Pigeon interesting facts for kids. Incredible facts about pigeons
Piada Ivanovna Bublik
Public event: "Visiting a Pigeon Show"
Target: To generalize and systematize children's knowledge about the dove and its symbolic features.
Tasks:
Educational:
1. To form children's knowledge about the dove as a wintering bird.
2. Expand the horizons of children about the dove as a carrier of symbolic features.
3. Form primary ideas about the work of a dovecote
Educational:
1. To promote the development of free communication of children with peers
Educational:
1. Cultivate goodwill towards birds desire to take care of them.
Lesson progress:
1. Introduction
Today we have guests for the lesson. Let's say hello to them. They want to see how smart we are, you know a lot.
2. Main body
See what it is? (feather)
To find out what it belongs to the bird, guess riddle:
In the old days with you on the road
This they took the bird
Back home with her
Letters were sent
This postman bird
Bringing news to the house
She's not easy now
Symbol of peace and kindness (pigeon)
In today's lesson, we will review what we know about pigeons. Pictures will help us with this - symbols. Choose the picture that will help you tell about the dove.
Dove - wintering bird(Snowflake)
- Dove has: tail, wings, beak, legs, torso, head (pigeon)
Dove covered in feathers (feather)
The dove can coo (note)
Pigeons feed on grain, bread crumbs, seeds (ear)
The dove is a symbol of peace (the globe)
Taking care of pigeons - dovecote (Human)
The dove house is called the dovecote (House)
Pigeons need to be taken care of in winter, hungry and cold (palm)
Well done guys, you know a lot about pigeons.
The feather is flying guys
Calls us somewhere
Oh, where did the snowdrift come from in our group? Let's see what's underneath. (Children open and see a cage with a dove)
Where did the pigeon come from in our group? (Arrived to warm up. Brought).
Let's take it and take it to the owner. (Children with a teacher go to the hall)
Hello, is this your pigeon?
Yes. I am a dovecote Uncle Vanya. My pigeons were visiting you. They liked it, and they decided to visit your kindergarten again.
I will tell you about my pigeons. Pigeons come in different breeds.
This is a carrier pigeon. In ancient times, when there was no mail, pigeons were taken with them on the road. A small letter was tied to the paw and a dove was launched into the sky. He flew home and brought news to his family.
This is a shawl pigeon. A shawl is a fluffy scarf. The dove has fluffy feathers on its neck like a shawl, as if a scarf is tied. (Children examine the dove, stroke it)
This is a peacock pigeon. He has a fluffy elegant ponytail. Doves lower their tails, and doves fluff, care for doves, coo. Pigeons live in pairs, that's why they are called birds of love. (Children examine the dove, stroke it)
The dove gives you hearts, take the one you like best. (Single and red hearts)
It's time for me to go home, birds are waiting for me friends. Goodbye guys. (Children say goodbye)
Guys, I suggest you play the role of pigeons. (Physical education minute):
Pigeons sat together
And looked to the side
We drank some water
Washed feathers
Pecked grains
Played in the field
Now let's watch a movie about pigeons.
What did Uncle Vanya tell us about pigeons? (Pigeons come in different breeds. There are carrier pigeons. Pigeons live in pairs. Pigeons can coo. The dove is beautiful and tender bird. The dove is a symbol of peace and love.
3. Final part:
The feather is flying guys
Calls us somewhere
(Origami pigeons are on the table). At the construction site, we made pigeons. Let's give them to the guests with wishes. (Children give pigeons)
Wishes:
1. Wish you happiness
2. I wish you health
3. Wish you success
4. I wish you well
5. I wish you well
Let's say goodbye to the guests now. (Children say goodbye and leave)
Dear guests, our lesson is over, but the surprise moments continue. Children together with their parents have prepared for you homework (representation)
Analysis:
I have integrated educational areas: physical education, knowledge, communication, labor
Activities: motor, communicative, cognitive-research
The material was mastered by children at the 3rd level of complexity. Conditions were created for search activities, including analysis and synthesis.
1. Organizational moments : pictures - symbols, pigeons - origami, physical education, riddle.
2. A feather, a cage with a dove - a surprise moment
Perhaps the most famous bird in the city is the dove. These birds are so accustomed to life in the city that they are not at all afraid of people, often taking food directly from the palm of a person. For many centuries, pigeons and humans have peacefully coexisted with each other. And people even at one time taught these birds to deliver mail. In many countries, the dove is considered a sacred bird, and in our time, doves have also become a symbol of peace. But those pigeons that we see every day in the city and which are called "blue doves" are only a variety in the pigeon family. The “Sizars” also have free forest brothers.
In the forests of central Russia, three varieties of pigeons can be found. These are klintukh, dove and dove. Unlike urban relatives, wood pigeons are migratory birds. And they appear in nesting places only in spring.
My home is my castle
Pigeons, unlike many other birds, are good family men. Having created a family, they will never part with each other. Therefore, having arrived from distant southern regions, couples immediately begin to solve housing issues. Well, young pigeons, meanwhile, are looking for a mate. And having found, they also begin to arrange the future place of residence. Moreover, the stockhead tries to find a ready-made hollow, but the dove and the dove build a nest from various twigs. The builders of them are unimportant, but the pigeons try very hard and, having built a nest, are so pleased with it that they spend a lot of time in a new home.
bird's milk
Both mother and father take care of the chicks. Pigeons feed their babies in a rather original way - in the throat of both parents there is a special zone called the "goiter". By the time the chicks are born, the goiter of both parents grows and begins to secrete a nutrient similar to cottage cheese, which is called "bird's milk". When the chick is hungry, it begins to tap its beak on the goiter of the parent and in return receives a portion of the “bird's milk”. Gradually, parents begin to mix "milk" with plant seeds, and then completely switch the kids to a plant-based diet.
Pigeon chicks are extremely independent creatures. In case of danger, they hide at the very bottom of the nest, and if they realize that they have been discovered, they begin to bravely attack the troublemaker, trying to give themselves the appearance of a formidable and predatory bird.
Wood pigeons find part of their food in the fields with agricultural crops. Moreover, they practically do not cause harm to cultivated plants. Rather, on the contrary, since they feed mainly on the seeds of harmful plants, thus clearing the field from weeds.
Over time, the chicks will separate from their parents and form new flocks, which will return to their native lands the next year and will create new pairs and family nests.
Pigeon since time immemorial it has been considered the bird of the world. It is imprinted as a monument in more than 30 cities of the world. These amazing birds full of mysteries and secrets that are very interesting to reveal to many people.
Let's find out some today Interesting Facts about pigeons.
pigeons, or real pigeons (lat. Columba) - a genus of birds from the pigeon family. Wing length 20-27 cm, weight 200-650 g. They inhabit Eurasia, Africa and Australia.
The most common species of this genus is the Rock Pigeon, introduced to all continents.
On the entire planet Earth there are more than 300 species of these birds. They live in every part of the world except, of course, the coldest regions, however most pigeons live in the tropics.
The amazing thing about these unique creatures is their eyesight. It is completely incapable of blinding the sun and the "lightning" of electric welding machines. Even in such conditions, the bird can find very small grains among the stones. Why are there direct sunlight, even if laser flashes are not capable of damaging the retina of a pigeon's eye. Such abilities are given to the eyes of these creatures by a kind of connective tissue that can change the density, i.e. or be transparent, or darken and not let the rays through. Surprisingly, these birds perceive even more frames per second than humans. For comparison, if the human eye can perceive 24 frames, then the pigeon eye is about 75.
The structure of the pigeon's body is also very interesting: short but strong legs carry a plump body and a small head. The feathers of these birds are stiff but smooth. An adult has about 10 thousand feathers. The structure of the plumage can smooth out strong airflow during flight. Some species have specially shaped feathers that help them fly at very slow speeds. Other species have different feathers that produce special sounds in flight. And the most interesting thing is that they communicate through these "melodies".
Street pigeons are arranged a little differently than the rest. They fill the stomach to the limit, and when there is no more room left, the food goes straight to the goiter, which consists of the left and right parts. The left side is filled first, and then the right side is opened. In this feature, they are somewhat reminiscent of hamsters.
There is an amazing species of these birds that stands out from all the rest, called Birmingham Rollers. They are able to perform somersaults right during the flight, and not even once, but a whole series. Unfortunately, scientists cannot yet explain why they do such tricks, but many breeders say that roller skaters simply like such actions. In nature, there is another similar breed called the salon roller. These birds also love somersaults, but they only do it on the ground, because they cannot fly.
Most pigeons have a dull plumage, more often they are black, brown, blue, gray. Females and males of most species are similar to each other, but males are larger and smarter. And some rare species, such as the crowned and Asian fruit doves, occupy a leading position among the most beautiful birds on the planet. They have bright signs on the front of the body. Pigeons may use their markings to attract mates or intimidate other members of the same species who threaten them or their territory.
Pigeons have been domesticated for a long time. They were constantly used as postmen over long distances. Known historical figures, such as Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar and others used them to deliver messages.
In the 11th-12th centuries, a dove had the same value as a thoroughbred stallion, because at that time there was no mail or telephones. Quite in ancient times, this bird was a totem animal and an object of worship - the patron of man. In Australia, he patronized exclusively women, and men, wanting to annoy the ladies, teased them with the carcass of a dead dove.
Cities were dedicated to birds. The most famous of them is Babylon. The legend says that Queen Semiramis at some point turned into a dove.
Christians also consider these creatures to be God's birds. In ancient times, they were placed in the graves of martyrs as a symbol of resurrection. And in ancient Egypt, for example, pigeons not only played the role of postmen, but were also eaten.
In the last century, people have bred many meat species of pigeons, they are considered a delicacy in many countries of the world. The pigeon is almost 6 times more nutritious and fatter than chicken, and three days before serving, the birds are fed with juniper berries and dill seeds, thanks to these maneuvers, the meat acquires a special flavor.
The dove is a very loyal creature. Male and female are often attached to each other throughout their twenty years of life. However, there are times when, in the confusion of the city, a dove suddenly leaves her husband and children. But, a little taken aback by the "divorce", the father of the family, as a result, successfully continues to raise chicks on his own.
The marriage of these birds is associated with some special actions. The dove at first fusses and flirts around its female, sweeping the ground with loose feathers. And so, if the "young lady" also begins to lower her wings and sweep the ground, then this means that courtship is accepted. But when the female in response begins to touch the male's beak and coo, then we can assume that the "stamp in the passport" has been put.
Alas, females of all kinds of pigeons are not able to lay eggs in deep solitude. For this, they definitely need to see a dove. However, in captivity they are successfully deceived with the help of a mirror.
There are many legends, stories and stories, one way or another connected with these amazing birds.
The oldest of them, which has come down to our time, is the Tale of Bygone Years. This story tells about Princess Olga, who used pigeons in military affairs. In one of the wars, she asked the people of the besieged city for 3 sparrows and 3 doves from each yard. The settlers immediately sent what they needed to the princess. The same ordered to tie dry tinder on fire to each bird. When the birds were released, they carry the lights to their nests. First the dovecotes caught fire, then the yards. Thus, Olga got rid of all enemies at once.
Another confirmation of the pigeon's attachment to the house is the story of Baron Wrangel, who, retreating from the Crimea, took with him many pigeons from the military station in Sevastopol. The birds returned home after flying over 2,500 km. One by one, they ran away and flew to their native nests. Many were even wounded and blinded, but they returned to their native lands.
Years passed, radio appeared, but the pigeons were never forgotten. In 1942, the Germans damaged a British submarine with bombs, and she could not get off the ground. The submarine would have sunk if not for a pair of feathered pigeons, which, with small capsules, were released through a torpedo tube. The male was flooded with water, but the female reached the appointed place. The crew was rescued, and a monument was erected in honor of the dove.
When releasing pigeons at a wedding, the newlyweds may not even realize that the birds reach speeds of up to 60-80 km / h.
- Modern breeds of carrier pigeons reach speeds of up to 140 km / h, and the distance covered by them exceeds 3,000 km.
- Sports pigeons have a powerful elongated streamlined body and are devoid of decorations that interfere with flight. The "career" of a flying pigeon is 10 years, and they live 12-15 years.
- A sports pigeon overtakes a swift - a champion in flight speed. The pigeon's record is 1.58 km per minute.
I wonder what sporting pigeons show top scores when their chicks are 10 days old. There is something mysterious going on in their body.
- Pigeons cannot run fast, cannot take something in their red paw, despite the fact that their legs are very sensitive and tender. But their wings are just class.
Domestic pigeons are divided into four groups: sports (postal), decorative, flying and even ... meat, which are used for food. For a month they gain 1.5 kg of weight. Chickens give such an increase in only six months.
- Chicken is 71% water. And in the dove, only 49%. And meat dove is 6 times fatter and more nutritious than chicken. Three days before the pigeons are served on the table, they are fed with dill seeds and juniper berries, the meat acquires a special flavor.
- The affection of pigeons that have become spouses often lasts the entire twenty-year life of a bird.
One of the founders of the famous billionaire dynasty, Nathan Rothschild, received information faster than other bankers thanks to carrier pigeons. And so he could buy securities at low prices. The fact that Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo, this "oligarch" of the 19th century learned a few days before the British government.
- The fabulist Ivan Krylov and Hetman of Ukraine Bohdan Khmelnytsky had pigeons. Nikita Khrushchev kept hundreds of pigeons in his dacha.
- During the Great Patriotic War pigeons delivered over 15 thousand messages.
During the festival of youth and students held in Moscow in 1957, its participants released thousands of doves into the sky. A year earlier, a special resolution was adopted on the importation and breeding of pigeons in the capital by VI World Festival youth and students. As a result, during the year the number of these birds in the capital exceeded 35 thousand.
- In 1146, the first state pigeon post appeared in Egypt.
In the 11th-13th centuries, a carrier pigeon cost as much as a purebred Arabian stallion. And Ancient Babylon was a city of doves.
- In 2004, a monument to the dove as a symbol of peace was opened in Vladivostok. Similar monuments have been erected in 33 other cities around the world.
- Science cannot yet give an unambiguous explanation of how pigeons find their way home. According to one version, birds are guided by the sun and stars, according to another, they react to the Earth's magnetic field. Therefore, when launching pigeons at a wedding, you don’t have to worry: nothing will happen to the birds, they will safely return to their native dovecote.
This is only a small part of all the facts about these birds. They have saved people's lives more than once, surprising with their incredible abilities. Through the centuries, the dove will also help a person survive in difficult conditions. Let's appreciate the surrounding nature, and it will reciprocate.
Doves are the birds of the world. Everyone knows this, but not everyone knows that these birds were sacred. Babylon, for example, was a "city of doves," and Christians placed doves in the graves of martyrs. The dove was a symbol of resurrection. In Russia, the killing of a dove was severely punished, since it was believed that the souls of dead people moved into doves;
Proud scribes
When pigeons were domesticated, they were primarily adapted for mail. That is, if now we exchange SMS messages, then earlier, pigeons were used to communicate any important news, dispatches or just love letters, since pigeons are very hardy. They fly about a kilometer a day at speeds up to 70 km/h. Then these birds cost on a par with Arabian horses.
Homecoming
Pigeons, just like dogs and cats, always return to their native lands. In ancient times, this feature of theirs was used by Princess Olga for the insidious reprisal against the peasants for the death of her husband.
More about speed
Pigeons are also raised for sports. A sporting pigeon overtakes a swift, which, as you know, is the fastest representative of birds in terms of speed. A sports pigeon develops a speed of 2 km / minute!
Winter and summer in one color, or a practical outfit
Pigeon feathers come in completely different colors - depending on the species: white, gray, black, multi-colored ... By the way, the skeleton of a dove is much lighter than feathers. In pigeons, different feathers perform different functions. The most important plumage is found on the wings and on the tail of the ghouls - flight and tail feathers, respectively. And further important point: for "warming" pigeons have a layer of thin adipose tissue hidden under the same feathers;
Unusual fertilizer
The annual "withdrawal" of excrement from the body of a pigeon is 3 kg and, by the way, in the litter of a pigeon, the content of nitrogen is 4 times more than in horse, and phosphorus - 3 times. If you dilute a certain amount of pigeon droppings in a 10-liter tub, then it is good to water the flowers with the resulting solution, but not more than once a month.
gourmet dish
In past centuries, in almost all peasant families, the main dish was pigeon meat. And in Russia, royal cooks and housewives of noble families even had a certain fad: everyone without exception began to invent all kinds of dishes from pigeons, since meat pigeon contains only 49% H2O, and it is six times more nutritious and satisfying than chicken. Three days before serving, Russian culinary specialists fed the pigeon with juniper berries and dill seeds, so the "pigeon" dishes had such a flavor.
Now pigeon meat is mainly popular in European cuisines: in France, Slovakia, the Czech Republic. There are organized entire mechanized enclosures for 100,000 of these birds. A pair of pigeons brings 10-14 chicks, so the business is very profitable.
American vandalism
There was such a wonderful view: a passenger pigeon. Unfortunately, in 1914 the last representative of this genus died. It's all the fault of the Americans, to whom the meat of birds of this particular kind seemed insanely tasty, and they began the "pigeon genocide." Citizens of America literally exterminated the passenger pigeons in batches: they were salted in barrels and shipped to numerous stores in the country. Then, of course, the zoologists realized it, but it was too late: the last dove, Marta, died without waiting for her mate.
A bit of anatomy
Street pigeons will never be transferred, since it is enough for them to fill their goiter once a day to failure. An interesting point: when the pigeon's stomach is stuffed with food to the stop, then first its right side opens in the goiter, and when it is also filled, then the left one. The walls of the goiter during the feeding period of the chicks secrete the legendary bird's milk, which looks more like sour cream.
For some reason, little doves hatch strictly before noon, and females lay their eggs just after three in the afternoon. The chicks eat in this way: they lean their beak against the beak of mom-dad and lick the milk. The next day after birth, the chicks weigh twice as much as at birth. About a week later, parents include softened grains in the baby's diet, and after ten days, female pigeons stop feeding, but more restless dads pamper the chicks for a few more days. By the way, sports pigeons show the best results just after ten days;
mating games
Courtship begins with the fact that the male curls around the dove, puffing out his goiter and fluffing his tail. If the female begins to perform the same actions, the pigeon's maneuver was a success, but if she cooes and touches the pigeon's beak with her beak, then a new pigeon couple has been created. Only during the mating season is it possible to distinguish between a male and a female. In general, pigeon breeders have their own secrets of “exposing” the sexes. If the pigeon is pulled by the beak, then the male will definitely pull back his head. Or, if you stroke a dove on the abdomen, then the female will never pick up her paws under her.
Virus carriers
Of course, all sorts of sores are carried mainly by street pigeons. Fleas are found in pigeon plumage. ticks and other dirty tricks, and those who like to feed these birds from their hands can become infected with psittacosis.
These eyes…
Pigeons can look at bright light without blinking. They also have eyesight hundreds of times sharper than a human's. Pigeons see the smallest cracks and bumps, every mote, and process visual information three times faster than a person.