Kuzmenko Y. The owls (Strigiformes) of the Central and Eastern Ukrainian Polissya, Ukraine

Dissertation is devoted to investigation of Owls on the territory of Eastern and Central Polissya and clarifying the current state of their populations. Species composition, occurrence status, current distribution, habitat preferences of breeding areas of owls in natural and anthropogenic landscapes were analyzed. Breeding density and its dynamics were studied. Locations of nests, breeding phenology, reproductive indexes and trophic connections in areas with different levels of anthropogenic impact were analyzed and recommendations for the owl conservation were provided. For the first time a comprehensive study of the owls fauna of Central and Eastern Polissya of Ukraine was made. There are 13 owls species in the area under study, among them 10 breeders and 3 vagrant species. Eight species breed regularly. The most numerous are the Long-eared Owl Asio otus in populated areas and agricultural landscapes, and the Tawny Owl Strix aluco in forest landscapes. These species are distributed evenly throughout the region and have the highest abundance: Tawny Owl – 5.25 thousand pairs and Long-eared Owl – 4.2 thousand pairs. These two species are characterized by: 1) a good supply of breeding sites (for Long-eared Owl these are Crow’s nests, for Tawny Owls - a variety of natural hollows); 2) a slight year-on-year fluctuations in density (1.1-1.4 for the Long-eared Owl and 1.3-2.2 for the Tawny Owl); 3) stable forage base, and as a result a big average number of eggs (5.5 eggs for the Long-eared Owl and 4.7 for the Tawny Owl), big brood (3.8 eggs for the Long-eared Owl as well as the Tawny owl) and high breeding success (50.0% for the Long-eared Owl and 68.7% for the Tawny Owl).