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.

(1909) who studied the birds o f Finland, adjacent areas o f Karelia and the Kola Peninsula (cited after Bianchi 1982). Besides him, other Finnish ornithologists stud­ ied the birds o f the Pasvik valley in the 1920s — 1930s (Mericallio 1924, 1934, 1938; Carpelan 1927; Vaaramo 1935; Jany 1938; Keltirfngas & Harala 1938; Ruthke 1939; Siivonen 1941; cited after Bianchi 1982). V.V. Bianchi noted that these and other authors who published between 1922 and 1990 worked here during brief periods and collected the data incidentally. There are two exceptions: the paper by Blair (1936) with the materials on the birds o f East Finnmark, and the Atlas of birds o f Finnmark with figures and distribution maps (Frantzen et al. 1991). Unfortunately, the Atlas contains no list o f references, so that the sources o f information on which species accounts are based remain unclear. In 1987, the Norwegian researcher, publicist, a great expert in nature and histo­ ry o f the Pasvik valley Steinar Wikan prepared a manuscript with a list o f vertebrates o f Pasvik (Wikan 1987). His list includes 218 bird species. Wikan compiled all avail­ able data on the status of birds in Pasvik. He concluded that o f all the birds encoun­ tered there, breeding o f only 121 species had been confirmed. Wikan's list sum ­ marised the avifaunistic research o f the 20th century. It was published as an Appendix to the book by S. Wikan, O. Makarova and T. Aarseth “ Pasvik. Norwegian-Russian nature reserve” (Wikan et al. 1994). It contains a list o f birds with scientific, Russian and Norwegian vernacular names. Later S. Wikan participated in preparation o f a directory to vertebrates o f Pasvik nature reserve where Finnish and English vernacu­ lar names were added (Makarova, Wikan 1996). The next stage o f ornithological research in the Pasvik valley has started in the 1990s. It is characterised by organization o f various faunistic, population and syneco- logical studies o f birds o f Pasvik. This was made possible due to trilateral cooperation and foundation in the middle flow o f the Pasvik river o f Russian Pasvik nature reserve (1992) and Norwegian 0vre Pasvik reserve (1993). Ornithological studies in the Pasvik valley were especially active during the plan­ ning and preparatory phase for foundation o f nature reserves in 1990—1992. Their ini­ tiators on the Russian side were V.V. Bianchi, V.V. Nikiforov, O.A. Makarova and A.M. Khokhlov. On the Norwegian side great contributions to foundation of nature reserves on both sides o f the border and to the development o f ornithological studies were made by S. Wikan, S. Schanche, PG . Thingstad, C. Brodersen, B. Christiansen, G. Morten, P. Aspholm. These people laid the foundation for the new stage o f inter­ national cooperation in the study o f birds o f Pasvik which should be discussed in more detail. The first Russian ornithologist who started to study birds in Pasvik nature reserve was a senior biologist from Kandalaksha nature reserve Vitaly V. Bianchi. In 1990 he participated in the Russian-Norwegian expedition that surveyed the Pasvik valley. 37