Some ecological and ethological peculiarities of the Starling in the north of Ukraine. - I.V. Marissova. - Berkut. 2. 1993. - P. 16-20.
The peculiarities of the phenology, reproduction (nest building, egg laying, growth and development of nestlings, breeding success), behaviour are reviewed. The data were collected in the Volynia, Rovno, Zhitomir, Chernigov, northern part of the Ternopol and Kiev Regions of the Ukraine in 1966 - 1991. As a result of 25-years researches it was established: 1) spring arrival of starlings takes place in the 2-3 ten-day of March; 2) they nest mainly in the starling boxes (81.4 %), rarelier in tree hollows (13.5 %); 3) there are usually 4-5 eggs in one nest (83.9 %); 4) individual and geographical variability in the egg sizes is shown specifically within the northern part of the Ukraine, the eastern populations have the larger an more oval eggs (form index within Rovno Region is 70.0, within Chernigov Region - 67.3); 5) the whole reproduction period from the egg laying up to the nestling flight lasts 33-35 days (3. ten-day of April - the beginning of June); 6) the breeding success is less here than in other parts of breeding area (62.6 %). [Ukrainian].
Key words: Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, Northern Ukraine, breeding biology, song, behaviour, arrival.