in the family Seidenschwänze is very different bird-types condensed in 3 subfamilies: actual silk-tails, Seidenschnäpper and nightshade-gluttons.
Silk-tails (subfamily Bombycillinae)) The 3 types of this group live in the arctic areas the elderly and the new world. To this, the European silk-tail (Bombycilla garrulus), the North American cedar-silk-tail (B), belongs. cedrorum, and the East-Asian Japan-silk-tail (B). japonica. they are among each other very similar respecting its height (17-19 cm of length), the dun plumage-coloring, its pointed feather-bonnet and this of soft and "silken" feather-structure. The feather-tops of the inner Armschwingen are reorganized to small, red horn-little tiles and shine splendidly.
Zugverhalten The cedar-silk-tail broods in the east of Canada and the USA. In the winter, it hikes to Panama and on the West Indian islands southwards, sometimes, it reaches also Venezuela as Irrgast. The hikes the in East-Siberia and in the northern Manchuria of brooding Japan-silk-tail goes to southeast-Asia.
The European silk-tail is zirkumpolar spread in the northern forest-areas, the Taiga Eurasia. its Zugverhalten is complicated and irregular. Normally it doesn't leave the cold and restrained widths the elderly and new world if it starts its trip southward from the brood-areas of the polar circle north. So, it arrives in Central Europe every year. In distance (examinations in Scandinavia showed 10 years, other researchers boast 3-4 years) of several years, one takes place in large numbers migration (invasion-bird), however. This is to be led back on an expansion of the brood-area taking place in regular periods, that is interconnected with an enlargement of the population. An obvious connection with the food-offer could not be observed. The invasion-swarms then advance as far as into the Mediterranean-area.
In the Middle ages, they - completely unfounded - were regarded as omens of angry illnesses (plague-birds). The migrated continuances don't come back into its actual brood-areas but don't move in alternative-quarters over wide routes (up to 5700 km) in the subsequent year.
Brood The silk-tail broods in light needle or birch-forests. it puts its bowl-shaped nest 1,5-7 m high in a conifer, prefers at the forest-edge or in the proximity of a water, often in immediate proximity of further brood-birds. It is built by both partners from conifer-branches, reindeer-lichen and grass and is padded with hair and Dunen carefully. The nests (5 eggs) are completely approximately middle of June and are incubated by the female, while the male along-manages feed (insects and berries). Insects are carried off in the flight after Fliegenschnäpperart. The boys are fed after the slipping (13-14 days of brood-duration) of both alto-birds with forth-choked food. After 15-17 days, they leave the nest.
Seidenschnäpper (subfamily Ptilogonatinae)) The Seidenschnäpper are limited to its spread of North America's most outer south and on Central America. The group is formed from 4 types, that deceased so, that they must still be subdivided in 3 types. The active birds live in the high mountain region-zones or semi-deserts. Here, they live from insects, who are caught in the flight, and from small fruits. The types show Geschlechtsdimorphismus in contrast to the actual silk-tails respecting the height and the plumage-coloring. So the male of the Schwanz-Seidenschnäppers (Ptilogonys caudatus) gains a length of 24 cm while the female with 20 cm remains much smaller. The blue-black male of the Seidenschnäppers (Phainopepla nitens) clearly differs from the olive female. This type expresses a melodic chant while the others admittedly are loud and talkative, but sings only heavily.
Nightshade-gluttons (subfamily Hypocoliinae)) The nightshade-glutton or silk-stranglers (Hypocolius ampelinus, 23 cm of length) from southwest-Asia, resembles a langschwänzigen strangler sooner. it is the single representative of this subfamily. The gray bird with the black head-sides and the black beak-top (drawn with the female not clearly so) doesn't have any hakigen beak like the representatives of the other groups and also lives much less of insects. In linear flight, it lands in the middle of the foliage of the trees in order to look for mulberries, figs and dates. it participates little shy and likes to get into the gardens and palm-groves. Like a secret thief, it behaves very silently on that occasion; only rarely, the short and rough reputations are to be heard.
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