The Maleo Macrocephalon Maleo is a megapode bird endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia, that lays large eggs at communal nesting grounds in naturally-heated sands or soils. It is classified as ‘Endangered’ and many populations have been extirpated due to overexploitation of eggs and loss of connectivity between forest and nesting grounds. The distribution and status of nesting grounds across Northern and Central Sulawesi are relatively well-established, but almost nothing is known about potential Maleo populations of South-east Sulawesi. In this study we used previously established methods to formally assess the status of three Maleo nesting grounds in Buton, South-east Sulawesi, and interviewed egg collectors at these three sites to determine the trends of populations and threats over time. All nesting grounds were severely threatened and can be expected to be abandoned in the near future due to extensive harvest of eggs and deforestation. Eggs were collected both for the wildlife trade (intensively harvested and sold as luxury items to people from distant cities) and local use (opportunistically harvested and both eaten and sold locally). All egg collectors remarked on an increase in illegal logging around nesting grounds over the previous decade. Though the Maleo’s current situation is dire, previous case studies show that collaborative grassroots initiatives supported by government and NGOs can protect nesting grounds and reverse population declines.

Birds that are long-distance migrants partition their annual cycle among a number of locations over a large spatial range. The conservation of these species is particularly complex because it requires attention to a number of different and distant habitats based on knowledge of migratory phenology, routes and staging areas. In the case of the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola, a habitat specialist that breeds in Europe and spends the boreal winter in sub-Saharan Africa, non-breeding staging areas were widely unknown until recently. We applied light-level geolocators to adult male Aquatic Warblers at breeding sites in Belarus and Ukraine. Data from eight retrieved geolocators confirmed a south-west and then westward migration route through Europe via the northern Mediterranean with staging sites on the Iberian Peninsula and occasionally France and north-west Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, final staging areas were in Mali, either in the Inner Niger Delta or at (presumably) small water bodies in the desert, with one bird most likely staying in the north of Ivory Coast south of the previously assumed range. The birds probably stayed in the final staging areas for most of the non-breeding season, but the logger on only one bird provided data throughout the entire migration cycle. Pre-nuptial migration of the latter was by a more easterly route than the southward migration. Our study suggests that conservation strategies for Aquatic Warbler north of the Sahara should include consideration of unknown staging sites in the northern Mediterranean as well as on the Iberian Peninsula and in north-west Africa. South of the Sahara, our study demonstrates the importance of the Sahel for the conservation of the Aquatic Warbler, including both the major floodplains of the Niger River and small Sahelian wetlands that are under pressure from human development.

Thirty-two percent of bird species in South-East Asia are likely to become extinct by the end of this century. However, due to a lack of data this number may be an underestimate. The Chestnut-headed Partridge Arborophila cambodiana found in south-west Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountain range is a largely unknown potentially at-risk species. We used line transects and camera traps to survey A. cambodiana in four protected areas in the Cardamom Mountains to estimate population densities. We also assessed their current distribution range and broad scale habitat changes from 1996 to 2016. We found A. cambodiana in evergreen and semi-evergreen forest at a density of 1.23 calling males/km2, and at altitudes above 400 m and where the slope was between 11 and 43o. From 1996 to 2016 A. cambodiana’s potential habitat decreased by 11%, whilst the total evergreen forest cover in the Cardamom Mountains decreased by 20%. A. cambodiana has a very restricted range within which the habitat has been fragmented. Compounded by human disturbance and development activities that negatively affect the species, we suggest a revision of its IUCN Red List status from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Near Threatened’ as it partially meets a range of threatened Red List species criteria.

Knowledge of species-specific spatial ecology is critical for applying appropriate management strategies to maximise conservation outcomes. We used radio-telemetry to describe spatial behaviour of the critically endangered, island-endemic Mariana Crow Corvus kubaryi. To determine whether management strategies should reflect life stage, we measured the home ranges and daily movements of 22 Mariana Crows. Fledgling mobility was low during the first 31 days post-fledging and effects of age (fledgling or sub-adult) and time (months post-fledging or post-dispersal) were often driven entirely by this period. After controlling for reduced fledgling mobility, cumulative home range size increased over time for both age classes and was, on average, more than twice the area for sub-adults than fledglings. Sub-adults also tended to make longer daily movements than fledglings. Non-cumulative, monthly home range areas did not increase over time but the average overlap in home range area between consecutive months was only 63%, suggesting large shifts in space use each month. These results highlight the dynamic nature of Mariana Crow home ranges and suggest that large-scale management efforts are critical for protecting both breeding and non-breeding individuals. The application of the traditional home range concept to Mariana Crows and other wide-ranging passerine birds may result in sub-optimal management strategies. Instead, we recommend that the spatial and temporal scale of conservation efforts be informed by species-specific spatial behaviour across all relevant life stages.

Despite many notable successes, the failure rate of animal translocations remains high. Conservation practitioners and reintroduction specialists have emphasised the need for ongoing documentation of translocation attempts, whether successful or not, including detailed methodologies and monitoring approaches. This study reports on the first translocation of the North Island subspecies of New Zealand’s smallest bird, the endemic Rifleman Acanthisitta chloris granti. We describe an improved transfer methodology following recommendations arising from a previous translocation of South Island Rifleman Acanthisitta chloris chloris. Key modifications included a reduced capture window, shorter holding times, lack of extended aviary housing, and separation of territorial individuals during holding. Survival from capture to release increased from 52% to 97% using this new methodology. However, only 22% of 83 released birds were found in the reserve the next breeding season, resulting in an initial breeding population of only six males and five females. An integrated Bayesian analysis of three years of subsequent population data, including a population boost from a second translocation, projected a median decrease to 0–5 females over 10 years, but with 95% prediction intervals ranging from 0 to 33. These projections explicitly account for parameter uncertainty, as well as demographic stochasticity, and illustrate the need to do so when making inferences for small reintroduced populations.

Habitat loss and fragmentation, especially due to agriculture expansion, pose the main threats to biodiversity conservation. While some species are able to survive and proliferate in human-modified habitats (winner species), others are highly dependent on well-preserved habitats, being more vulnerable to extinction (losers). Many raptors can be considered loser species due to their high trophic position, large home ranges, and low reproductive rates. Consequently, this group is frequently used to reflect the environmental quality of habitats and the biodiversity status of communities. Here we describe the diurnal raptor assemblages found in shaded-cocoa agroforests (cabrucas) of Southern Bahia, Brazil, and the determinants of raptor occupancy in this system. We systematically surveyed diurnal raptors in 16 cabruca sites using complementary sampling methods – active search, playback, and point-count – and modeled species occupancy using covariates related to vegetation structure, landscape, management intensity, and biological traits (body mass, trophic level, and diet specialisation). We found a high number of species (at least 18) as able to use cabrucas and a negative relationship between species occupancy and the degree of diet specialisation. Thus, our results suggest that cabrucas have a high potential to mitigate the effects of forest loss and fragmentation on diurnal raptors, but this system alone may not support complete assemblages of this group. It highlights the need for the maintenance of forest remnants in the landscapes to increase species diversity at a regional scale and to assure the conservation of this group in Southern Bahian Atlantic Forest.

Olrog’s Gull Larus atlanticus is an endemic species of the Atlantic coast of southern South America and is currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List. The species breeds in coastal wetlands of Buenos Aires and Chubut provinces of Argentina and during winter migrates northwards as far as southern Brazil. During the breeding season the species is considered to have a specialised diet, foraging mostly on crabs. However, during the non-breeding season the gull presents a wider dietary spectrum (including fish) as a result of a potential association with commercial and sport fishing activities. The main goal of this study was to analyse the habitat use and overlap with natural and anthropogenic food resources of juvenile Olrog’s Gull during the winter in Mar Chiquita Lagoon, Buenos Aires. Twenty-two GPS devices were deployed during the winters of 2013 and 2014. A total of 1,088 fixes was gathered by GSM (both seasons combined). Analysis showed that the individuals were (kernel 95%) distributed in a limited area along the mouth of the lagoon. The core area (kernel 50%) covered only 0.3 km2 and was located in the south of the mouth. The overlap between juveniles and crab densities was lower than expected, while the overlap between juveniles and fishing effort was higher than expected during weekdays and lower during weekends. These results are of value for the further development of marine conservation measures for wintering areas which have so far been somewhat neglected while addressing the conservation status of the species.

Since its rediscovery in 1998, two major threats have been mentioned for the enigmatic Austral Rail Rallus antarcticus: cattle management by burning grass and rushes and predation by American mink Neovison vison. Added to the lack of a protocol to monitor this secretive bird, ever-growing threats make it necessary to study its global situation in depth to take accurate and urgent management decisions. We firstly studied how threats to the Austral Rail currently impact their occupancy and relative density (RD) at a wetland scale and habitat features associated with its presence at survey site scale inside wetlands in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. We additionally developed a monitoring protocol to detect the rail effectively and promptly by studying responses to playback with two different vocalisations at different times of the day and season. Both threats evaluated were negatively related to occupancy and RD of the Austral Rail, especially mink presence appearing to have an additive effect. We propose American mink control as crucial for Austral Rail conservation, while it would also be necessary to conserve a portion of wetlands exempt from burning and cattle presence. At survey sites, its presence was positively related with c.1–1.5 m tall rushes, whilst rails avoided low- density rush areas that resulted after management of rushes with fire to create pasture. To detect rails, both vocalisations can be confidently used at any time of the day and season. The poor knowledge about species ecology, mismanagement of vegetation in wetlands, expansion of American mink in Patagonia, construction on two dams in the Santa Cruz river basin, added to the already modified humidity conditions due to global climate change, force us to suggest that the Austral Rail should be considered as globally ‘Endangered’ (EN), to ensure the consideration of the species in management decisions.

This paper documents the catastrophic decline of the ‘Critically Endangered’ Fatu Hiva Monarch Pomarea whitneyi since 2000 and presents population dynamics and conservation actions for the species between 2008 and 2017. The Fatu Hiva Monarch conservation programme has prevented the extinction of the species thus far. However, after an initial increase in the population size within the management area between 2008 and 2012, recruitment subsequently declined. Improvements in the method of trapping to control cats in 2016 and 2017 coincided with encouraging results in terms of juvenile monarch survival rates, although two adult birds disappeared during the same period. The initial hypothesis, that the population would recover once the main threat, black (or ship) rat Rates Rattus predation, was effectively controlled in the breeding territories, has not proved to be correct. An alternative hypothesis assumes that cat predation, mainly on young birds, is limiting monarch recovery. Control of feral cats has been undertaken since 2010, but the implementation of a new trapping method (leg-hold traps) combined with a significant increase in cat trapping effort, has coincided with an increase in the number of cats culled, as well as monarch post-fledging survival in 2016 and 2017. For the first time in the project, no mortality has been observed for monarch chicks, fledged juveniles or immature birds. If this alternative hypothesis holds, we would expect to recruit young birds into the monarch population in the next year or two. First, this will reduce the likelihood that the Fatu Hiva Monarch will become extinct and second, provide a source population to either repopulate the island following the eradication of rats and cats or to translocate birds to a rat and cat free island.

Three subspecies of Island Thrush Turdus poliocephalus were historically found in New Caledonia. All these subspecies were considered extinct until 1978, when T. p. xanthopus was rediscovered on two small islands, Néba (∼ 3.5 km2) and Yandé (∼ 13 km2). On Néba, we estimated the population at 44–58 individuals. This Island Thrush population is dependent on the coastal forest, the richest habitat for invertebrates. However, the coastal forest habitat has been degraded in quality and extent. The Island Thrush forages in the litter by removing leaves with its bill. Fruits (diameter < 10 mm), picked from trees and swallowed whole, are also a significant component of its diet. Néba and Yandé are currently free of two nest predator species, the black rat Rattus rattus and the New Caledonian Crow Corvus moneduloides. On Néba, a low breeding success rate of 15.4% was found. To ensure conservation of these relict thrush populations, two actions at least should be implemented: setting up a biosecurity programme to keep islands free of black rats and increasing the area of coastal forest. The latter could be done by cutting down coconut trees in abandoned groves and planting tree species used by the Island Thrush to provide shade, fruits, good leaf litter, and nest support.

The provision of artificial nests can improve the conservation status of threatened bird species that are limited by nest-site availability. The shortage of natural cavity nesting sites is one factor limiting the population growth of the Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri. In an 1,800 km2 study area in north-eastern South Africa, 31 wooden nest-boxes were installed during 2002–2015. We investigated the relationships between nests, as well as environmental and social factors, with breeding. Generalised linear mixed models were fitted to the observational data and identified positive relationships between breeding attempts and each of home range size and the previous year’s rainfall; as well as positive relationships between breeding success (amongst the groups that attempt breeding) and each of earlier breeding, nest height and thickness of the nest cavity wall. The provision of nest-boxes increased the number of breeding groups and although breeding success also increased initially, it later declined as the density of breeding groups increased above 20 groups. Although nest-boxes alone did not increase overall breeding success, they are an effective conservation tool to enhance the population of Southern Ground Hornbills if spaced optimally, to enhance reproductive output in areas where suitable nest-sites are scarce or lacking.

Rudd’s Lark Heteromirafra ruddi is a globally threatened species endemic to eastern South Africa’s highland grasslands, where climate envelope modelling has predicted a dramatic reduction in its already small and fragmented distribution. Here we assess recent changes in one of its last strongholds, the Wakkerstroom grasslands. We assessed changes in Rudd’s Lark population and habitat condition over 12 years, within a core section of an area intensively surveyed in 2002–2004. Our 2016 survey found lower absolute numbers of Rudd’s Larks (five transects with Rudd’s Lark present compared to nine in 2002; nine individuals compared to 32), as well as a lower probability of encounter. Transects with shorter grass and higher altitude had a higher probability of Rudd’s Larks occurrence, consistent with findings in 2002. Point locations where Rudd’s Larks were recorded had shorter grass, higher forb cover and more bare ground cover, and tended to be at higher altitudes than random locations in the surrounding grassland. Remotely-sensed fire data showed that late-season fires, which pose a threat to Rudd’s Lark nestling survival, are generally uncommon. Field observations indicated that seven transects (of which two previously contained Rudd’s Lark) that had previously been grassland had been converted to intensive crop production. While Rudd’s Lark may be affected by direct loss of grassland habitat through conversion to crops, the species has also declined within remaining grassland habitat. The drivers of decline remain unclear but this recent observed local decline of Rudd’s Lark in the immediate Wakkerstroom area supports the species’ recent IUCN uplisting to globally ‘Endangered’, given that its previous downlisting was based on habitat requirements and breeding success from this area.