Winter residential ornithocomplexes of the south-eastern Moscow Region

Although studies of the avifauna in the cities of the Moscow Region have been carried out since the early 19th century, the vast majority have focused solely on species diversity and have been conducted during the warm season, from spring to autumn. This article examines the quantitative parameters of winter residential avicomplexes in three cities (highly urbanized Ramenskoe, less built‑up Voskresensk, and the regional centre Kolomna, located farther from the capital) and two settlements (the small, predominantly garden suburb Vinogradovo and the former workers' settlement Peski). The parameters assessed include bird abundance during the winter season, dominant species by abundance, and species diversity. Bird abundance across the study areas ranged from 960 to 1,705 individuals/km², with lower values in cities compared to settlements, owing to the higher abundance of dominant species in the latter. The predominant wintering species were exclusively typical sedentary urban birds: rock pigeon, jackdaw, great tit, and Eurasian tree sparrow, which accounted for 10% to 40% of the total population density. A total of 45 bird species were recorded, with the number of species per locality ranging from 23 to 31; species richness was higher in settlements than in cities, following the same pattern as abundance

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