Tengmalm’s Owl (Aegolius funereus) (Strigidae, Aves) in the North Caucasus

Abstract

Abstract—Tengmalm’s Owl (Aegolius funereus caucasicus But.) inhabits dark coniferous, pine, and deciduous forests in the mountains of the North Caucasus in the range from the city of Tuapse in the west to Inner Dagestan in the east, rising to pine forests to a height of 1900–2000 m above sea level. During its winter wanderings, it occasionally occurs in the foothills, but almost does not go out to the piedmont plains. Winter records in the steppe regions of Ciscaucasia may refer to nomadic specimens of a nominate subspecies (A. f. funereus L.), which is common in Voronezh oblast and in northern Rostov oblast. The bird finds the most optimal conditions in old dark coniferous and mixed forests of the Western Caucasus, and its maximum abundance is noted in the Teberda Nature Reserve (1 pair/10 km2). In the Central and Eastern Caucasus, it lives in old deciduous forests (mountains with a low elevation) and in pine forests (mountains of average height). The population of Tengmalm’s Owl in the North Caucasus is considered relatively stable, and its total number is now estimated at 1000–2000 pairs, including 200–400 pairs living in Karachaevo-Cherkessia and 20–30 pairs living in Adygea. Tengmalm’s Owl is ecologically closely connected with the Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), whose old hollows it usually nests in. The birds display from January to May, but most actively in mid-April. In late April, they lay eggs and fledglings appear in June–July.