In the north of Eurasia, until the mid-twentieth century, the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) was sporadically distributed only in the Baltic states, in the west of Belarus and Ukraine, and in Moldova. Once, in 1942, a vagrant bird was caught in Turkmenistan also. At the end of the 20th century, reports appeared of rare recordings of barn owls in Eastern Europe, and since the beginning of the 21st century, pronounced expansion of these birds has been noted, observed in the south of Ukraine, Crimea, Ciscaucasia, and Transcaucasia. Different subspecies living in Central and Southern Europe and the Middle East are simultaneously expanding their nesting areas, namely: a. guttata, T. a. alba, and T. a. erlangeri. However, visual identification of subspecies and clarification of the direction of their expansion are complicated by the similarity of various forms and their significant individual variability associated with age, sex, intergradation with neighboring subspecies and other factors. The appearance of sedentary barn owls in new places is usually preceded by their post-nesting dispersion, directed in all directions and in some cases reaching 1–2 thousand km from the place of birth. Owing to the expansion of its range, barn owl populations have increased many times in a number of regions over the past decades, but accurate estimates of their numbers there are missing due to the rarity and sporadical nature of new finds, the very secretive lifestyle of these birds and insufficient knowledge of their ecology and ethology in the north of Eurasia. The article examines the taxonomy of various barn owl populations in Northern Eurasia and main diagnostic characteristics of some subspecies living in the north of Eurasia, as well as analyzes features of their historical and current distribution and expansion in Eurasia. The author also discusses possible causes and mechanisms of the barn owl dispersion and touches on information on the dynamics of their numbers in few regions.

The analysis of avifauna of the arid Botlikh Depression in the mountains of Dagestan, where 112 species of nesting birds were registered, demonstrated noticeable transformations in its composition over the 19th–21st centuries. An increase in the number and dispersal of nemoral, forest–steppe, and sub-Mediterranean dendrophiles, as well as the emergence of Siberian mountain–taiga species for nesting, has been observed in this arid basin. A decrease in the number and disappearance of xerophilic sclerophiles (that are a part of the desert–mountain faunistic complex of the Nomadic type of fauna) have occurred. This may have been caused both by climate changes that affect birds indirectly (as a result of a change in the species composition and structure of vegetation and reduction in the specific food base for birds) and by the consequences of the anthropogenic effect on the natural environment (forest restoration, degradation of agriculture, and animal breeding), as well as probably by competitive relations between some animal species. Similar changes were noted not only in Dagestan, but also in the Western Caucasus, as well as in the steppe zone in the southern part of Russia, which indicates a large-scale level of zoogeographical processes occurring here. The detected transformations of regional faunas require further intensification of faunistic monitoring, which will allow clarification of the rate of ongoing processes and support zoogeographical predictions for the near future.

An analysis of the avifauna of the arid Botlikh depression in the mountains of Dagestan, where 112 breeding bird species have been recorded, shows noticeable transformations in its composition noted during the 19th to 21st centuries. Within the arid depression, an increase in the number and expansion of nemoral, forest-steppe and sub-Mediterranean dendrophiles is observed, as well as the appearance of Siberian mountain-taiga species at nesting sites. At the same time, there is a decrease in the number and the disappearance of xerophilic sclerophylls, which are part of the desert-mountain faunal complex of the Nomadian type of fauna. This may be due to both climate change, which affects birds indirectly through vegetation and a reduction in the specific food supply, and the consequences of anthropogenic impacts on the natural environment (forest restoration, degradation of agriculture and livestock breeding), possibly also through competitive relationships between some animal species. Similar changes are noted not only in the avifauna of Dagestan, but also in the Western Caucasus, as well as in the steppe zone in southern Russia, this indicating large-scale zoogeographic processes occurring there. The identified transformations of regional faunas require further, intensified faunal monitoring, which will make it possible to clarify the speed of ongoing processes and provide zoogeographic forecasts for the near future.

—In southern Russia, during migrations, the Temminck’s Stint ( Calidris temminckii ) is rare and small in numbers, unlike the mass migrant the Little Stint ( Calidris minuta ). The rarity of the Temminck’s Stint was earlier explained by various causes, including possible omissions when recording the similar Little Stints. All the known data on the phenology of migration, numbers, and distribution of the Temminck’s Stint in southern Russia and adjacent regions are collected and analyzed in this paper. They show that migrations of this species are mainly directed through Central Europe and Central Asia, and the Temminck’s Stint arrives in southern Russia by chance, flying mostly from the Western Black Sea region and Crimea, when, due to various causes, migratory birds deviate to the east of their European migration route.

The distributions and ecology of some species of ducks widespread in the steppe zone of Kazakhstan and Western Siberia ( Aythya fuligula , Anas acuta , and Anas penelope ) are considered. The absence of these ducks from the European steppes is accounted for by their disappearance in the historical past, caused by the plowing of the meadow–steppes in which these species usually nest, as well as the development of artificial forest plantations, the excessive hunting of waterfowl and near-water birds, and by number of other negative factors. The fate of these species in the steppes of Eastern Europe may be shared by the White-headed Duck ( Oxyura leucocephala ), the Ferruginous Duck ( Aythya nyroca ), and the Gadwall ( Anas strepera ) and Pochard ( Aythya ferina ), if no proper measures are taken to protect and restore their numbers.

In the years 2017–2020, 104 young or adult Demoiselle Cranes ( Anthropoides virgo ) were tracked with GPS-GSM transmitters in Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Eight flyways from different parts of the Demoiselle Crane distribution range were specified, with key areas for each flyway identified. In the European part of the range, cranes from different breeding groups followed two flyways using the same route in the fall and spring. The Azov–Black Sea breeding group wintered in Chad, while the Caspian, Volga–Ural, and Cis-Ural breeding groups spent winters in Sudan. Demoiselle Cranes from the Asian part of the range excluding the Trans-Urals carried out a circular migration. In the fall, they used six main flyways to northwestern India arriving there from the north, northeast, and east. In the spring, they flew firstly in a narrow front to the western tip of the Tien Shan Mountains, and then flew out like a fan to the north, northeast, and east. At wintering grounds and summer gatherings, gene flow can occur between cranes of different breeding groups. The migration period consisted of two stages: trophic, when cranes accumulate energy resources, and transit, when they make a long active flight without replenishing energy reserves. Fall migration took place over a short time. With migration route lengths totaling 2170 to 5600 km, the distance of the transit migration varied from 1900 to 4600 km, and their duration lasted from seven to 13 days. This is obviously a period that the Demoiselle Crane is capable of overcoming without essential replenishment of the energy costs, due to the resources accumulated before starting the transit migration. The spring migration of adults was more extended, with shorter daily flights and a longer rest at transit migratory stopovers, this probably being necessary to save energy before the breeding period. Some young cranes returned to their places of birth with their parents in the spring, while others made a transit flight to the first places of a long trophic migratory stopovers located in the southern part of the steppe zone. Some of them spend the whole summer in these territories, while others gradually move to their birthplaces, arriving 1–1.5 months later than adults do. Some young birds visit their birthplaces only after the second winter. Young birds from Transbaikalia and probably from the Altai and Khakassia made two transit flights with a long rest approximately in the middle of the flyway.

В связи с критическим состоянием журавлей во всем мире 2020 год объявлен международным годом журавлей. Почему же такие большие и сильные птицы, практически не имеющие врагов вприроде, оказались в списках красных книг как уязвимые и находящиеся под угрозой исчезновения виды Основная причина кроется в деградации и исчезновении место обитаний этих птиц. Особенно это коснулось журавля-красавки (Anthropoides virgo)- единственного вида из всех обитающих в России журавлей, жизнь которого связана с сухими открытыми ландшафтами. К концу прошлого века численность красавки удалось частично восстановить, однако в последнее десятилетие она вновь начала сокращаться в некоторых популяциях (в Причерноморье, в Крыму, на Дону и в Поволжье). Для выяснения причин и разработки новых рекомендаций по охране красавки были организованы комплексные исследования на юге России, частично поддержанные грантом Русского географического общества «Дистанционный мониторинг южнорусских популяций журавля красавки - “флагового” вида для сохранения биоразнообразия степей России».

Abstract—Tengmalm’s Owl (Aegolius funereus caucasicus But.) inhabits dark coniferous, pine, and deciduous forests in the mountains of the North Caucasus in the range from the city of Tuapse in the west to Inner Dagestan in the east, rising to pine forests to a height of 1900–2000 m above sea level. During its winter wanderings, it occasionally occurs in the foothills, but almost does not go out to the piedmont plains. Winter records in the steppe regions of Ciscaucasia may refer to nomadic specimens of a nominate subspecies (A. f. funereus L.), which is common in Voronezh oblast and in northern Rostov oblast. The bird finds the most optimal conditions in old dark coniferous and mixed forests of the Western Caucasus, and its maximum abundance is noted in the Teberda Nature Reserve (1 pair/10 km2). In the Central and Eastern Caucasus, it lives in old deciduous forests (mountains with a low elevation) and in pine forests (mountains of average height). The population of Tengmalm’s Owl in the North Caucasus is considered relatively stable, and its total number is now estimated at 1000–2000 pairs, including 200–400 pairs living in Karachaevo-Cherkessia and 20–30 pairs living in Adygea. Tengmalm’s Owl is ecologically closely connected with the Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), whose old hollows it usually nests in. The birds display from January to May, but most actively in mid-April. In late April, they lay eggs and fledglings appear in June–July.

Bird studies have been conducted in the area of Volgograd oblast since the second half of the eighteenth century. The first studies were conducted by the heads of large academic expeditions: S.G. Gmelin (1771, 1777), I.I. Lepekhin (1771, 1795), and P.S. Pallas (1788). Therefore, this period of studies can be called the “academic period.” In the middle of the nineteenth century, professors, masters, and undergraduate and graduate students of large Russian universities (Eversmann, Artzibascheff, Bogdanov, Yakovlev, Khlebnikov, and Bostanzhoglo) started to study the bird fauna of the Volga region, and this second period of studies can be called the “university period.” In addition, a great amount of data on the birds of the Lower Volga region had also been published by German taxidermists (together with zoologists) who were gathering bird collections for sale to European museums (Moeschler, Bädeker, Rikbeyl, Henсke, Pelzam, Loretz, et al.). In the first half of the twentieth century, the majority of studies on bird fauna in the Lower Volga region were scientific and practical and were aimed at the organization of their use and protection. In addition to planned studies performed by specialists, important data on bird fauna were collected by amateur ornithologists who came to the Lower Volga region accidently (Kracht, Vietinghoff, Törne, and Bub). In the second half of the twentieth century, active ecological and geographical research was initiated by the staff of the Volgograd Pedagogical Institute, who studied the parasites of birds of prey and corvids, the urban bird population, and the birds of fish ponds. At the end of the twentieth century, a number of studies were conducted in the Lower Volga region within the Important Bird Areas of Russia program supported by foreign grants. These works were followed by a large series of publications; unfortunately, these publications contained little significant ecological and faunistic information.