Ornithocomplexes of some rural settlements of the Middle Volga region in the summer (on the example of Nizhny Novgorod Region)

Over the past two and a half decades (in different years), bird counts have been conducted in summer on 7 permanent routes in rural settlements of various natural and territorial complexes of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. In some of them, birds have been counted for several years. Almost everywhere, the route method with a non-fixed accounting lane was used. A total of 113 bird species (including rare ones) from 13 orders and 35 families were recorded. There are 10 species common to all localities. In most cases, the village swallow Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758, and the field sparrow Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) are the leaders in abundance, less often the white wagtail Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758. No clear territorial differences have been identified between the bird populations of different natural and territorial complexes. Ornithocomplexes are heterogeneous in different characteristics both in space and in time. The bird population of rural settlements located among large woodlands is characterized by high species richness, including background species, maximum species diversity, and a low proportion of dominant species. In cluster analysis, they are combined into a common group. Ornithocomplexes of settlements with complexly structured spaces surrounded by open landscapes combined with ravine-girder forests are close to them in terms of species diversity.