the Jacot parrots. They copy and croaking, and twittering, and other sounds made by birds and animals. You can tame them quite quickly, and then keep them in a cage.
Video: common lane (Acridotheres tristis)
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