Branta Issues

Materials on nesting avifauna of the isolated planted Baranovsky wood in the Danube region of Ukraine

A. N. Tsvelykh

The nesting birds of the artificial Baranovsky wood located near the Izmail city was studied within 6 days in 2010 and 2019. Fauna of this short research period in this wood includes thirty bird species: Phasianus colchicus, Columba palumbus, Streptopelia turtur, Otus scops, Asio otus, Strix aluco, Upupa epops, Dendrocopos major, Anthus trivialis, Lanius collurio, Oriolus oriolus, Sturnus vulgaris, Pica pica, Corvus cornix, Hippolais icterina, Sylvia atricapilla, Sylvia borin, Sylvia communis, Sylvia curruca, Phylloscopus collybita, Phoenicurus phoenicurus, Erithacus rubecula, Luscinia luscinia, Turdus merula, Turdus philomelos, Aegithalos caudatus, Parus caeruleus, Parus major, Fringilla coelebs, Emberiza hortulana. The main source of the Baranovsky wood bird populations is the fauna of tree and shrub plantations of the Danube valley, i.e. all species found in this plantation are quite widespread in the Danube delta. Almost all bird species found in the wood are also in the fauna of the large Danube islands closest to it. 
In the Baranovsky wood, long-tailed tits are phenotypically similar to the nominative subspecies Aegithalos caudatus caudatus, which is widespread in Eastern and Northern Europe, while there were birds that do not differ from the subspecies Aegithalos caudatus europaeus which occur in Central and Western Europe. The same is in the Danube delta. It can be assumed that in Europe the eastern boundary of the subspecies Aegithalos caudatus europaeus distribution reaches along the Lower Danube to the Western Black Sea region.
The Chaffinches of the Baranovsky wood perform only whistling “rain-calls” that are typical for most of birds of the Danube delta. These “rain-calls” are also typical for the majority of Chaffinch populations in North-Western and Central Europe. It can be assumed that, the eastern boundary of the distribution of the Western European Chaffinch vocal dialect reaches along the Danube delta to the Black Sea coast.