88
Kratki prispevki / Short Communications
New data on the Birds of Ponor 
Mountains, (W Bulgaria) 
Novi podatki o pticah pogorja Ponor  
(Z Bolgarija)
Stoyan Ch. Nikolov 
 Central Laboratory of General Ecology (BAS), 
Gagarin 2, BG−1113 Sofia, Bulgaria,
e−mail: nikolov100yan@abv.bg
Up to year 2000 only fragmentary data about birds of 
the Ponor Mountain existed. After that more extensive 
studies were carried out. The bird species composition 
and status was determined by Stoyanov (2001) and 
breeding bird distribution and number by Nikolov 
(2003) and Nikolov & Vassilev (2003 & 2004). The 
aim of the present study was to broaden the knowledge 
of bird species composition and status.
fieldwork. All habitats were visited and observations
were made in all seasons. The status of species was 
described following Svensson et al. (2000) with some 
modifications: rB − resident breeding species: present 
during the whole year; mB − migratory breeding 
species: coming in spring, breeding in study area and 
migrating in autumn; P − passage visitor: present only 
during migration; W − winter visitor: present only 
during winter period; V − vagrant species: present 
occasionally, out of migration period and not breeding 
or wintering in the in the studied area; E − extinct 
species: conspicuous resident breeders in the study 
region, which were not proved for the present survey; 
NF − species with no fixed status: shy resident or
migrating breeders, found during past works, but not 
observed during the present survey.
Till 2001 176 species were known for the Ponor 
Mountains (Stoyanov 2001). During the present 
study 9 species unrecorded before in the study area 
were found (Table 1). 
As a final result the number of bird species observed
in the Ponor Mountains is 185. Most of them are 
Figure 1: Location of the Ponor Mountains in Bulgaria
Slika 1: Polo`aj pogorja Ponor v Bolgariji
The Ponor Mountains is a part of the Western Stara 
Planina (Stefanov 2002; Figure 1) and belongs to the 
continental moderate climatic zone (Vulev 1997). 
The study area comprises a total of 272 km2 between 
360 and 1601 m a.s.l. and borders to the west on the 
Ginska River, to the south on the Iskretska River; to 
the east on the Iskar River and abuts to north on the 
Koznica Mountains. The eastern border of the Ponor 
Mountains lies on the Via Aristotelis migration route. 
The major plant communities are formed by trees 
such as oak Quercus sp., hornbeam Carpinus sp. and 
Beech Fagus sylvatica (Bondev 1991).
The present study was carried out during 8 years 
between 1996 and 2003, for a total of 115 days of 
Figure 2: Proportion of different groups of birds according 
to their status in the Ponor Mountains (legend see text)
Slika 2: Dele` skupin ptic glede na njihov status v pogorju 
Ponor (legenda glej tekst)
breeders – 115 species (Nikolov & Vassilev 2004), 
where 60 are resident and 55 are migratory. The rest 
70 species are not breeding in the study area: the 
passage visitors during spring and autumn migrations 
are 41, the winter visitors − 15, the vagrants − 4, these 
with no fixed status − 9 and there is 1 extinct species 
(Figure 2).
89
Acrocephalus 27 (128-129): 83−93, 2006
Acknowledgments: My most cordial thanks go to 
Associate Prof. Tanyo Michev for his valuable advice 
and guidance during the preparation of this work.
Povzetek 
^lanek prispeva nove podatke o sestavi in statusu 
nekaterih vrst ptic v pogorju Ponor, Z Bolgarija. 
Ugotovljenih je bilo devet novih vrst, obdobje 
raziskave pa je trajalo kar 8 let, opravljenih pa je bilo 
115 terenskih dni med leti 1996 in 2003. Skupno 
{tevilo vrst tega obmo~ja se je tako povi{alo s 176 na 
185 vrst. Na pogorju gnezdi 115 vrst (60 stalnic in 
55 selivk), ostale vrste pa so: 41 preletnih gostov, 15 
zimskih gostov, 4 klate`i, 1 izumrla vrsta in 9 vrst, ki 
imajo nejasen status.
References
Bondev, I. (1991): The Vegetation in Bulgaria − Univ. Press 
“St. Kl. Ohr.”, Sofia. (in Bulgarian)
Nikolov, S. (2003): New locality in unusual habitat 
of Tengmalm’s Owl (Aegolius funereus) in Bulgaria. 
− Buteo 13: 89−93.
Table 1: New species found in the Ponor Mountains during the present survey, their status and observation details 
(abbreviations see text).
Tabela 1: Nove vrste najdene med raziskavo v pogorju Ponor, njihov status in podrobnosti opazovanja (okraj{ave glej tekst).
Species / Vrsta Status Date / Datum N Location / Kraj
Circus pygargus P 9 May 1999 1 male 2 km north of Zimevitza village at 1400 m a.s.l.
Pandion haliaetus P 15 Oct 2000 1 along the Iskar river near Svoge town
Gallinula chloropus mB Apr − Sep; 2001 & 2002 4 small marsh along the Iskar river near Svoge town
Alectoris chukar NF
according to the information 
from local rangers the Chukar 
was introduced in the region 
(Manastirishte area) for hunt in 
the 90s but it was not confirmed 
during the present study 
Aegolius funereus rB Feb − Jun; 2000 & 2002 4 males
near Dobravitza village in 2000 
and near Brakyovtzi village in 
2002 in Beech Fagus sylvatica 
forest (Nikolov 2003).
Apus pallida mB May 2002 6 (3 pairs) the hut Petrohan
Anthus campestris mB 24 Jun 2002 2 (pair) northwest of Breze village
Anthus pratensis P 9 Apr 1999 3 Zimevishki Kladenec valley 
15 Oct 2000 5 Shiroki Val valley 
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus P 15 Oct 2000 1 outflow of Iskretska river
Nikolov, S. & Vassilev, V. (2003): Census of breeding birds 
in the Ponor Mountains, western Bulgaria. − Bird Census 
News 16 (2): 42−56.
Nikolov, S. & Vassilev, V. (2004): Breeding bird atlas of 
the Ponor Mountains, western Bulgaria. − Sandgrouse 
26(1): 7−22.
Stefanov, P. (2002): �The Stara Planina mountain system�. 
pp. 31−33 In: Geography of Bulgaria. − For Com, Sofia.
(in Bulgarian)
Stoyanov, G. (2001): �The birds of Ponor Mountain�. 
− Forestry Ideas 25: 101−125. (in Bulgarian)
Svensson, L., Grant, P., Mullarney, K. & Zetterström, 
D. (2000): The most complete guide to the birds of 
Britain and Europe. − Harper Collins, London.
Vulev, S. (1997): �Climatic regions – Physical geography of 
Bulgaria�. − BAS, Sofia. (in Bulgarian)
Arrived / Prispelo: 9.2.2005
Accepted / Sprejeto: 5.10.2006