Species diversity of birds is one of the important conditions for the existence of an ecosystem. Birds are part of food chains: some species of birds use insects as food - pests of trees, other species prefer seeds and fruits of trees - helping plants to spread, they themselves are food for mammals and predatory bird species. Thanks to this, ecosystems are capable of self-healing and can develop. Therefore, studying the species diversity of birds is one of the first stages towards the issue of preserving and restoring biological diversity on earth. Recently, the problem of studying the species diversity of birds in different territories has become relevant.

Based on the urgency of the problem, we decided to study the species composition of birds on the school grounds. Interest was also aroused by the fact that there is a lot of diverse woody vegetation on the territory; it has been growing for a long time. And we constantly hear the voices of birds. But we don’t know the species composition, so we decided to fill this gap.

The village of Uspenovka, Bureya district, Amur region, is located in the south of the region. Warm summers with average July temperatures above 20 0 C. In summer there is a lot of rain. In winter, strong winds, thin snow cover, low temperatures up to 35 0 C. Vegetation is mainly broad-leaved forests.

The area we selected for observation is located in the center of the village. Uspenovka is surrounded on 3 sides by roads (the busiest eastern side) and private houses of local residents. On the northern side there are vegetable gardens of the local population. The tree species are mainly small-leaved, the nature of the plantings is mixed. In the arboretum, ecological department, orchard, crown closure is 40%. The territory has a leveled surface; previously there were private buildings on this territory.

The school area is an established and fairly stable ecosystem. Plot area 1.5 years. Tree planting time: 1980 – establishment of an orchard and arboretum – woody plants: bird cherry, apple tree, pear, plum, alder, maple. The height of the trees reaches from 3 to 5 m. 1983 – trees were planted around the stadium, mainly poplar, aspen, and birch. The height of the trees is more than 5 meters., 1985 - the laying of the alley of veterans, the tree vegetation is white birch. Since 1978, trees have been planted on the southern side - birch, larch, spruce, pine and on the eastern side of the school building - birch, this is the environmental department of the educational and experimental site. Currently, mushrooms grow in the tree plantings: trumpets, russula, dry milk mushrooms , value. Some tree representatives reach a height of 12-15 m.

Birds that are not in doubt when identified:

• great tit - the great tit has the upper part of the head, sides of the neck, throat and crop black, white cheeks, and the chest and belly are yellow with a wide black stripe in the middle. The back and lower back are green. In females, the black stripe on the belly is narrower, and the yellow color is less bright than in males. The song of the great tit sounds like a ringing trill “si-si-si”. This species belongs to sedentary and nomadic birds;
• pigeons - an ordinary rock pigeon with a white wing lining and “loin” and with dark stripes across the wings;
• barn swallows - the barn swallow is a small bird, the size of a sparrow. The outer tail feathers are elongated into long “braids”, due to which the tail has a fork-shaped shape, the beak is short and wide, the legs are small and weak. The forehead and throat are reddish in color; The upper side of the body is blue-steel with a violet tint, and there is a wide stripe across the chest of the same color. The abdomen is white;
• magpie - order Passeriformes, the magpie is a brightly colored long-tailed bird. Head, neck, back, tail and wings are black.
Birds requiring identification:
• hawk - sparrowhawk - a bird the size of a dove, with short wings and an elongated tail. The dorsal side of the body is brownish-gray, the underside has transverse stripes. This bird can be recognized by its ringing voice “ki-ki-ki...”;
• brown-headed chickadee - Parus montanus - or puffy chickadee. A medium-sized, large-headed, rather long-tailed tit, length 12 - 14 cm, weight 9 - 14 g, wingspan 16 - 22 cm, cap reaching the back, more brown.
• grosbeak - greenish-gray, the grosbeak has a short powerful beak capable of splitting a walnut, length up to 23 cm, reddish color, long ocher wings of medium length, pointed, tail rather short, notched.

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