Branta Issues > Issue №13 (2010)

History of the Scarlet Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) in the Crimea: appearance on breeding and catastrophic reduction of the population as a result of unfavorable climate changes.

A. N. Tsvelykh

Information on the Scarlet Rosefinch in the CrimeanPeninsula is given. The Scarlet Rosefinch began breeding in the Crimea in the late 1980s - early 1990s. It occupied the western part of the CrimeanMountains in the range of 250-1200 m altitude. The song pattern, colour of plumage and distribution exclusively in mountain areas prove that the Crimean Scarlet Rosefinches belong to the Caucasian subspecies C. e. cubanensis. It is found out that similar to birds of the nominative subspecies the Caucasian population of Scarlet Rosefinches showed a tendency to settle in a westward direction. Appearance of the Scarlet Rosefinch on breeding in the Crimea coincided with one of the cycles of increasing humidity in the region. This period proceeded for a several years. Favorable conditions enabled to increase numbers of the Scarlet Rosefinch population and to occupy areas in CrimeanMountains. Afterwards the climate again became more arid. Hence distribution and numbers of the Crimean population of the Scarlet Rosefinch diminished catastrophically. If a drought period is not be replaced by the period of moistening, not a numerous population of the Scarlet Rosefinch can disappear in the Crimea.