Animal behavior was the subject of study long before the heyday of the natural sciences. Acquaintance with the habits of animals was vital to man at the dawn of civilization. It contributed to the success in hunting and fishing, the domestication of animals and the development of cattle breeding, the construction and rescue from natural disasters, etc.

Share work on social networks

If this work does not suit you, there is a list of similar works at the bottom of the page. You can also use the search button

Wintering animals in nature

Table of contents

Introduction

The relevance of the work. Animal behavior was the subject of study long before the heyday of the natural sciences. Acquaintance with the habits of animals was vital to man at the dawn of civilization. It contributed to success in hunting and fishing, domestication of animals and the development of cattle breeding, construction and rescue from natural disasters, etc. The knowledge accumulated through observation served as the basis for the first proper scientific generalizations, which were always associated with clarifying the relationship between man and animals and their position in the picture of the universe. Ancient ideas about the instincts and mind of animals were formed on the basis of observation of animals in their natural habitat.

Wintering of animals, ways of experiencing an unfavorable winter period by animals of temperate and cold zones. In invertebrates, developmental cycles serve as adaptations for experiencing adverse winter conditions; for example, insects survive the winter in one of the cold-hardy, winter-adapted life cycle phases: eggs (locusts, many beetles, butterflies), larvae (some beetles, cicadas, dragonflies, mosquitoes), or pupae (many butterflies). Adaptation to wintering is hibernation, which is characteristic of some poikilothermic animals (invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles), as well as for a number of homeothermic animals (mammals - ground squirrels, marmots, dormice, hedgehogs, bats, etc.); some mammals have winter sleep in winter. Animals that do not hibernate — birds, most mammals and fish, and some insects — migrate for the winter to other biotopes or to areas with more favorable climatic conditions and with sufficient food. These seasonal migrations are most pronounced in some mammals (bats, whales, etc.), a number of fish, and especially in birds, most of which winter in the subtropics and tropics. In temperate and cold latitudes, predominantly herbivorous and mixed-food birds overwinter.

In homoiothermic animals wintering within temperate and cold latitudes, as a result of autumn molting, a thick fur or feather cover appears, which reduces heat loss in winter cold. As a result of molting, protective coloration also appears (hares, ermine, ptarmigan). In autumn, many animals and birds deposit a layer of subcutaneous fat, which protects against cooling and facilitates the transfer of starvation. The ability of many mammals to switch to food available during this period, and from autumn to produce food storage (see Animal Food Storage), is essential for experiencing the winter period.

A number of terrestrial bird species (hazel grouse, black grouse, capercaillie, ptarmigan) burrow into the snow at night and in bad weather during the day, which has good heat-insulating properties, and sit in it for a significant part of the day; in winters with little snow, mass deaths of these birds are not uncommon. Snow well protects small mammals from the cold, making passages in it and building nests. Small and medium-sized birds and animals spend the night in groups in winter, which reduces heat loss.

Purpose of the study: to study the ways of experiencing an unfavorable winter period by animals.

Research objectives:

Consider ways of experiencing the winter period by reptiles and amphibians;

Discuss how mammals experience the winter period.

1 Wintering of reptiles and amphibians

Amphibians and reptiles (otherwise - amphibians and reptiles) are creatures with a variable body temperature. In other words, the latter (that is, body temperature) is largely determined by the ambient temperature. Under our conditions, in the presence of a long cold period, such animals at this time cannot maintain their body temperature at a level sufficient for normal life. They cannot migrate to warmer climes, so the only way out for them is to go into an inactive state, that is, hibernate.

Most of our reptiles hibernate on land - in the soil and other shelters. Only a few species do this in bodies of water. Of amphibians, they include green and grass frogs, of reptiles - marsh turtles. The common frog is very rare in the Chernozem region, and is not found at all in the Khopersky Reserve and its environs. Among the three species of green frogs, water wintering is the norm for the lake frog, the pond frog tends to do so on land, and the edible frog can hibernate both in water and on land. It is curious that the latter species, living next to the lake frog, hibernates in the water, and, living together with the pond frog, on land, that is, it does this as if “in company” with the neighboring species. Thus, in our area, three types of reptiles actually hibernate in the water: lake and (partially) edible frogs and marsh turtles. 1

The duration of hibernation of amphibians and reptiles in our conditions is 6–7 months. It is determined by the specific features and weather conditions prevailing in a particular season. For example, the timing of the departure of animals for wintering in the same place in different years can vary within 10–15 days. The same applies to the time of awakening.

Lake frogs and marsh turtles hibernate at the bottom of fairly large water bodies, the probability of complete freezing of which is low. At the same time, the frogs climb into the silt, trying to hide from potential enemies. 2

All vital processes during hibernation slow down extremely, but do not stop completely. When the temperature drops, the animals become inactive, but not completely deprived of the ability to move. The frequency of respiratory movements and the level of gas exchange are sharply reduced, growth is inhibited. Breathing atmospheric oxygen during water wintering is impossible. Therefore, the only respiratory organ of frogs during this period is the skin, through which oxygen dissolved in water enters and carbon dioxide is removed. An important role in the respiration of hibernating turtles is played by the so-called anal sacs, or bubbles, the walls of which are penetrated by a network of small blood vessels.

The phenomenon of hibernation is not a simple reaction to a decrease in temperature, but a complex adaptation, which is a complex of interrelated changes in the body. "Winter" frogs differ from "summer" frogs in a number of physiological and biochemical features: they differ in the number of working capillaries in the skin, the amount of glycogen in the liver, the conductivity and excitability of the nerve pathways, and the reaction to light. In autumn, during the transition to wintering, and also in spring, when leaving it, the animal's body undergoes a complex restructuring.

During wintering, animals face numerous dangers. The main one is suffocation (zamora). It is the result of a sharp decrease in the oxygen content of the water. As a rule, this is facilitated by the accumulation of a large amount of organic matter in the reservoir, especially in combination with an early established and thick (sometimes double) ice layer. The danger of freezing increases towards the end of wintering. In some years in the spring, after the ice has melted, along the banks of the reservoir you can find a lot of fish that died from starvation. Not far away, usually at a greater depth, the bodies of frogs that did not survive the winter are also found.

Another danger is the complete or partial freezing of the reservoir. It happens in some frosty winters. If at the same time there are places suitable for wintering in the reservoir, the animals are able to move into them, otherwise they will die.

Occasionally, there are cases of poisoning of animals with harmful substances, which may be of natural origin or be the result of human activities. 3

Finally, a certain tribute is collected from wintering frogs by predators. Among them are predatory fish (catfish, pike, and others) and mammals (mink, otter). At the same time, some predators in the winter begin to specifically hunt amphibians. For example, the share of frogs in the diet of otters in different places increases from 2–43% in summer to 35–90% in winter. Young frogs especially suffer from predators during their first wintering. In turtles, especially adults, the number of enemies in winter is noticeably less. However, occasionally they, especially young specimens, are attacked by otters.

Wintering is a forced phenomenon for amphibians and reptiles. However, this is a very important period in their annual cycle. It is during hibernation at low temperatures that mature germ cells form in the gonads of males and females. Therefore, animals awakening in the spring soon begin to breed. If artificially deprive them of wintering, they will not be ready for procreation.

2 Hibernation, winter sleep, molt

Mammals are characterized by the following ways of experiencing an unfavorable winter period. 4

hibernation , a state of reduced vital activity that occurs in warm-blooded, or homoiothermic animals, during periods when food becomes inaccessible and the preservation of high activity and intensive metabolism would lead to exhaustion of the body. Before falling into hibernation, animals accumulate reserve substances in the body, mainly in the form of fat (up to 30-40% of body weight), and take refuge in shelters with a favorable microclimate (burrows, nests, hollows, rock crevices, etc.). Hibernation is accompanied by a significant decrease in vital activity and metabolism, inhibition of nervous reactions ("deep sleep"), slowing down of breathing, heartbeats, and other physiological processes. During hibernation, body temperature drops significantly (up to 4-0 °C), but control by the thermoregulatory centers of the brain (hypothalamus) and metabolic thermoregulation remain (in small animals with a high specific metabolism, without a decrease in body temperature, metabolism cannot be reduced to level, which ensures the economical use of reserve reserves of the body). Unlike poikilothermic animals falling into a state of torpor, homoiothermic animals during hibernation retain the ability to control the physiological state with the help of nerve centers and actively maintain the body's homeostasis at a new level. If hibernation conditions become unfavorable (excessive increase or decrease in temperature in the shelter, wetting of the nest, etc.), the animal sharply increases heat production, “wakes up”, takes measures to restore comfortable conditions (changes the shelter, etc.) and only after this again falls into hibernation. Some large animals, such as bears, during hibernation (sometimes called their winter sleep) maintain normal body temperature.

There are daily hibernation (in bats, hummingbirds, etc.), seasonal - summer (in desert animals) and winter (in many rodents, insectivores, etc.), and irregular - with a sharp onset of adverse conditions (in squirrels, raccoon dogs, swifts, swallows, etc. The duration of hibernation can reach 8 months (for example, in a number of desert animals, in which summer hibernation can turn into winter). moisture, etc.) can accelerate the fall into hibernation. A number of changes in natural conditions that precede the onset of an unfavorable season (change in the length of daylight hours, etc.) are signal - when they reach a certain level, the body turns on the physiological mechanisms of preparing for hibernation. Regulation of the process hibernation is carried out by the nervous system (hypothalamus) and endocrine glands (pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreas eza). Hibernation is accompanied by significant changes in tissue metabolism. During hibernation, the resistance of animals to many poisons and microbial infections increases markedly. 5

Winter sleep , the adaptation of some mammals to the experience of adverse food and climatic conditions of life in the winter. It is characteristic of some mammals, for example, a bear, a raccoon, a badger, a hamster. Unlike hibernation, winter sleep is characterized by a relatively small decrease in body temperature and metabolic processes. A sleeping animal can quickly switch to vigorous activity. During the Winter Sleep period, animals accumulate fat and climb into burrows or other well-protected shelters; during this time the animals do not eat.

Moult , periodic change of external covers at animals. In invertebrates (crustaceans, centipedes, insects, and other arthropods, as well as some worms, etc.), molting consists in shedding the old chitinous cover and replacing it with a new one, which is a necessary condition for the growth and development of the organism. In arthropods and other invertebrates, molting is confined to certain stages of individual development and is a complex process during which (successively) detachment and partial dissolution of the old cuticle, reproduction of epidermal cells, secretion of a new cuticle, and its hardening (after shedding the old one) occur. In insects, molting is mainly due to the action of the molting hormone, ecdysone, which, by changing the permeability of cell and nuclear membranes, affects the chromosome apparatus of cells. Insect larvae have glands in the head or chest that produce and secrete the molting hormone under the influence of an activation hormone produced by neurosecretory brain cells.

In vertebrates - amphibians, reptiles (except crocodiles and most turtles that do not molt), birds and mammals - molting is due to the need to restore worn-out covers and is associated not with developmental stages, but with seasonal changes. In amphibians and reptiles, molts follow one after another during the summer; their frequency depends on the temperature regime. With the onset of winter cold, molting stops. In birds and mammals, each molt is timed to a certain time of the year. Its onset is associated with a change in the length of daylight hours, which regulates the activity of the pituitary gland. The thyroid stimulating hormone secreted by the pituitary gland affects the activity of the thyroid gland, under the action of the hormone of which molting occurs. As a result of molting, the plumage and hairline become thicker, the color of the plumage changes, and in some mammals, the hairline also changes. Moulting does not always cover the entire cover; there are additional molts affecting only part of the cover. During the molting period, the metabolism of animals changes: protein metabolism increases, the level of oxygen consumption increases. The rate of molting in birds and mammals can be controlled by artificially changing the light regime. 6

3 Feed storage

Feed storageanimals, search, selection and transfer of food to a certain place by animals, which is then used (more often in foodless time) by the animals themselves or their offspring. Animals' food storage instinct is an important biological adaptation; it is most developed in inhabitants of cold and temperate latitudes with sharp seasonal changes in food conditions. It is observed in many invertebrates (mainly insects), in some birds, and especially often in mammals. Of the invertebrates, some spiders, crabs, crayfish, and many insects store food (mainly animal food). Stocks of grass, leaves, seeds are made in their nests by termites. Gravedigger beetles bury the corpses of small animals and lay eggs on them, providing food for the larvae. Dung beetles roll dung into balls and place them in their burrows. Bees prepare honey to feed offspring and the whole swarm in winter and in inclement weather. The storage of food also takes place in bumblebees, wasps, and many others. 7

In birds, food storage is rarely observed and only in those that do not fly away for the winter. The pygmy owl catches small rodents and birds in autumn and puts them into hollows (up to 80 pieces). Orekhovka hides pine nuts in moss, under protruding tree roots, and in other places. From autumn, tits prepare seeds, larvae and caterpillars of insects and hide them in cracks in the bark on the branches. The storage of food is also characteristic of the nuthatch, jay, and some others. Most birds use stocks in winter as additional food. The exceptions are some owls and shrikes, small stocks of which are intended to feed the female sitting on the eggs, or the chicks in the nest.

Of the mammals, some predators, pikas and many rodents store food. Stocks are used in winter or spring after waking up from hibernation or winter sleep. The steppe polecat puts gophers (up to 50 pieces) into the hole, the ermine - water rats, mice, frogs, weasel - small rodents. Many pikas prepare hay by stacking it in piles or in cracks between stones. The squirrel stores mushrooms, nuts and acorns. Kurgan mouse - spikelets of cereals or weed seeds (up to 10 kg). Chipmunk drags nuts, grains (up to 8 kg) into its hole, long-tailed ground squirrel - grains, potatoes (up to 6 kg), zokor - tubers, bulbs, rhizomes (up to 9 kg), gray vole - grains, grass (up to 4 kg ), wood mouse - seeds (up to 2 kg). Half-dormouse stores nuts (up to 15 kg), the river beaver stores branches and rhizomes (up to 20 m3), immersing them in water near the entrance to the hole.

Animal migrations, movements of animals caused by changes in the conditions of existence in habitats or associated with the cycle of their development. The former can be regular (seasonal, daily) or irregular (during droughts, fires, floods, etc.). The latter ensure the distribution of the species and may occur at the larval stage (in sessile animals - ascidians, corals, sponges, etc.) or at the time of puberty (in most animals). Regular migrations follow more or less defined paths. Irregular migrations and resettlement are not directed, often chaotic. Migrations can take place horizontally (on land and in water) and vertically (in mountains, soil, water column, vegetation cover), actively and passively. Migrations are studied by marking animals, ringing birds, and other methods; this is necessary for successful fishing or hunting, as well as for pest control (eg, migratory locusts, rodents). 8

In mammals, the longest migrations are characteristic of whales, seals, and walruses. Many species of whales annually move in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans from the polar regions to the subtropical and tropical regions and vice versa. Harp seals spend the summer at the edge of the floating ice of the Arctic Ocean, and in late autumn migrate to the White Sea. Fur seals in the summer cub and molt near the Commander Islands and about. Seal, and for the winter, females migrate to the shores of the Japanese Islands. Wild reindeer in Eastern Siberia migrate from the tundra to the forest-tundra and the northern part of the taiga for the winter. Some species of bats make seasonal migrations (flights) with a length of up to 1500 km or more. Vertical seasonal and daily migrations are characteristic of mountain goats and rams and are determined by the thickness of the snow cover and the difficulties associated with this in movement and obtaining food, the location of pastures, places of rest and overnight stays. With a high abundance of squirrels, arctic foxes, lemmings, etc., their mass migrations of the eviction type are observed, when thousands of individuals move in a wide front in one direction, overcoming significant water barriers on the way. As a result of one of these migrations in the 20s. 20th century squirrels populated Kamchatka. 9

The seasonal migrations of birds are best studied. A necessary condition for migration is the ability of animals to navigate, that is, to determine the direction of movement. Navigation mechanisms are varied. When dispersing, some animals use constantly directed winds, such as trade winds or monsoons (flights of locust swarms), or currents (eel larvae), which allow them to successfully reach places favorable for breeding. Arctic foxes and other mammals are guided during migrations by smells brought by the winds. With active navigation, fish, reptiles (sea turtles), birds and mammals can use certain landmarks, changing them at different stages of the path: the position of the Sun, Moon and stars (celestial navigation), optical landmarks on the earth's surface (coast outlines, mountain ranges, river valleys and other visually perceived features of the earth's surface). The perception of the “native landscape”, the features of which are remembered, usually imprinted in the first phases of the independent life of the animal, allows young birds, making their first flight, to independently reach the wintering grounds and return to their homeland. The same familiarity with the features of the "native landscape" is provided by the "instinct at home" - the ability to return to the nest even from a place that is known to be unfamiliar. Many other features of the environment (including geochemical, acoustic) and magnetic fields can also serve as reference points. Celestial navigation is considered plausible for birds, marine mammals, and turtles, and possibly some fish. For the latter, the orientation of migrating flocks in the Earth's magnetic field can play a certain role. The chemistry of sea currents serves as a guide for migrating whales, and the smell of river water is used by migratory salmon fish when migrating to spawning grounds. When selecting landmarks that determine the direction of movement, all receptor systems are used, the readings of which are compared and integrated by the central nervous system. Undoubtedly important, but not yet quite clear, are the hereditarily fixed features of behavior that implement the “program” encoded in the genotype. 10

During migrations, the herd (herd) way of life of animals is of great importance, which facilitates protection against predators, and also allows animals to correct each other's behavior and use the most experienced individuals as leaders, which increases the reliability of bionavigation.

Conclusion

The sharp deterioration in the conditions of existence in winter boils down mainly to greater or lesser difficulty in obtaining the necessary and greater than in summer quantity of food. The winter season introduces great changes in the feeding conditions of animals in high and temperate latitudes. First of all, with the onset of winter, the total reserves and set of fodder are sharply reduced. During this harsh time, the green parts of plants, as well as seeds, berries and fruits of perennial and annual grasses and low shrubs covered with snow, completely fall out of the diet. Most insects and invertebrates disappear. Amphibians, reptiles and fish become completely inaccessible for feeding birds. In winter, it is difficult to catch mouse-like rodents and other small animals, as they hide under deep snow cover or hibernate.

In this regard, various adaptive processes arise in animals, which mainly come down to changing food according to the seasons of the year, changing places, ways of searching for food, storing food, slowing down vital processes, and hibernation.

List of used literature

1. Gladkov N.A. Some issues of zoogeography of the cultural landscape (on the example of bird fauna). M.: 2001.
2. Zorina Z.A., Poletaeva I.I., Reznikova Zh.I. Fundamentals of ethology and genetics of behavior. M.: 2004.
3. Mikheev A. V., The role of environmental factors in the formation of seasonal bird migrations in the Eastern Palearctic, Uch. app. MGPI them. Lenin”, 2004, No. 227.
4. Ptushenko E.S., Inozemtsev A.A. Biology and economic importance of birds in the Moscow region and adjacent territories. M.: 2004.
5. Sviridenko P. A., Food storage by animals, K., 2007.
6. SchmidtP. Yu., Fish migrations, 2nd ed., M. - L., 2007.

1 Hind R. Animal behavior. M.: 2005

2 Naumov N. P., Animal Ecology, 2nd ed., M., 2003.

3 Klausnitzer B. Ecology of the urban environment. M.: 2000.

4 Naumov S. P., Vertebrate Zoology, 2nd ed., M., 2005, p. 110-12.

5 Kalabukhov N. I., Sleeping of animals, 3rd ed., Har., 2006.

6 Animal Life, ed. L. A. Zenkevich, vol. 3, M., 1999.

7 Sviridenko P. A., Stockpiling food by animals, K., 2007

8 Naumov N. P., Animal Ecology, 2nd ed., M., 2003.

9 Formozov A.N., Snow cover as an environmental factor, its importance in the life of mammals and birds, M., 2006.

10 Shilov I. A., Regulation of heat transfer in birds, M., 2003, p. 78-92

Other related works that may interest you.vshm>

Who is wintering

Who is wintering informative stories in pictures and tasks for children of preschool and primary school age.

In this article, children will get acquainted with the life of nature in winter and find out who winters how:

Who winters?

Who hibernates how: how do wild animals hibernate?

In winter, many wild animals sleep - they hibernate. During hibernation, they do not eat anything, do not grow, do not respond to sounds.

Before hibernation in autumn, animals accumulate fat. Fat helps them maintain body temperature during long hibernation - it “warms” them from the inside like a stove.

Animals suffer the most in winter not from the cold, but from hunger. It is food that animals need to maintain a constant body temperature and not die.

How do moose hibernate?

If you want, believe. Or don't believe.
There is an elk animal in the forest.
Like hangers horns
Very formidable to the enemy.
Noise in the forest. What happened there?
That runs a huge ... ( Elk).

Elk- this is a forest giant, and he needs a lot of food. In winter, moose live together, gnaw at the bark of trees, rubbing it with powerful and strong teeth. Moose are very fond of the bark of young aspens. They also eat shoots of young pine trees, for them these shoots are like medicine.

Moose rest in winter, digging into the snow, in snow pits. In a snowstorm, moose gather in a herd and go to a secluded place, hide on the ground - climb under a snow coat. Snow falls on them from above, sometimes covering the moose almost completely. It turns out a snowy warm "spread".

In the last month of winter - in February - a difficult time comes for the elk. A crust appears in the forest - a crust on the snow. Moose fall through the snow, cut their legs with infusion, cannot run fast. Wolves take advantage of this. Moose protect themselves from wolves with their horns and hooves.

Ask the children who finds it easier to run in the snow - a mouse or an elk? Why? Read the dialogue of the elk and the mouse, the elk and the magpie from the stories of E. Shim. These dialogues can be acted out in the toy theater or in the picture theater.

E. Shim. Elk and mouse

- What are you, moose, out of breath?
- It's hard for me to run, I fall into the snow ...
- Fi, how clumsy you moose are! Such big ones have grown up, but you can’t run properly.
- Why?
“Judge for yourself: you run light, empty, and fall through at every step. And I run with weight, I drag a whole nut in my teeth, and not a single paw gets stuck in me. I would learn!

E. Shim. Moose and magpie

Elk: - That's no luck, that's no luck!
Magpie: - Why are you unlucky, Elk?
- I thought that the snow in the forest would pile up higher, I would get to the pine trees, bite the tops ...
- And the snow - it poured high!
- What's the point if I fall into it ?!

There is a wonderful fairy tale about moose V. Zotov. Listen to it with your children. You will also find this fairy tale and other fairy tales about animals for children in our Vkontakte group “Child Development from Birth to School” (see the group’s audio recordings, the Forest Alphabet album)

Ask the child what he thinks is the moose afraid of someone? After all, the elk is a "forest giant"? Probably, on the contrary, everyone is afraid of him in the forest? And read the story about the moose and their winter enemy - the wolf, the story about how the boy Mitya helped the moose to escape from the wolves in winter.

G. Skrebitsky. Mitina's friends

In winter, in the December cold, a moose cow and a calf spent the night in a dense aspen forest. Beginning to light up. The sky turned pink, and the forest, covered with snow, stood all white and hushed. Small, shiny frost settled on the branches, on the backs of the moose. The moose dozed off.

Suddenly, the crunch of snow was heard somewhere very close. Moose was worried. Something gray flickered among the snow-covered trees. One moment - and the moose were already rushing away, breaking the ice crust of the crust and bogged down knee-deep in deep snow. The wolves followed them. They were lighter than moose and jumped on the crust without falling through. With every second, the animals are getting closer and closer.

Elk could no longer run. The calf kept close to its mother. A little more - and the gray robbers will catch up, tear them both apart.
Ahead - a clearing, a wattle fence near a forest gatehouse, wide-open gates.

Moose stopped: where to go? But behind, very close, there was a crunch of snow - the wolves overtook. Then the moose cow, having gathered the rest of her strength, rushed straight into the gate, the calf followed her.

The forester's son Mitya was raking snow in the yard. He barely jumped to the side - the moose almost knocked him down.
Moose!.. What's wrong with them, where are they from?
Mitya ran to the gate and involuntarily recoiled: there were wolves at the very gate.

A shiver ran down the boy's back, but he immediately raised his shovel and shouted:
- Here I am!
The animals shied away.
- Atu, atu! .. - Mitya shouted after them, jumping out of the gate.
Having driven away the wolves, the boy looked into the yard.
An elk with a calf stood, huddled in the far corner, to the barn.
- Look how frightened, everyone is trembling ... - Mitya said affectionately. - Do not be afraid. Now untouched.
And he, carefully moving away from the gate, ran home - to tell what guests had rushed to their yard.

And the moose stood in the yard, recovered from their fright and went back to the forest. Since then, they have stayed all winter in the forest near the gatehouse.

In the morning, walking along the road to school, Mitya often saw moose from a distance on the edge of the forest.

Noticing the boy, they did not rush away, but only carefully watched him, pricking up their huge ears.
Mitya nodded his head merrily to them, as to old friends, and ran on to the village.

I. Sokolov-Mikitov. On the forest road

One after another, heavy vehicles loaded with logs go along the winter road. An elk ran out of the forest.
Boldly crosses a wide well-trodden road.
The driver stopped the car, admires the strong, beautiful elk.
There are many moose in our forests. In whole herds they roam the swamps covered with snow, hiding in the bushes, in large forests.
People do not touch, do not offend moose.

Only hungry wolves sometimes dare to attack moose. Strong moose defend themselves from evil wolves with horns and hooves.

Moose in the forest are not afraid of anyone. They boldly wander through forest clearings, cross wide clearings and well-worn roads, often come close to villages and noisy cities.

I. Sokolov - Mikitov. Moose

Of all the animals that live in our Russian forests, the largest and most powerful animal is the elk. There is something antediluvian, ancient in the appearance of this large beast. Who knows - perhaps moose roamed the forests back in those distant times, when long-extinct mammoths lived on earth. It is difficult to see an elk standing motionless in the forest - this is how the color of its brown coat merges with the color of the tree trunks surrounding it.

In pre-revolutionary times, moose in our country were destroyed almost without exception. Only in very few, the most remote places, these rare animals survived. Under Soviet rule, moose hunting was strictly prohibited. For decades of prohibition, moose have bred almost everywhere. Now they fearlessly approach crowded villages and noisy big cities.

More recently, in the center of Leningrad, on Kamenny Island, the guys going to school saw two elks wandering under the trees in the morning. Apparently, these moose wandered into the city during the quiet time of the night, got lost on the city streets.

Elk feel safer near cities and villages than in remote places where they are pursued by poachers. They are not afraid to cross wide asphalt roads, along which trucks and cars move in a continuous stream. Often they stop at the very road, and people passing by in cars can freely observe them.

Elk is a very strong, watchful and intelligent animal. Captured moose quickly get used to people. In winter, they can be harnessed to the sleigh, as domesticated deer are harnessed in the north.

I have often seen moose in the forest. Hiding behind a shelter, I admired the beauty of strong animals, their light movements, branching spreading horns of males. Every year male moose change their heavy branched antlers. Shedding their old antlers, they rub against tree trunks and branches. In the forest, people often find discarded antlers of moose. Every year, an extra sprout is added to the horns of a male elk, and by the number of sprouts, you can find out the age of the elk.

Moose love water, often swim across wide rivers. Moose swimming across the river can be caught up in a light boat. Their hook-nosed heads and wide branched horns are visible above the water. Wandering with a gun and a dog through a forest clearing near the Kama River, one day I saw an elk “taking a bath” in a small open swamp. Apparently, the elk was fleeing from the evil gadflies and horseflies that besieged him. I went close to the elk standing in the marsh water, but my pointing dog jumped out of the bushes and frightened him. The elk came out of the swamp and slowly disappeared into the dense forest.

The most amazing thing is that heavy moose the most swampy swampy swamps, on which a person cannot walk, can cross. For me, this serves as proof that moose lived back in those ancient times, when the glaciers covering the earth retreated, leaving behind vast marshy swamps.

How the boar hibernates

In winter, wild boars have a hard time, it is very difficult for them to walk in deep snow. If you need to go through the snow, then the boars go in single file one after another. The strongest boar comes first. He paves the way for everyone, and everyone else follows him.

It is especially difficult for a boar to walk on the crust. The boar falls under the crust, cuts his legs with sharp ice.

At night, wild boars bask in shelters in winter, lie on branches, leaves. If it is very cold, then they lie close to each other - they warm each other.

Boars never burrow into the snow, they don't like it. On the contrary, they try to cover the snow with something - they drag branches under the tree or lie down on the reeds.

Wild boars feed in the winter during the day. They eat twigs, dig out acorns, nuts, grass from under the snow.

If there is no snow - wild boars expanse! They dig rhizomes, bulbs from the ground, dig the ground with their snouts, extract beetles, worms, and pupae.

During the winter, the boar loses a third of its weight! By spring, only "skin and bones" remain.

Listen to how the boar and the hare talked in the last month of winter.

E. Shim. Boar and hare

Hare: - Oh, Boar, you don't look like yourself! How skinny - one stubble to the bone ... Do such pigs exist?

Boar: - Wild pigs ... and not like that ... It’s bad for us, Hare ... The earth is covered with an icy crust, neither a fang nor a snout takes it. You can’t dig anything today, you can’t fill your belly with anything ... I myself wonder how my legs still walk. One consolation: even a wolf would not covet such a skinny and terrible ...

E. Shim. Boar and Fox

“Ay, ah, you’re completely naked, Boar!” The bristle is sparse and even hard. How will you winter?
- How thin you are, Little Fox! Ridge one, skin and bones. How will you winter?
- I have thick fur, a warm coat - I won’t freeze!
"I'm worse, do you think?" I have fat under my skin. Fat is better than any fur coat warms!

E. Shim. Boar and elk

- Come on, Elk, scratch my side! Stronger!
“Shuh-shuh! .. Well, how is it?”
- Weak. Come on stronger!
“Shuh-shuh! .. Well, how is it?”
— I say, stronger!
- Shuh!!! Shuh!! Shuh!!. F-f-w-w, is it really weak?
— Of course, weakly. Here's an insult, you understand: I saved up two inches of fat, and under this fat it just itches!

E. Charushin. Boar

This is a wild pig - a boar.
He wanders through the woods, grunting. Picks up oak acorns. With its long snout it digs into the ground. With its crooked fangs, it tears the roots, turns upside down - looking for something to eat.
No wonder the boar is called a billhook. He will cut down a tree with his fangs, like with an ax, he will kill a wolf with his fangs - as if he would cut him down with a saber. Even the bear himself is afraid of him.

How does the wolf winter?

Guess the riddle: "Who wanders in the cold winter, angry, hungry?". Of course it's a wolf! A wolf wanders through the forest in winter - looking for prey.

Wolves are insidious predators and very dangerous for both animals and humans. Wolves see perfectly even in the dark and hear perfectly.
In winter, the wolf almost always goes hungry, he cannot run fast on loose snow. But on the crust it runs very fast! Then do not run away from the wolf!
You've probably heard the saying, "The feet feed the wolf." It really is. The wolf runs very long distances to find food. They prey on moose, hares, partridges, black grouse. Yes, even moose! If the elk is standing, then the wolf does not rush at him. But if the elk is running, then the wolf pack can overcome it. Hungry wolves in winter even attack dogs and people.

In winter, the wolves grow a thick warm winter coat, the wool becomes warmer. Wolves live in packs in winter: a wolf, a she-wolf and their grown cubs.

That's what once happened to a wolf in the forest in winter.

Tale of a hare and a wolf

Fairy tale "According to Zaychishkin's advice, Volchishche went on a diet: Gray meat, no, no, no, even on holidays." You can read this tale and other tales about animals in the book “Why. Pomuchka” (authors – G. A. Yurmin, A. K. Dietrich).

“The stupid Wolf caught the wise Hare and rejoices:
- Yeah, got it, oblique! Now I'll kill the worm...
“T-t-exactly, p-p-caught,” the Hare is shaking. - But, on the other hand, from the side, you yourself, Wolf, say: only "you will kill the worm." Well, if you gobble me up, it will make your appetite even bigger... Why would it attack you, the Wolf: everyone in the forest is full, you alone are always hungry. Think it over!
Wolf furrowed his gray forehead. Indeed, why? And says:
- Since you, Hare, are so wise, so smart - reasonable, advise: how should I be, how can I help grief?
“And you take an example from others,” the hare answers without hesitation. - Take a black grouse, let me show you.
- Look, sly one! Dreaming! I suppose you want to slip away on the way? What more?!
The Wolf kicked a bast from a linden tree, twisted a rope, took the Hare on a leash - and walked off.

They see a black grouse sitting on a birch.
“Terenty, answer me,” shouts the Hare. - Why would you be full all winter?
- Food around - eat, I do not want! That's why it's full. Kidneys as much as you want.
Have you heard, Grey? ... You have all the meat on your mind, and Terenty talks about birch buds in which green leaves sleep. There are plenty of them around. Bend the birch and taste it, don't be shy.
The Wolf did as the Hare ordered, and spitting:
— Ugh, disgusting! No, oblique, I'd rather eat you!
- Do not rush! - Hare oppresses his. And he dragged the Wolf into the Elk - the giant.

- Uncle Prongs! - shouts the Hare. - Tell me, do you live well? \-
- Here I finish the last branch - and that's it, I've had enough, it doesn't climb anymore.
Did you see it, Wolf? The elk gnaws at the aspen all its life in winter, and how powerful it has become! That's how you would. Look how much remains of the aspen torn by the elk.
— Salmon? Wolf licked his lips. - It's for me.
He pounced on a treat, greedily clattered with his teeth, but suddenly fell down - and well, ride in the snow:
- Oh, I'm dying! Oh, my stomach hurts! Oh, bitterness is poison!!! Well, Hare!

You can act out the dialogues of the little animals - how they treated the wolf - in the picture theater or finger theater.

Tales of the wolf

E. Shim. Wolf, elk, hare and hazel grouse

- Elk, elk, I'll eat you!
- And I'm from you, Wolf, in a pure field, and I was like that!
- Hare, hare, I'll eat you!
- And I'm from you, Wolf, in clean bushes, and I was like that!
- Hazel grouse, Hazel grouse, I'll eat you!
- And I'm from you, Wolf, on a tall tree, and I was like that!
“What should I do, dear ones? What to stuff your belly with?
- Eat, Wolf, your sides!

E. Shim. Wolf cub and she-wolf

- Mom, why are we wolves howling at the moon?
- And because, son, that the moon is a wolf's sun.
- I don't understand something!
- Well, how ... Daytime animals and birds love white light, they sing and rejoice in the sun. And we, wolves, are nocturnal miners, the darkness is more capable of us. So we sing in the moonlight, in the pale night sun ...

W. Bianchi. Wolf tricks

When a wolf walks at a step or a coward (trot), he carefully steps with his right hind paw in the footprint of his front left paw, so his tracks lie straight, like on a rope, in a line - in one line. You look at such a line and read: "A hefty wolf passed here."

But that's how you get into trouble. It will be correct to read: “five wolves passed here”, because here a seasoned and wise she-wolf walked in front, behind her an old wolf and behind them wolf cubs.

We walked trail after trail, which would not even occur to me that this is the trail of five wolves. This can only be distinguished by very experienced white trail trackers (as hunters call tracks in the snow).

N. Sladkov. Magpie and wolf. Conversations in the forest

- Hey, Wolf, why are you so gloomy?
- From hunger.
- And the ribs stick out, stick out?
- From hunger.
- And howling what?
- From hunger.
- So talk to you! He worked like a magpie: from hunger, from hunger, from hunger! Why are you so reticent these days?
- From hunger.

E. Charushin. Wolf

Beware, sheep in the stables, beware, pigs in the pigsty, beware, calves, foals, horses, cows! The robber wolf went hunting. You dogs, bark louder, scare the wolf!
And you, collective farm watchman, load your gun with a bullet!

How does the badger winter?

The badger sleeps in winter, but not very soundly. He can wake up during a thaw, get out of the hole for a while, smooth and brush his fur and ... go back to sleep. In his winter "pantry" the badger stores food for the winter - seeds, dried frogs, roots, acorns. And since autumn, he accumulates fat - he eats up. During hibernation, the badger does not eat anything. And the supplies in the "pantry" are needed for the time of his short winter awakening.

E.Shim. Badger and jay

- A-o-o-s-s-s ...
- What's wrong with you, Badger?
- A-o-o-s-s-s ...
- Aren't you sick already?
- A-u-u-o-o-s-s-s-and-and ...
"Aren't you already dying?"
- A-u-s ... Leave me alone, get off ... I don’t die, fefela ... I don’t die-a-u-o-s ...
— What about you?
- Yawning won. Before that, I want to sleep - I would not crawl out of the hole. Looks like I’m going to collapse for good soon ... Until spring, on the side-u-s-o-s-s-s-u-u-u-u-u-u-u !!.

N. Sladkov. Badger and bear

- What, Bear, are you still sleeping?
- I'm sleeping, Badger, I'm sleeping. So, brother, I accelerated - the fifth month without waking up. All sides lay down.
- Or maybe, Bear, it's time for us to get up?
- It's not time. Sleep some more.
- And we will not oversleep the spring with overclocking?
- Do not be afraid! She, brother, will wake you up.
- And what is she - will she knock on us, sing a song, or maybe tickle our heels? I, Misha, fear is heavy on the rise!
- Whoa! You'll jump up! She, Borya, will give you a bucket of water under the sides - I suppose you will lie down! Sleep while dry.

How do bears winter?

Bear in winter they sleep peacefully in their lair, which is lined with needles, tree bark, dry moss. If a bear hasn't put on a lot of fat in autumn, then it can't fall asleep in the den for a long time, it walks through the forest in search of food. Such a bear is very dangerous for everyone. It is called the "rod".

Late winter at the she-bear 2-3 cubs are born. They are born helpless, lie with their mother - a bear on the belly. She feeds them with thick milk, but does not eat herself. Only in spring the cubs come out of the den.

How insects hibernate

By the onset of winter, insects hide deep in the soil, in rotten stumps, in cracks in trees.

Some insects, without invitation, climb directly into the anthill to wait out the cold season in it. Ants at this time fall into a stupor until spring.

Grasshoppers eggs are hidden in the ground in autumn, which will overwinter.

At butterflies - cabbage pupae hibernate. In summer, the cabbage plant lays its eggs on cabbage. In autumn, caterpillars get out of these eggs onto tree trunks, fences, walls, tie themselves with a thread and become ... pupae! So they hang until spring. And the rain is dripping on them, and the snowstorm is pouring snow. Spring will come - and young butterflies will get out of the pupae.

Butterflies - urticaria, mourning, lemongrass overwinter as adults. They hide in the bark of trees, in hollows, in sheds, in cracks in attics. They will reappear in the spring.

G. Skrebitsky and V. Chaplin. Where do mosquitoes go in winter

For the winter, mosquitoes hid in different cracks, in old hollows. They also hibernate next to us. They will climb into the basement or cellar, many of them will gather in the corner there. Mosquitoes will cling to the ceiling with their long varnishes, to the walls and sleep all winter.

Tales of who winters how

E. Shim. Crow and titmouse

- All the animals hid in holes from the cold, all the birds are barely alive from hunger. You alone, Crow, croaked at the top of your lungs!
“Maybe I’m the worst of all?! Maybe it's me "carraul" screaming!

E. Shim. Ukryvushki, khoronushki, showing off. How do animals and birds meet the first snow?

By the evening it was starry, frost crunched at night, and in the morning the first snow fell on the ground.

The forest dwellers met him differently. Old animals and birds shivered, they remembered the last icy winter. And the young ones were terribly surprised, because they had never seen snow.

Young on the birch black grouse sat, swaying on a thin branch. He sees fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky.

“What the hell is that?” muttered the Grouse.
- No, my dear, these are not flies! - said the old grouse
— And who is it?
- These are our coverings are flying.
- What kind of cover-ups?
“They will cover the earth,” answers the old Grouse, “the blanket will turn out warm.” We will dive under this blanket at night, it will be warm and cozy for us ...
- Look, you! - the young Black Grouse was delighted. - I would rather try if he sleeps well under the coverings!
And he began to wait for the duvet to spread on the ground.

Under the birches, in the shrubbery, young Zaichishko spent the day. He dozed half-heartedly, listened half-heartedly. Suddenly he notices - fluffy snowflakes descend from the sky.
- Here you go! - Zaychishko was surprised. - Dandelions have long faded, they have long flown around, dispelled, and then look: a whole cloud of dandelion fluff is flying!
- Silly, is this flower fluff! - said the old Hare.
— And what is it?
- These are our choronushki are flying.
- What are the funerals?
“The very ones who will bury you from enemies will save you from evil eyes. Your fur coat has faded, it has become white. On the black earth you can immediately see it! And as soon as the coronets lie down on the ground, it will become white and white all around, no one will see you. You become invisible.
— Wow, how interesting! - shouted the Hare. - I would rather try how the little coroners hide me!

In the forest, along a bare aspen forest, a young man ran Wolf cub. He ran, looked around with his eyes, looking for a living. Suddenly he looks - light snowflakes are falling from the sky.
- Ay-yy! - said Wolf Cub. - Not like swan geese fly in the sky, drop down and feathers?
- What are you, is it fluff and feathers! laughed the old wolf.
— And what is it?
- This, granddaughter, is our showing off are flying.
- I don't know any tricks!
- You'll soon find out. They will lie evenly, evenly, they will cover the whole earth. And they will immediately begin to show where the birds roamed, where what beast galloped. Let's look at the show-offs - and immediately find out what time
run away for prey ...
- Clever! - the Wolf cub was delighted. - I want to quickly see where my prey ran!

As soon as the young animals and birds found out that it was falling from the sky, only they got acquainted with the first snow, when a warm breeze began to blow.

Here ukryvushki, khoronushki, show-offs and melted away.

How do crayfish hibernate?

Do you know where crayfish hibernate? Read the fairy tale of V. Bianchi to the children and find out :).

What does the expression "where crayfish hibernate" mean?

BUT the expression "where crayfish hibernate" appeared a long time ago. The landowners were very fond of eating crayfish, and it is difficult to catch them in winter. After all, in winter, crayfish hide and hibernate there. Guilty peasants were sent to catch crayfish in winter. Serfs caught crayfish in cold water - it was very hard work. Often they fell ill after winter fishing for crayfish. After that, they began to say: "I'll show you where the crayfish hibernate." And they also say “where the crayfish hibernate” in another case - about something very distant, which is far away, no one knows where.

Where do crayfish hibernate? V. Bianchi

In the kitchen, there was a flat basket on a stool, a saucepan on the stove, and a large white dish on the table. There were crayfish in the basket, there was boiling water with dill and salt in the pan, but there was nothing on the dish.

The hostess came in and began:
once - she put her hand into the basket and grabbed the crab across the back;
two - threw the crayfish into the pan, waited until it was cooked, and -
three - shifted the cancer with a spoon from the pan to the dish. And it's gone, and it's gone!

Once - a black crayfish, seized across its back, angrily moved its whiskers, opened its claws and snapped its tail;
two - the cancer was dipped in boiling water, stopped moving and turned red;
three - a red crayfish lay down on a dish, lay motionless, and steam came from it.

One-two-three, one-two-three - there were less and less black crayfish left in the basket, the boiling water in the saucepan boiled and gurgled, and a mountain of red crayfish grew on a white dish.

And now one last cancer remained in the basket.

Once - and the hostess grabbed him across the back.

At this time, she shouted something from the dining room.

- I carry, I carry, - the last! - answered the hostess - I got confused:
two - she threw a black crayfish on a dish, waited a little, picked up a red crayfish with a spoon from the dish and
three - put it in boiling water.

The red crayfish didn't care where it lay - in a hot pot or on a cool dish. The black crayfish did not want to go into the pan at all; he did not want to lie on a platter. More than anything, he wanted to go where the crayfish hibernate. And - without hesitation for a long time - he began his journey: backwards, backwards to the backward yard.

He stumbled upon a mountain of motionless red crayfish and huddled under them.

The hostess garnished the dish with dill and served it on the table.

The white dish with red crayfish and green dill was beautiful. The crabs were delicious. The guests were hungry. The hostess was busy. And no one noticed how the black crayfish rolled over from the dish onto the table and crawled backwards, backwards under the plate, backwards, backwards reached the very edge of the table.

And under the table a kitten was sitting and waiting for something to fall to it from the master's table.

Suddenly - bap! - someone black, with a mustache cracked in front of him.

The kitten didn't know it was cancer, thought it was a big black cockroach, and pushed it with its nose.

Cancer backed off.

The kitten touched him with his paw.

Cancer raised its claw.

The kitten decided that it was not worth dealing with him, turned around and stroked his tail.

And grab the cancer! - and pinched the tip of his tail with a claw.

What happened to the kitten! Meow! He jumped into a chair. Meow! from a chair to a table. Meow! - from the table to the windowsill. Meow! and ran out into the yard.

- Hold on, hold on, mad! the guests shouted.

But the kitten rushed across the yard in a whirlwind, flew up to the fence, rushed through the garden. There was a pond in the garden, and the kitten would probably have fallen into the water if the crayfish had not opened its claws and let go of its tail.

The kitten turned back and galloped home.

The pond was small, all overgrown with grass and mud. Lived in it lazy tailed newts, but crucians, and snails. Their life was boring - everything is always the same. Newts swam up and down, crucians swam back and forth, snails crawled on the grass - one day it crawls up, the next it goes down.

Suddenly water splashed, and someone's black body, blowing bubbles, sank to the bottom.

Now everyone gathered to look at him - the newts sailed, the crucian carp came running, the snails crawled down.

And it was true, there was something to look at: the black one was all in a shell - from the tips of the mustache to the tip of the tail. Smooth armor covered his chest and back. Two motionless eyes protruded from under a hard visor on thin stalks. Long, straight mustaches stuck out like spikes. Four pairs of thin legs were like forks, two claws were like two toothy mouths.

None of the inhabitants of the pond had ever seen cancer in their lives, and out of curiosity everyone climbed closer to him. Cancer moved - everyone got scared and moved away. Cancer raised its front leg, grabbed its eye with a fork, pulled out the stalk and let's clean it.

It was so amazing that everyone again climbed on the cancer, and one crucian even stumbled upon his mustache.

Rraz! - the crayfish grabbed him with a claw, and the stupid crucian shattered in half.

The fish and crucians were alarmed, they fled in all directions. And the hungry crayfish calmly began to eat.

Cancer has healed well in the pond. For days on end he rested in the mud. At night he wandered, felt the bottom and grass with his mustache, grabbed slow-moving snails with his claws.

The tritons and crucians were now afraid of him and would not let him close to them. Yes, snails were enough for him: he ate them along with the houses, and his shell only grew stronger from such food.

But the water in the pond was rotten, musty. And he was still drawn to where the crayfish hibernate.

One evening it started to rain. It poured all night, and by morning the water in the pond rose and overflowed its banks. The jet picked up the crayfish and carried it out of the pond, poked it at some kind of stump, picked it up again and threw it into a ditch.

Cancer was delighted, spread his wide tail, flapped it on the water and swam with his back, his back, as he crawled.

But the rain stopped, the ditch became shallow - it became uncomfortable to swim. The cancer has spread.

He crawled for a long time. He rested during the day, and at night he set off again. The first ditch turned into the second, the second into the third, the third into the fourth, and he kept backing away, crawling, crawling, and still he couldn’t crawl anywhere, get out of a hundred ditches.

On the tenth day of the journey, hungry, he climbed under some kind of snag and began to wait if a snail would crawl past, if a fish or a frog would swim by.

Here he sits under a snag and hears: bull-breath! Something heavy fell from the shore into the ditch.

And he sees a cancer: a muzzy beast with a mustache, short legs, and as tall as a kitten is swimming towards him.

At another time, cancer would have been frightened, backed away from such a beast. But hunger is not an aunt. You need to stuff your belly with something.

He let the crab of the beast pass him by and grab his thick hairy tail with a claw. I thought it would cut like scissors.

Yes, it was not there. The beast - and it was a water rat - exploded - and lighter than a bird, the cancer flew out from under the snag.

The rat threw its tail in the other direction - crack! - and the crayfish claw broke in half.

Found seaweed and ate it. Then he fell into the silt. Cancer put his paws-forks into it and let's fumble with them. The left hind paw groped and grabbed a worm in the mud. From paw to paw, from paw to paw, from paw to paw - and sent the cancer of the worm into his mouth.

The journey through the ditches had already lasted a whole month, it was already the month of September, when the cancer suddenly felt bad, so bad that he could not crawl further; and he began to stir up the sand in the shore with his tail, to dig.

He had just dug a hole in the sand for himself when he began to wriggle.

Cancer faded. He fell on his back, his tail now unclenching, then contracting, his mustache twitching. Then he stretched out at once - his shell burst on his stomach - and a pinkish-brown body crawled out of it. Then the crayfish twitched its tail strongly - and jumped out of itself. A dead mustachioed shell fell out of the cave. It was empty and light. A strong current dragged him along the bottom, lifted him, carried him.

And in the clay cave there was a living cancer lying - so soft and helpless now that a snail could pierce it with its delicate horns.

Day after day passed, and he lay motionless. Gradually, his body began to harden, again covered with a hard shell. Only now the shell was no longer black, but red-brown.

And here is a miracle: the claw torn off by the rat quickly began to grow again.

The crayfish got out of the mink and set off with renewed vigor to the place where the crayfish hibernate.

From ditch to ditch, from stream to stream, a patient crayfish crawled. His shell turned black. The days were getting shorter, it was raining, light golden shuttles floated on the water - leaves that had flown from the trees. At night, the water twitched with brittle ice.

The stream flowed into the stream, the stream ran to the river.

The patient crayfish swam, swam along the streams - and finally fell into a wide river with clay banks.

In the steep banks under the water, several stories high, caves, caves, caves - like swallows' nests above the water, in a cliff. And from every cave, the cancer looks, moves its mustache, threatens with a claw.

A whole rachiy city.

The cancer traveler rejoiced. I found a free place on the shore and dug myself a cozy, cozy mink-cave. I ate more heartily and lay down to spend the winter, like a bear in a lair.

There are newts, frogs, turtles and snakes that can painlessly freeze and harden so that their internal organs are pierced by ice crystals. This is unusual, because the ice that forms in the animal's blood vessels must either tear them or hopelessly stretch them. And most importantly - frozen water becomes inaccessible to cells, and they can die from dehydration.

But here, for example, is the American wood frog. When ice forms in her toes and skin when she cools, she fills her tissues with glucose. This protects them from damage. Even if a person could pump that much glucose into their tissues, high levels would cause diabetic coma and death. In frogs, excess sugar also causes coma: the metabolism in the cells almost stops. But it does not harm amphibians. In the spring, they thaw and, when moving, burn glucose as fuel.

An amazing incident occurred with a frozen Siberian salamander: it was found in permafrost at a depth of eleven meters. And the find thawed and came to life. Radiocarbon analysis showed that the salamander had lain in the permafrost for about ninety years.

There are also animals whose body can be very cool, but ice does not form. Some arctic insects briskly endure fifty-degree frost: they remove dust or bacteria from their bodies, around which ice crystals can grow.

Of the mammals, the long-tailed ground squirrel is painlessly cooled, in which, during hibernation, the body temperature can drop below the freezing point. And no crystals. But how he does it is still unknown.

The already-shaped garter snake is the last of the American snakes to go into shelter for the winter and is the first to emerge from it when it gets warmer. She hibernates in rocky crevices at 4 - 5 degrees Celsius. Her heartbeat slows down to 6 beats per minute (ten times less than on a sunny summer day).

In frost, garter snakes can also turn into ice. But even after a day or two in the freezer, the warm sun revives the reptile.

Garter snakes also hibernate in water: a case is described when hundreds of snakes crawled into a cistern in autumn and waited for it to fill with water. It is likely that the skin of the snake, like a lung, extracts oxygen from the water. Of course, this is very little: the animal's heart beats only once a minute, and the metabolism slows down greatly. How long burrowing mammals winter underground depends on how cold it is outside. But even in winter, from time to time their body temperature rises from almost zero to normal, and they wake up for several hours or even for a whole day. How often does a perognath rodent wake up, wintering along with a supply of food? An American researcher left 800 grams of seeds to perognath, and he woke up every day. When seeds were given only 100 grams, he dozed for five days in a row.

But why wake up at all? After all, hibernation should save energy, and animals spend 80-90 percent of it in winter, exactly when they wake up. Perhaps they are simply afraid to oversleep the spring. For example, when Belding's earth squirrel wakes up, it immediately hurries to touch the earth plug that closes the entrance to the hole. Warm earth means the arrival of spring. When the cork was heated in the experiments, the proteins immediately dug their way out. And with the approach of spring, squirrels wake up more and more often. Perhaps they are awakened not only by the biological clock, but also by the accumulated toxic substances in the body, which must be removed from time to time.

Feathers with down, wool, a layer of subcutaneous fat - almost all animals of the cold regions have some kind of protection from frost. Some rodents, shrews and rabbits produce a special substance called brown fat when it gets cold. It provides a lot of energy because it is full of mitochondria - microscopic devices in cells whose only job is to turn food into heat. From them and the color brown.

Other animals have a so-called wonderful network of veins and arteries, through which warm blood flows to those places where the body is cooled by cold air or water, for example, on the fins of a whale or the paws of a duck.

The scoop insect has the same network, which can even fly in the cold. In addition, her body is covered with wool, Air sacs separate the warm chest of the scoop from the cold abdomen. Finally, this insect is able to generate its own heat.

When resting, the scoop can cool down, but in order for its flying muscles to work, it must warm up to about 26 degrees. And then the scoop starts to tremble. All the muscles are contracting, but it does not fly anywhere. But it produces a lot of heat and warms up. Finches also tremble, and, one might say, tremble all winter, except when they are flying. In winter, siskins burn mainly not carbohydrates, but fats: this way they can shiver longer. Moreover, if it is not too cold, only some muscles tremble, but in a severe frost, all the rest begin to tremble. In the American city of Salt Lake City, an amazing incident occurred. A two-year-old girl fell into a cold river. By the time they got her out, she had been underwater for over an hour. The child was not breathing, and his body temperature was 19 degrees. And yet in the hospital they managed to revive her.

Apparently, the five-degree water, having cooled the girl, suspended her metabolism - this saved her. The reflex of a diving insect helped: in many people, and especially in children, when cold water gets on the face, the pulse slows down, blood pressure rises, and its current is reduced to all organs except the heart and brain. This is some kind of evolution. When a seal, beaver, or some other aquatic animal dives, it stops breathing and its pulse slows down. The seal slows down the pulse from 100 beats per minute to 6, and the load on the heart decreases.

For the sensation of cold, a person has special nerves. If the body cools below normal temperature, they give a signal. Then, at the command from the brain, blood vessels contract, and less blood flows to the surface of the body: heat loss decreases. At the same time, the blood goes inward, to the vital organs.

If necessary, then the blood tray, for example, to the finger can be reduced to a hundredth. But you can’t stretch your finger for so long, frostbite will occur. Therefore, a chilled body expands its blood vessels from time to time and sends heat and oxygen to help freezing limbs.

P.S. Download the finished presentation for the school "

Winter is a difficult period for those animals whose forest is their home. The warm season is a real expanse for all animals, because there is an abundance of food around. But you definitely need to prepare for the winter, since the low temperature and falling asleep of nature during this period create not very comfortable living conditions. Different animals hibernate in different ways, so in this article we will tell you about the features of the winter life of the inhabitants of the forest.

Animals that hibernate

One way to wait out the cold season is to spend it in a dream. One of the most famous adherents of this way of winter pastime is a bear. Bear food consists of various berries, roots, nuts, larvae. Eating in this way, he accumulates a thick fat layer by winter, which will allow him to go without food for several months. Bears equip their lair in a remote and inaccessible place so that no one can disturb their sleep. Such a place is most often a windbreak or the root of a large tree. However, the sleep of these large animals is often restless. If the bear is disturbed by something, he can go in search of a quieter shelter. She-bears in the den give birth to cubs, usually one or two. Even being in a deep sleep, mother bear does not forget about her cubs and continues to feed them. Other hibernating animals are hedgehogs. All autumn they prepare for themselves a warm and reliable winter dwelling, constantly dragging moss and dry leaves into their hole. Also in the autumn, hedgehogs, like bears, absorb a large amount of food to form fat reserves for the winter. Since the hedgehog is considered a predator, its diet includes mice, frogs, lizards, worms, bird and snake eggs, and various beetles. The “sleepers in winter” also include marmots, squirrels, bats, chipmunks, raccoons, badgers and many other animals.

Other wintering methods

Almost all animals that live in cold climes are somehow adapted to low temperatures. For example, some rodents produce a special substance called "brown fat" when it gets cold. It is a source of a lot of energy. The coat of most animals during this period is transformed, becoming thicker. In addition, many animals, such as squirrels, weasels and stoats change their color, which becomes lighter in winter. Such disguise helps to survive and hide among the snow cover. Some representatives of the animal world are saved from frost and bad weather in the snow. Cold air and wind cannot get through the thickness of the snow, so animals dig holes in the snow, thus protecting themselves from snowstorms. Feathered representatives of the animal world also hibernate in different ways. Most of them, of course, fly away to warmer climes, but there are those who remain to survive the long and cold winter in the forest. Subcutaneous fat and fluff saves birds from the cold. Many make nests and wait there. Crows, for example, nest in large flocks on tree branches. But the crossbills are so not afraid of the cold that they even acquire chicks in the winter.

Wintering animals in nature

Introduction

3. Feed storage

Conclusion

Introduction

The relevance of the work. Animal behavior was the subject of study long before the heyday of the natural sciences. Acquaintance with the habits of animals was vital to man at the dawn of civilization. It contributed to success in hunting and fishing, domestication of animals and the development of cattle breeding, construction and rescue from natural disasters, etc. The knowledge accumulated through observation served as the basis for the first proper scientific generalizations, which were always associated with clarifying the relationship between man and animals and their position in the picture of the universe. Ancient ideas about the instincts and mind of animals were formed on the basis of observation of animals in their natural habitat.

Wintering of animals, ways of experiencing an unfavorable winter period by animals of temperate and cold zones. In invertebrates, developmental cycles serve as adaptations for experiencing adverse winter conditions; for example, insects survive the winter in one of the cold-hardy, winter-adapted life cycle phases: eggs (locusts, many beetles, butterflies), larvae (some beetles, cicadas, dragonflies, mosquitoes), or pupae (many butterflies). An adaptation to wintering is hibernation, which is characteristic of some poikilothermic animals (invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles), as well as for a number of homoiothermic animals (mammals - ground squirrels, marmots, dormice, hedgehogs, bats, etc.); some mammals have winter sleep in winter. Animals that do not hibernate - birds, most mammals and fish, some insects - migrate for the winter to other biotopes or to areas with more favorable climatic conditions and with sufficient food. These seasonal migrations are most pronounced in some mammals (bats, whales, etc.), a number of fish, and especially in birds, most of which winter in the subtropics and tropics. In temperate and cold latitudes, predominantly herbivorous and mixed-food birds overwinter.

In homoiothermic animals wintering within temperate and cold latitudes, as a result of autumn molting, a thick fur or feather cover appears, which reduces heat loss in winter cold. As a result of molting, protective coloration also appears (hares, ermine, ptarmigan). In autumn, many animals and birds deposit a layer of subcutaneous fat, which protects against cooling and facilitates the transfer of starvation. Essential for experiencing the winter period is the ability of many mammals to switch to food available during this period, and from autumn to produce food storage (see Food storage by animals).

A number of terrestrial bird species (hazel grouse, black grouse, capercaillie, ptarmigan) burrow into the snow at night and in bad weather during the day, which has good heat-insulating properties, and sit in it for a significant part of the day; in winters with little snow, mass deaths of these birds are not uncommon. Snow well protects small mammals from the cold, making passages in it and building nests. Small and medium-sized birds and animals spend the night in groups in winter, which reduces heat loss.

Purpose of the study: to study the ways of experiencing an unfavorable winter period by animals.

Research objectives:

Consider ways of experiencing the winter period by reptiles and amphibians;

to consider ways of experiencing the winter period by mammals.

1. Wintering of reptiles and amphibians

Amphibians and reptiles (otherwise - amphibians and reptiles) are creatures with a variable body temperature. In other words, the latter (that is, body temperature) is largely determined by the ambient temperature. Under our conditions, in the presence of a long cold period, such animals at this time cannot maintain their body temperature at a level sufficient for normal life. They cannot migrate to warmer climes, so the only way out for them is to go into an inactive state, that is, hibernate.

Most of our reptiles hibernate on land - in the soil and other shelters. Only a few species do this in bodies of water. Of amphibians, they include green and grass frogs, of reptiles - marsh turtles. The common frog is very rare in the Chernozem region, and is not found at all in the Khopersky Reserve and its environs. Among the three species of green frogs, water wintering is the norm for the lake frog, the pond frog tends to do so on land, and the edible frog can hibernate both in water and on land. It is curious that the latter species, living next to the lake frog, winters in the water, and, living together with the pond frog, on land, that is, it does this, as it were, “for company” with the neighboring species. Thus, in our area, three types of reptiles actually hibernate in the water: lake and (partially) edible frogs and marsh turtles.

Lake frogs and marsh turtles hibernate at the bottom of fairly large water bodies, the probability of complete freezing of which is low. At the same time, the frogs climb into the silt, trying to hide from potential enemies.

All vital processes during hibernation slow down extremely, but do not stop completely. When the temperature drops, the animals become inactive, but not completely deprived of the ability to move. The frequency of respiratory movements and the level of gas exchange are sharply reduced, growth is inhibited. Breathing atmospheric oxygen during water wintering is impossible. Therefore, the only respiratory organ of frogs during this period is the skin, through which oxygen dissolved in water enters and carbon dioxide is removed. An important role in the respiration of hibernating turtles is played by the so-called anal sacs, or bubbles, the walls of which are penetrated by a network of small blood vessels.

The phenomenon of hibernation is not a simple reaction to a decrease in temperature, but a complex adaptation, which is a complex of interrelated changes in the body. "Winter" frogs differ from "summer" frogs in a number of physiological and biochemical features: they differ in the number of working capillaries in the skin, the amount of glycogen in the liver, the conductivity and excitability of the nerve pathways, and the reaction to light. In autumn, during the transition to wintering, and also in spring, when leaving it, the animal's body undergoes a complex restructuring.

During wintering, animals face numerous dangers. The main one is suffocation (zamora). It is the result of a sharp decrease in the oxygen content of the water. As a rule, this is facilitated by the accumulation of a large amount of organic matter in the reservoir, especially in combination with an early established and thick (sometimes double) ice layer. The danger of freezing increases towards the end of wintering. In some years in the spring, after the ice has melted, along the banks of the reservoir you can find a lot of fish that died from starvation. Not far away, usually at a greater depth, the bodies of frogs that did not survive the winter are also found.

Another danger is the complete or partial freezing of the reservoir. It happens in some frosty winters. If at the same time there are places suitable for wintering in the reservoir, the animals are able to move into them, otherwise they will die.

Occasionally, there are cases of poisoning of animals with harmful substances, which may be of natural origin or be the result of human activities.

Finally, a certain tribute is collected from wintering frogs by predators. Among them are predatory fish (catfish, pike, and others) and mammals (mink, otter). At the same time, some predators in the winter begin to specifically hunt amphibians. For example, the share of frogs in the diet of otters in different places increases from 2-43% in summer to 35-90% in winter. Young frogs especially suffer from predators during their first wintering. In turtles, especially adults, the number of enemies in winter is noticeably less. However, occasionally they, especially young specimens, are attacked by otters.

Wintering is a forced phenomenon for amphibians and reptiles. However, this is a very important period in their annual cycle. It is during hibernation at low temperatures that mature germ cells form in the gonads of males and females. Therefore, animals awakening in the spring soon begin to breed. If artificially deprive them of wintering, they will not be ready for procreation.

2. Hibernation, winter sleep, molting

Mammals are characterized by the following ways of experiencing an unfavorable winter period.

hibernation, a state of reduced vital activity that occurs in warm-blooded, or homoiothermic animals, during periods when food becomes inaccessible and the preservation of high activity and intensive metabolism would lead to exhaustion of the body. Before falling into hibernation, animals accumulate reserve substances in the body, mainly in the form of fat (up to 30-40% of body weight), and take refuge in shelters with a favorable microclimate (burrows, nests, hollows, rock crevices, etc.). Hibernation is accompanied by a significant decrease in vital activity and metabolism, inhibition of nervous reactions ("deep sleep"), slowing down of breathing, heartbeats, and other physiological processes. During hibernation, the body temperature decreases significantly (up to 4-0 ° C), but control by the thermoregulatory centers of the brain (hypothalamus) and metabolic thermoregulation remain (in small animals with a high specific metabolism, without a decrease in body temperature, the exchange cannot be reduced to level, which ensures the economical use of reserve reserves of the body). Unlike poikilothermic animals falling into a state of torpor, homoiothermic animals during hibernation retain the ability to control the physiological state with the help of nerve centers and actively maintain the body's homeostasis at a new level. If hibernation conditions become unfavorable (excessive increase or decrease in temperature in the shelter, wetting of the nest, etc.), the animal sharply increases heat production, “wakes up”, takes measures to restore comfortable conditions (changes the shelter, etc.) and only after this again falls into hibernation. Some large animals, such as bears, during hibernation (sometimes called their winter sleep) maintain normal body temperature.

There are daily hibernation (in bats, hummingbirds, etc.), seasonal - summer (in desert animals) and winter (in many rodents, insectivores, etc.), and irregular - with a sharp onset of adverse conditions (in squirrels, raccoon dogs, swifts, swallows, etc. The duration of hibernation can reach 8 months (for example, in a number of desert animals, in which summer hibernation can turn into winter hibernation.) The main reason for hibernation is lack of food; moisture, etc.) can accelerate the fall into hibernation. A number of changes in natural conditions that precede the onset of an unfavorable season (change in the length of daylight hours, etc.) are signal - when they reach a certain level, the body turns on the physiological mechanisms of preparing for hibernation. Regulation of the process hibernation is carried out by the nervous system (hypothalamus) and endocrine glands (pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreas eza). Hibernation is accompanied by significant changes in tissue metabolism. During hibernation, the resistance of animals to many poisons and microbial infections increases markedly.

Winter sleep, the adaptation of some mammals to the experience of adverse food and climatic conditions of life in the winter. It is characteristic of some mammals, for example, a bear, a raccoon, a badger, a hamster. Unlike hibernation, winter sleep is characterized by a relatively small decrease in body temperature and metabolic processes. A sleeping animal can quickly switch to vigorous activity. During the Winter Sleep period, animals accumulate fat and climb into burrows or other well-protected shelters; during this time the animals do not eat.

Moult, periodic change of external covers at animals. In invertebrates (crustaceans, centipedes, insects, and other arthropods, as well as some worms, etc.), molting consists in shedding the old chitinous cover and replacing it with a new one, which is a necessary condition for the growth and development of the organism. In arthropods and other invertebrates, molting is confined to certain stages of individual development and is a complex process during which (successively) detachment and partial dissolution of the old cuticle, reproduction of epidermal cells, secretion of a new cuticle, and its hardening (after shedding the old one) occur. In insects, molting is mainly due to the action of the molting hormone - ecdysone, which, by changing the permeability of cell and nuclear membranes, affects the chromosomal apparatus of cells. Insect larvae have glands in the head or chest that produce and secrete the molting hormone under the influence of an activation hormone produced by neurosecretory brain cells.

In vertebrates - amphibians, reptiles (except for crocodiles and most turtles that do not molt), birds and mammals - molting is due to the need to restore worn-out covers and is associated not with developmental stages, but with seasonal changes. In amphibians and reptiles, molts follow one after another during the summer; their frequency depends on the temperature regime. With the onset of winter cold, molting stops. In birds and mammals, each molt is timed to a certain time of the year. Its onset is associated with a change in the length of daylight hours, which regulates the activity of the pituitary gland. The thyroid stimulating hormone secreted by the pituitary gland affects the activity of the thyroid gland, under the action of the hormone of which molting occurs. As a result of molting, the plumage and hairline become thicker, the color of the plumage changes, and in some mammals, the hairline also changes. Moulting does not always cover the entire cover; there are additional molts affecting only part of the cover. During the molting period, the metabolism of animals changes: protein metabolism increases, the level of oxygen consumption increases. The rate of molting in birds and mammals can be controlled by artificially changing the light regime.

3. Feed storage

Feed storageanimals, search, selection and transfer of food to a certain place by animals, which is then used (more often in foodless time) by the animals themselves or their offspring. The animal's food storage instinct is an important biological adaptation; it is most developed in inhabitants of cold and temperate latitudes with sharp seasonal changes in food conditions. It is observed in many invertebrates (mainly insects), in some birds, and especially often in mammals. Of the invertebrates, some spiders, crabs, crayfish, and many insects store food (mainly animal food). Stocks of grass, leaves, seeds are made in their nests by termites. Gravedigger beetles bury the corpses of small animals and lay eggs on them, providing food for the larvae. Dung beetles roll dung into balls and place them in their burrows. Bees prepare honey to feed offspring and the whole swarm in winter and in inclement weather. The storage of food also takes place in bumblebees, wasps, and many others.

In birds, food storage is rarely observed and only in those that do not fly away for the winter. The pygmy owl catches small rodents and birds in autumn and puts them into hollows (up to 80 pieces). Orekhovka hides pine nuts in moss, under protruding tree roots, and in other places. From autumn, tits prepare seeds, larvae and caterpillars of insects and hide them in cracks in the bark on the branches. The storage of food is also characteristic of the nuthatch, jay, and some others. Most birds use stocks in winter as additional food. The exceptions are some owls and shrikes, small stocks of which are intended to feed the female sitting on the eggs, or the chicks in the nest.

Of the mammals, some predators, pikas and many rodents store food. Stocks are used in winter or spring after waking up from hibernation or winter sleep. The steppe polecat puts gophers (up to 50 pieces) into the hole, ermine - water rats, mice, frogs, weasel - small rodents. Many pikas prepare hay by stacking it in piles or in cracks between stones. The squirrel stores mushrooms, nuts and acorns. Kurgan mouse - spikelets of cereals or weed seeds (up to 10 kg). Chipmunk drags nuts, grains (up to 8 kg) into its hole, long-tailed ground squirrel - grains, potatoes (up to 6 kg), zokor - tubers, bulbs, rhizomes (up to 9 kg), gray vole - grains, grass (up to 4 kg ), wood mouse - seeds (up to 2 kg). Half-dormouse stores nuts (up to 15 kg), river beaver - branches and rhizomes (up to 20 m3), immersing them in water near the entrance to the hole.

Animal migrations, movements of animals caused by changes in the conditions of existence in habitats or associated with the cycle of their development. The former can be regular (seasonal, daily) or irregular (during droughts, fires, floods, etc.). The latter ensure the distribution of the species and may occur at the larval stage (in sessile animals - ascidians, corals, sponges, etc.) or at the time of puberty (in most animals). Regular migrations follow more or less defined paths. Irregular migrations and resettlement are not directed, often chaotic. Migrations can take place horizontally (on land and in water) and vertically (in mountains, soil, water column, vegetation cover), actively and passively. Migrations are studied by marking animals, ringing birds, and other methods; this is necessary for successful fishing or hunting, as well as for pest control (eg, migratory locusts, rodents).

The seasonal migrations of birds are best studied. A necessary condition for migration is the ability of animals to navigate, that is, to determine the direction of movement. Navigation mechanisms are varied. When dispersing, some animals use constantly directed winds, such as trade winds or monsoons (flights of locust swarms), or currents (eel larvae), which allow them to successfully reach places favorable for breeding. Arctic foxes and other mammals are guided during migrations by smells brought by the winds. With active navigation, fish, reptiles (sea turtles), birds and mammals can use certain landmarks, changing them at different stages of the path: the position of the Sun, Moon and stars (celestial navigation), optical landmarks on the earth's surface (coast outlines, mountain ranges, river valleys and other visually perceived features of the earth's surface). The perception of the “native landscape”, the features of which are remembered, usually imprinted in the first phases of the independent life of the animal, allows young birds, making their first flight, to independently reach the wintering grounds and return to their homeland. The same familiarity with the features of the "native landscape" is provided by the "instinct at home" - the ability to return to the nest even from a place known to be unfamiliar. Many other features of the environment (including geochemical, acoustic) and magnetic fields can also serve as reference points. Celestial navigation is considered plausible for birds, marine mammals, and turtles, and possibly some fish. For the latter, the orientation of migrating flocks in the Earth's magnetic field can play a certain role. The chemistry of sea currents serves as a guide for migrating whales, and the smell of river water is used by migratory salmon fish when migrating to spawning grounds. When selecting landmarks that determine the direction of movement, all receptor systems are used, the readings of which are compared and integrated by the central nervous system. Undoubtedly important, but not yet quite clear, are the hereditarily fixed features of behavior that implement the “program” encoded in the genotype.

During migrations, the herd (herd) way of life of animals is of great importance, which facilitates protection against predators, and also allows animals to correct each other's behavior and use the most experienced individuals as leaders, which increases the reliability of bionavigation.

Conclusion

The sharp deterioration in the conditions of existence in winter boils down mainly to greater or lesser difficulty in obtaining the necessary and greater than in summer quantity of food. The winter season introduces great changes in the feeding conditions of animals in high and temperate latitudes. First of all, with the onset of winter, the total reserves and set of fodder are sharply reduced. During this harsh time, the green parts of plants, as well as seeds, berries and fruits of perennial and annual grasses and low shrubs covered with snow, completely fall out of the diet. Most insects and invertebrates disappear. Amphibians, reptiles and fish become completely inaccessible for feeding birds. In winter, it is difficult to catch mouse-like rodents and other small animals, as they hide under deep snow cover or hibernate.

In this regard, various adaptive processes arise in animals, which mainly come down to changing food according to the seasons of the year, changing places, ways of searching for food, storing food, slowing down vital processes, and hibernation.

List of used literature

1.Gladkov N.A. Some issues of zoogeography of the cultural landscape (on the example of bird fauna). M.: 2001.

2.Animal Life, ed. L. A. Zenkevich, vol. 3, M., 1999.

.Zorina Z.A., Poletaeva I.I., Reznikova Zh.I. Fundamentals of ethology and genetics of behavior. M.: 2004.

.Kalabukhov N. I., Sleeping of animals, 3rd ed., Har., 2006.

.Klausnitzer B. Ecology of the urban environment. M.: 2000.

.Mikheev A. V., The role of environmental factors in the formation of seasonal bird migrations in the Eastern Palearctic, Uch. app. MGPI them. Lenin”, 2004, No. 227.

.Naumov N. P., Animal Ecology, 2nd ed., M., 2003.

.Naumov S. P., Vertebrate Zoology, 2nd ed., M., 2005, p. 110-12.

.Ptushenko E.S., Inozemtsev A.A. Biology and economic importance of birds in the Moscow region and adjacent territories. M.: 2004.

.Sviridenko P. A., Food storage by animals, K., 2007.

.Formozov A.N., Snow cover as an environmental factor, its importance in the life of mammals and birds, M., 2006.

.Hind R. Animal behavior. M.: 2005

.Shilov I. A., Regulation of heat transfer in birds, M., 2003, p. 78-92