PDFDOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/vzoo-2017-0049
The distribution of Turdus merula in the steppe zone of Ukraine is studied. Th e expansion of its range occurred in the steppe zone in artifi cial forestations, many of which have been established as early as the second half of the 19th century. However, the Blackbird expansion in the steppe zone of the Left -bank and Right-bank Ukraine started only in the middle of the 20th century, and in the Crimean steppe zone only to the end of the 20th century. Now, the southern border of this species’ range in the Left -bank Ukraine is almost at the northern coasts of the Black and Azov seas. In the Right-bank Ukraine its range is already at the seashore. In the Crimean steppe zone, the range expanded to the North of the forests of mountainous Crimea. Th e Blackbird populations farthest from the mountainous forests are found in artificial forest plantings at the northern and eastern borders of the peninsula. The species is absent from the western and north-western steppes of the Crimea.