The birds of Pasvik / E. I. Khlebosolov, O. A. Makarova, O. A. Khlebosolova [et al. ; English transl. Nikita Chernetsov]. - Ryazan : Golosgubernii, 2007. - 175 с. : ил., портр.

birds have different foraging behaviour and occur in species-specific microhabitats. Reed Buntings forage by inspecting the lower part o f the crown, trunks and ground at the base o f bushes. They usually move parallel to the ground, carefully searching for prey, sometimes descend to the ground or ascend to the crown o f a bush. Little Bunting, like the previous species, forages in the space between the ground and bush crowns. However, Little Buntings live in low scrub and pick the food from the ground, trunks, and foliage in the lower part o f the crown. Sedge Warblers feed inside the crowns o f tall bushes, move in varying directions and collect food from the foliage. In the lower parts o f crowns microhabitats o f Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings partly overlap. Bluethroats mainly feed on the ground under the cover o f bushes or young trees. Thus, these birds show a marked difference in their foraging behaviour and a clear spatial dif­ ferentiation at the level of microhabitats. In the pair Reed Bunting —Sedge Warbler it mainly concerns the vertical distribution o f the birds in the scrub. The preferred m icro­ habitats o f Bluethroats and Little Buntings are located in somewhat different habitats. Bluethroats occur under cover o f coastal scrub and trees on the border between forests and open wetlands. Little Buntings breed in low scrub that allows them to forage under the crowns by a characteristic method. 3 .3 . Passerines communities of the mountain tundra The most typical inhabitants o f the mountain tu n d ra are the N o rth ern Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, and Bluethroat (Fig. 3.33). The R ed -th roated Pipit, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, White Wagtail and Yellow Wagtail also occur here. The latter species are more common in the zonal low land tund ra, but also locally occur in the mountain tundra. On the sea coast breeds the Water Pipit. In some areas, e.g. on the Ainovy Isles, Meadow, R ed -th ro ated , and Water Pipits occur together. All these species occupy typical ecological niches and form ch ara c­ teristic avian communities o f the m ountain tund ra that include both typically Arctic and more southern species that penetrate into the m oun tain tund ra through intrazonal habitats. Northern Wheatear. For N o rthern Wheatears the m oun tain tund ra is a typical habitat. This species also occurs in forest habitats, in sparse pine forests with the ground layer o f lichens and with rock outcrops, in dry stony sparse forest, old fire sites, lumbered areas. However, in the m ountain tu n d ra it is a comm on bird. Breeding density in typical habitats reaches 25 pairs • km 2. The size o f the breeding territory is ca. 3—4 ha. 154