🦉 The great tit (Parus major)
- Parus (lat.) Tit
- major (lat.) large
This morning I heard a great tit singing in my yard. And I wondered, why do they sing in autumn? After all, songs are used to mark and protect territory, to attract females. I started looking for articles and information in books, and still couldn't find anything about it.
With great difficulty I found an article by ornithologist Anton Baranovsky, where he wrote the hypothesis that: ""the length of the spring day is one of the triggers of hormonal changes, including testosterone, in birds, which is responsible for many cries and songs. In the fall, when the length of the day changes again, this again triggers hormonal action. Therefore, local birds, especially those that defend territories, sing, as if to say: "I'm still here. This is still my territory. Stay away!""
But all this, of course, is in the realm of conjecture. As Baranovsky writes, no research is being conducted on this topic.
And you know, I've been watching these birds for a long time, and most likely his assumption is correct. Now the tits gather in flocks, and the male that lived in my yard in the summer shows everyone else that he is the boss here. And he also demonstratively sits on a feeder with nuts and eats right in it, not letting the others in.
| Camera | Lens |
|---|---|
| Nikon D5200 | Tamron SP AF 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD |
