Joke-mockingbird is a curious and noisy bird

Jay-mockingbird is a bird the size of a daw. It is easy to recognize on the head of a greyish-white color and bright blue spots on the wings with black ends. It is a very curious and noisy bird. It attracts every rustle, which is why it is so disliked by hunters. Seeing a man in the woods, the mocking joke raises a noise, as if warning everyone of the impending danger. By the way, with excitement, feathers on her head are raised with a small tuft.

Why is it called a mockingbird? And all because she knows how to imitate artfully any sounds heard. This is the singing of birds, and dog barking, the screeching of a saw and a plaintive meow. And if suddenly you heard something unusual in the forest, do not be alarmed - it's a mocking-joke (photo on the right) with its tricks. The only time when she behaves calmly, even secretly, is the nesting time.

The habitat of this bird is quite extensive: the northern regions of Africa, Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, southern Siberia, Korea, Sakhalin, Japan and Manchuria, China and northern Mongolia. Part of its population leads a sedentary lifestyle, and some are migratory. Nomadic saplings can be observed during autumn and winter. Jay-mockingbird lives in mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests, although it prefers forests with deciduous species. In the southern areas can nest among the shrubby vegetation.

In the first days of spring birds create pairs. At this time, males fly low over the trees, and their singing consists of sounds overheard in the forest. Most nests are found on medium-aged and young trees of deciduous or coniferous species. A nest is built by both parents. This is a small tray with a diameter of 20 cm and a depth of 10 cm, made of thin twigs and lined with dry grass and elastic roots. For this work they take a week.

From the end of April to the end of May, the mocking joke starts laying eggs. Most often in their nest there are 5 pieces, but maybe 7, and 8, and even 10 eggs. Nasizhivanie occurs 17 days, with both parents. The entire period of feeding adult birds have to work from early morning until late at night. They appear twice every hour around the nest. After 20 days, the chicks begin their flight.

Jay-mockingbird has a fairly wide diet. The main vegetative food is acorns of oak. In addition, she enjoys berries of raspberries, bird cherries, strawberries and mountain ash. He likes seeds of sunflower, fir, wheat, cucumber, oats, corn, peas and so on. From spring to autumn, she adds insects to her diet. The subject of her hunting are hornets, weevils, May beetles, leafgrasses, silkworms, sawfly larvae, golden bronzovka and others. Also, it can eat frogs, lizards, small rodents and does not disdain small birds and their eggs.

For the winter jay-mockingbird likes to prepare acorns and hazelnuts. She hides them in several pieces in leaves, under the bark of fallen trees and buried in moss. Many reserves remain unused: either she forgets about them, or simply does not find them. Thus, the jay is engaged in a useful business: with its help, oaks and other plants sprout far from their native trees. But because of the fact that it ravages other people's nests, it is classified as a pest. Although in this regard, it does minimal harm, since it basically prefers vegetable food.