During migration, the availability of food that affects the success of bird movements, the nature and timing of their movements, is critical for many bird species. The relationship between migration routes and the ripening of fruit and berry plants along the route is important. Four types of forest belts were studied: wind-blown maple-ash, latticed maple-linden, dense oak-maple-linden, wind-blown oak-maple-poplar. During the study 43 bird species were identified consuming 9 major fruit and berry plant species: Sambucus nigra, Prunus spinosa, Crataegus laevigata, Rosa canina, Prunus padus, Sorbus aucuparia, Rhamnus cathartica, Morus nigra, Prunus cerasus. The highest average number of birds feeding in forest belts (4.14 ind./km) was registered in oak-maple-linden dense forest belts, while the lowest number (1.48 ind./km) was recorded in wind-blown maple-ash ones. Maple-linden latticed forest belts characterize the best index data of α-diversity of birds. In the summer-autumn diet, succulent fruit are the most important: Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – 11.8% of the total number of birds observed to feed on this food resource, Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) – 11.3%, Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) – 9.3%, Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) – 7.3%, Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) – 7.1%, Blackbird (Turdus merula) – 5.4%. 42 species of birds were observed to feed on black elderberry. More than half (51.2%) of the species composition of birds feeding on fruit and berry plants were migratory birds. Consequently, juicy berries are an important food during bird migrations.

The article lists the bird species of solid waste landfills for the period 2019–2022 in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. A total of 73 species in 56 genera, 27 families and 11 orders were registered at the seven largest landfills in the region. We performed faunal and ecological analyses to determine the structure of the landfills’ avifauna by status, relative abundance, distribution by landfill zones, and protection status. We found solid waste landfills to play an important role for birds of various ecological groups, as 53% of species use the territory as a nesting place or permanent habitat. In addition, a significant proportion of registered birds are protected by various regulatory and legal acts of Ukraine and the world, pointing out the importance of landfills for endangered birds. We calculated the Menhinick and Shannon indices to estimate the species richness and abundance, which did not show high species diversity. Therefore, we also calculated the Pielow index to quantify the evenness of the grouping structure. In addition, the Berger-Parker index showed the importance of the dominant species, which negates the uniformity and thus, the stability of the groups. The general characteristics of the formation of the avifauna were revealed by the qualitative and quantitative (Jaccard and Sørenson indices) comparisons of bird habitats in the Kharkiv region and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. As a result, we drew conclusions about the similar factors of the formation and grouping structure of the specific avifauna, as well as the environmental conditions creating the differences.

The paper describes investigations on the reproduction biology (nesting, clutching, hatching, fledglings` departure) of the Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) in artificial nest boxes (AN) in Northeastern Ukraine. There were three sites of research: Hetman NNP, NPP “Gomilshansky Forests”, and RLP “Feldman Ecopark”. The research was performed during the nesting period from the first week of April to the first week of July in 2015‒2020. Annually, 5‒8 bird counts were conducted at each site. The first complete egg clutches at Hetman NNP were observed from 08.05 to 17.05 (2015‒2020) and at NPP “Gomilshansky Forests” from 02.05 to28.05 (2017‒2020). Dates of the first egg laying, at various conditions, had inter-annual variability because of unstable weather conditions in May. The average parameters of nests in AN at Hetman NNP were the following: diameter of nests (D) ‒ 124.1±6.3 mm; diameter of trays (d) ‒ 61.5±1.7 mm; nest height (H) ‒ 63.5±9.4 mm; depth of trays (h) ‒ 48.6±2.7 mm; nest mass (m) ‒ 43.7±3.8 mm. The size of complete clutches in Northeastern Ukraine was calculated when eggs were incubated. According to the average indicators, during 2015‒2020, the average size of the clutch was 6.9±0.3 (5‒8) eggs at Hetman NNP, 6.2±0.4 (6‒8) eggs at NPP “Gomilshansky Forests” and 8.5±0.5 (8‒9) eggs at RLP “Feldman Ecopark”. Incubation period of Ph. phoenicurus lasted on average for 15‒20 days.

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