The courtship of a pair of birds is usually a whirlwind affair. And, following a successful courtship, a bird pair will normally mate and get on with the duties involved of raising a family. First the build the nest. And, after it has been built and they have a chance to settle in, they enter what is commonly called the breeding phase, which is typically broken down into three sub-phases.
The first of these phases is the egg laying and incubation. This is the most perilous stage of all as it can be short circuited in so many ways.
Eggs are just about the most perfect source of nutrients that you can have. That's why they are so valuable. And if the bird's nest is left unprotected for any significant period of time, it will almost certainly be raided by predators looking for an easy meal. Because of this, the parents must watch diligently over the eggs to protect them from interlopers.
In addition, incubation is also important. If the temperature of the egg is too cold, it may never hatch. For most species, this means one of the bird pair must always be ready to sit on the egg where the heat of their body can keep the egg warm. In some species, this is the duty of the female. In others, the male and female will trade off. And in rare instances, the birds will actually bury the eggs in soil and let the soil do most of the incubation work.
The second sub-phase is referred to as nestling phase. The hatching has occurred. And nestling is the period of time after the eggs have hatched but before the newly young have left the nest. They spend all of their time in the nests. The nestlings are just about defenseless at this stage and have to depend totally on their parents to keep them alive and well fed. In the majority of bird species, the male and female will take turns in staying at the nest and scrounging around for food and bringing it back to the nest where it can be fed to the young birds.
The final phase of breeding is known as the fledgling period. Through the previous weeks, the nestlings have been steadily growing stronger and stronger. They are now tired of the nest and anxious to leave it and start to explore their surrounding environment. At first, like all young, they are nervous and stay close to their parents were their parents can maintain a close eye on them. They follow their parents around and do their best to imitate them until they become proficient on their own at digging up insects and finding their own food.
When they can do all of this on their own and are ready to leave the nest, the fledgling period has ended. They can now go off on their own as an independent adult and repeat the cycle again with a family of their own.
Author Resource:-
To read more about birds, bird house, bird feeding station, and other bird related info, please stop by our website.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.NewAgeLivingArticles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
