CORVIDAE TOLERANCE TO HUMAN DISTURBANCE IN SETTLEMENT LANDSCAPES OF ZHYTOMIR (UKRAINE) ALEX MATSYURA * , KAZIMIERZ JANKOWSKI ** , ANASTASIA ZIMAROYEVA *** We determined the degree of anthropogenic tolerance of Corvidae species by analysis of flight initiation distance (FID) in rural and urban settlement landscapes. The FID significantly decreases in transition from rural to urban landscapes. We confirmed that Corvidae can successfully adapt to human presence and therefore can be used as the model species for modeling of synanthropization patterns. The results indicate that bird species with a high propensity to disperse and with large population sizes tend to decrease their FID more strongly along the urban-rural habitat gradient. This pattern was most apparent in the Rook. Based on FID, Corvidae species were classified as being tolerant to urban environmental conditions, with FID values showing decreasing trends along the urban-rural gradient, as in the Rook. Our results suggest that FID may be the relevant measure for analyzing birds' tolerance to urbanization and for assessing the speed by which species or populations can adjust or adapt to novel environmental conditions. Key words: birds, adaptation, synanthropization, human tolerance, Corvidae, Ukraine. INTRODUCTION Urban environment is the place for the existence of those animal species which have wide norm of reaction and their responses on human factors correspond to adaptation potentials (Rezanov, 2006; Møller, 2008; Rahimov, 2011). Urbanization affects birds’ survival, population structure, reproduction, and behavior. As urbanization increases, an understanding of how birds respond to the conversion of rural areas to urban ones is necessary to successfully conserve biodiversity. These modifications in land cover also provide a natural experiment for exploring how animals respond to modified environments. An important behavioural adaptation of birds to urban environment expresses their high level of tolerance to human presence. One of the most accessible methods of estimation of bird tolerance to human presence is an evaluation of flight initiation distance, FID (Rezanov, 2002; Kelin & Spiridonov, 2009). Flight initiation distance is the distance at which an animal begins to flee from an approaching predator (Møller, 2010). Because it is relatively easy to systematically approach animals until they flee, flight initiation distance is an excellent metric with which to quantify an individual’s fearfulness in a particular circumstance. ROM. J. BIOL. – ZOOL., VOLUME 60, No. 1, P. 39–47, BUCHAREST, 2015