California, South Africa and Antarctica: where Russian birds fly for the winter

In anticipation of the coming winter, our migratory birds leave their nesting places and head south. Storks, cranes, swans, geese, ducks and many other birds rush to distant lands to spend the winter there, because in the harsh Russian winter and the lack of enough food, they simply will not survive. We decided to see where the birds familiar to us from childhood fly away and where is the very bird's south.

About a third of all species of birds nesting in our country are migratory. For wintering, different species of birds are chosen by different countries, and some species, divided into several populations, winter in several regions at once, similar in their climatic parameters and convenient for migration. Egypt, India, China, the US state of California and even South Africa - this is an incomplete list of regions where representatives of the Russian fauna winter.

Gray cranes

Among all cranes living on the territory of Russia, this species is the most numerous. Gray cranes nest almost throughout the country from the western borders to Transbaikalia and Yakutia. In winter, these birds fly in different ways and choose the shortest migration routes. Gray cranes from European Russia and Western Siberia spend the winter in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, part of the population winter in Egypt and Sudan. And the gray cranes from Central and Eastern Siberia prefer to go to India and Southeast China for the winter.

Common cuckoos

Cuckoos also do not sit still and with the onset of cold weather set off on a long journey. The majority of cuckoos living in Russia select India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia as their wintering grounds. It is possible that part of the population from European Russia spends the winter in Africa, south of the equator.

Whooper Swans

These majestic and beautiful birds nest on vast expanses from the tundra to the mountains of Southern Siberia, choosing lakes rich in food. For wintering, whooper swans also choose a region closer to the main nesting site. The inhabitants of European Russia fly to the Black Sea, to Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. Whooper swans from Western Siberia prefer to winter in the Caspian Sea, Iran and Azerbaijan, and birds from Eastern Siberia and the Far East fly to China, Korea and Japan.

White storks

These birds live in Europe and the eastern part of their range is located on the territory of European Russia. These large birds cannot be called lovers of easy life, because for the winter they fly to Southeast Africa, which makes them one of the most prominent migrant travelers. Some birds settle in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, the rest reach South Africa and Namibia.

Rooks

The early arrival of these birds is associated with the approaching spring, but they also come from different places. The main regions of rook wintering are located near nesting sites. Rooks from Western Siberia fly to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and rooks from the northern part of European Russia have chosen the Black Sea coast. At the same time, part of the rooks that nest in the Stavropol, Krasnodar Territory and other southern regions do not fly away at all.

White geese

These beautiful and large birds from the order of Anseriformes nest in the territory of North-East Siberia, but for the winter they fly to America. The main places for their wintering are located in the western USA, in the state of California.

White-tailed eagle

These large birds of prey are found in almost all of Russia, although they are extremely rare. For wintering, white-tailed eagles go to Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and birds nesting in the Far East prefer to fly closer - to Japan, Korea and China.

Kites

Kites flying to the European part of Russia and the southern regions of Siberia for the summer are also not averse to flying long distances for a comfortable and warm winter. These birds of prey winter in the vast expanses of sub-Saharan Africa, excluding regions with a humid equatorial climate.

Black swifts

These birds often nest in Russian cities, and their presence is easy to notice by the characteristic cries. Black swifts are one of the fastest birds on the planet and they are not afraid to fly long distances. Most of the Russian swifts reach the very south of Africa and winters in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Mozambique. But a small part of the black swifts winters in India.

Arctic Tern

But the most prominent migratory birds of our fauna are polar terns. They nest in the polar and circumpolar regions of Russia, but fly away to the Antarctic for the winter, that is, these birds fly across the globe and do this twice a year. Apparently, in Southeast Asia or Africa, the climate is not the same, and the polar terns do not like the tropics, but the cool polar summer.