Pogonish - Pogoyun
Pogonys.
A small bird, slightly smaller than a corncrake, measuring 21-25 cm in length and weighing 80-130 g. The plumage is mottled and generally darker than that of the corncrake Pogonys. The head and the front part of the neck are lead-gray, with frequent light speckles. The upper part of the body and wings are dark brown or olive, with small white and large black spots. The belly is lighter—ochre, sometimes with rare small spots. The undertail is reddish.
The wings are short, slightly rounded, with 10 primary flight feathers. The beak is short, conical, straight, red at the base and yellowish-gray at the tip. The iris is reddish or yellowish-brown. The tail is upright. The legs are long, yellowish-green, with long toes. Males and females are almost indistinguishable, although the female may appear slightly lighter. Young birds have a lighter throat—whitish, and the areas of gray feathers on the head and front of the neck are not pronounced. They do not form subspecies.
The Carolina Pogonys lacks the speckles on the head, neck, and chest, and has a well-defined dark longitudinal stripe on the forehead, which is absent in the common Pogonys. The Little Pogonys and the Pygmy Pogonys are noticeably smaller; the Little Pogonys lacks white speckles on the back and neck, while the Pygmy Pogonys has them on the neck.
The Pogonys is best heard in April-May during the breeding season. At this time, at night, it emits sounds characteristic only of it, which can be heard from a distance of up to 1-2 km—a melodic whistle "weet...weet...weet," reminiscent of dripping water. The birds whistle rhythmically, at a rate of about 60-110 times per minute. At other times, they generally behave quietly, making only soft "tuk-tuk" sounds. In case of danger, the birds scream loudly, producing sharp high-pitched sounds that are difficult to replicate.
During the breeding season, it occupies shallow freshwater bodies, wet meadows, or marshes densely overgrown with emergent plants—reeds, bulrushes, willows, sedges, and cattails. It always remains hidden; sometimes only the male's mating call reveals the presence of the bird nearby. It avoids open spaces and hides in the grass. It moves very quickly on the ground and in shallow water, skillfully maneuvering among the vegetation. It swims reluctantly, but in case of danger, it can swim or even dive underwater. It always flies alone; during flight, the neck is retracted, and the legs awkwardly dangle behind. It is mainly active at dusk and at night.
They are monogamous—one male mates with only one female. For nesting, a marshy area or a shallow freshwater body with dense vegetation is chosen—a wet meadow, a mossy or hummocky bog, a peat bog, a small lake, or a quiet river backwater. An abundance of bushes or thickets of reeds, bulrushes, or other aquatic plants is a necessary condition. Calling the female, the male loudly cries, producing a characteristic whistle. Once the pair is fully formed, the birds sometimes start calling together.
The nest is built on a small hummock in the middle of a bog or wet meadow, under a canopy on a sandbank, in thickets of willows.
The birds try to avoid areas of dry grass. The building material used consists of available vegetation—if the nest is located in a wet meadow, dry stems and leaves of grasses are used; if in a thicket of reeds, the inside of the nest is lined with grass plants, and the outside with reeds. The nest, which is a cup-shaped structure with a deep bowl and high walls, is always well hidden and inconspicuous from the sides and above. If there is open space above the nest, the Pogonys additionally camouflage it with leaves. The dimensions of the nest are—diameter 15-17 cm, height 5-15 cm, depth of the bowl 4.5-7 cm.
Both the male and female participate in the construction.
Typically, Pogonys raise chicks once a season; if the first clutch is lost, the female can lay again. The clutch usually consists of 8-12 eggs of dirty ochre or greenish-ochre color with reddish or brown spots. The size of the eggs is (29-37) x (22-26) mm. The incubation period lasts from 18 to 24 days, with both parents participating in incubation. The chicks are semi-altricial—they leave the nest a few hours after hatching and follow the male on walks, but return to the nest at night. However, initially, they cannot maintain their body temperature or find food for themselves, and during this period, they are completely dependent on their parents. At hatching, the chicks are partially covered with black down, which has a greenish metallic sheen on the head, throat, and back. After about 20 days, the chicks begin to search for food independently, but for some time they are still fed by their parents. After 35-42 days, they take to the wing, and by late July-August, they become fully independent.
They are omnivorous—feeding on both plant and animal food. They eat seeds and vegetative parts of plants, small invertebrates (aquatic insects and their larvae, mollusks), and occasionally small fish and carrion. In search of food, they walk in shallow water along coastal thickets or in the grass.
Red Book
