Danube song dialect of the Chaffinch in the south-west of Ukraine. - E.D. Yablonovska-Grishchenko, V.N. Grishchenko, A.N. Tsvelykh. - Berkut. 20 (1-2). 2011. - P. 165-172.
During former studies based on the semi-quantitative method of song analysis (Yab­lo­novska-Grishchenko, 2006) 3 Chaffinch song dialects were described in forest and forest-steppe zones of Ukraine and in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Later 3 detached regional complexes (Danube, Lower Dnieper and South-East) were found in steppe zone. These complexes are characterized by some archaic features. In this paper we analyzed the Danube song complex. It is considered as a separate dialect. 5705 songs of 851 males of Chaffinch from 20 places of South-West of Ukraine recorded in 2008–2011 were used. Danube dialect is sharply detached. 57 song types were described in dialect core, and 42 from them were registered only in it. Structure of specific Danube song types is primitive, but it similar to song structure in Lower Dnieper dialect and the South-East regional complex. Some types are distinctive feature of these 3 complexes. Probably only a small part of Danube dialect is located in Ukraine. Researches in Romania and Moldova are necessary. [Russian].
Key words: Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, song type, contact area, similarity, sonogram.
Address: E.D. Yablonovska-Grishchenko, Kaniv Nature Reserve, 19000 Kaniv, Ukraine; e-mail: aetos@narod.ru.