Transactions
of the Azov-Black Sea Ornithological Station
The distribution of Kingfisher Alcedo atthis (L.) in the Crimea
A. N. Tsvelykh
Researches, carried out in the second half of the 20th century, showed that Kingfisher was regularly recorded in the Crimea only during spring and autumn migrations, but there were no actual evidences of its breeding on the peninsula (Kostin, 1983). At the beginning of the 21th century its breeding was found in the basins of all large Crimean rivers. In particular, Kingfisher, digging a hole in the coastal cliff, was observed on 27.05.2008 on the Kuchuk-Karasu River near the village of Horlynka. In the basin of the Biyuk-Karasu River the nest holes of Kingfisher were found near the village of Karasevka on 06.26.2000. Territorial birds were registered on 21.05.2005 on the Salgir River above Simferopol near the village of Fersmanove, where the residential nest of this species was found a few years earlier. Downstream along the river birds were observed in the park of Simferopol on 4.06.2011and near the village of Izobilne on 19.05.2008. Four Kingfisher's nesting holes of different condition were found in the basin of the Alma River near the village of Novopavlivka in autumn 2002. Another nest was observed on the Kacha River near the village of Bashtanivka on 28.06.2006, and territorial birds were observed not far away from here on 31.05.2007. The nesting of Kingfisher was observed on the Belbek River near the village of Tankove on 30.06.2001, birds also nested here in 1996. Upstream along the river Kingfisher was observed near the village of Plotуnne on 21.05.2002. On the Chоrna River the territorial birds were observed on 1.07.2001, alongside its mouth and upstream near the village of Khmelnytske in the period from May 19 to June 6, 2002. Thus, in the Crimea, Kingfishers breed mainly on large rivers within the foothills. There are also evidences that this species seems to breed sporadically in the flat part of the peninsula.
The analysis of the literature data showed that in the second half of the 19th - first half of the 20th centuries Kingfishers were found during the breeding period in the same places where their nesting in the late 20th early 21th centuries was found. This indicates that Kingfisher inhabits the peninsula for a long time.
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