Eurasian Pygmy-owl Glaucidium passerinum in Ukrainian Polissia
Authors:   I.I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, NAS of Ukraine, Kuzmenko Yu. 
Published: December 2020

Background. The Eurasian Pygmy-owl Glaucidium passerinum (Linnaeus, 1758) is a rare and poorly studied species in Ukraine. It is listed in the Red Data book of Ukraine [2]. Its breeding locations can be found in the Carpathians, Roztochia and Polissia. There are insufficient data the on distribution and current state of abundance of Eurasian Pygmy-owl as well as breeding biology of the species on the territory of Polissia. Materials and Methods. The published data, internet sources, and unpublished materials of colleagues were used in addition to our own observations. Special studies were conducted on permanent study sites in Polissia Nature Reserve (Olevsk and Ovruch districts, Zhytomyr region) and Desniansko-Starohutskyi National Nature Park (Seredyno-Buda district, Sumy region). Small expeditions were organized to other locations within Polissia. Studies of this species were conducted in conjunction with the study of other owl species. They included surveys, behavioral observations, and eco­logy studies. During the surveys, the registrations on the routes of natural voca­lization of adult owls were made at twilight and at night; in cases when natural vocali­za­tion was absent, the recordings of mating calls of males and females were played [1]. The maximum distance of species registration by calling (500 m) was used for breeding density estimation. Results. During the breeding period, the Eurasian Pygmy-owl was found in all regions of Polissia. The southern boundary of that area lies near the villages Perebrody, Dubrovytsia district [12] – Karasyn, Sarny district [12] – Kochychyne, Yemilchyn district – Lypnyky, Luhyny district – Velyki Klishchi, Narodychi district – Stavrovka, Ivankiv district. The second site of regular breeding is the territory of Desniansko-Starohutskyi National Nature Park, where the species has been detected since 1996 [13]. For the first time, on the territory of Polissia, two nests in Zhytomyr and Sumy regions were found. For the first time in Ukraine, the clutch was measured. Behavioral observations of owls in breeding sites were conducted. Food remains were collected and identified. Conclusions. The Eurasian Pygmy-owl is a breeding species in Ukrainian Polissia. The average breeding density in Polissia is 5.8 pairs/100 sq. km. The permanent bree­ding range was identified; it covers the northeastern part of Rivne region, the northern part of Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions, the northeastern part of Chernihiv region and the northern part of Sumy region, on the area of 18.1 thousand sq. km. The estimated bree­ding population of this species is 330 pairs. During the mating season, there are two peaks of natural 24-hour vocalization activity: in the evening and morning twilight. In the evening, males often begin to call 30 min after sunset, in the morning – 30 min before sunrise. In the autumn-winter period, birds either stay within their breeding areas or migrate, flying outside the breeding habitats. The increase in the number of registrations is due to special surveys taking into account the narrow interval of 24-hour natural vocalization acti­vity in the twilight period and the use of phonogram reproduction techniques. Keywords: Eurasian Pygmy-owl, breeding, abundance, behavior, Polissia, Ukraine