We evaluated the abundance and distribution of low-elevation forest birds on windward Hawai'i Island during August 1993-February 1994, and present evidence of changes in the species composition of the forest bird community since 1979. Endemic Hawaiian birds occurred in native-dominated forests as low as 120 m elevation. Non-native species were detected at all survey locations. We observed non-native Saffron Finch Sicalis flaveola, previously unrecorded in Puna. Variable circular plot surveys of Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve indicated the disappearance of two native species ('I'iwi Vestiaria coccinea and 'O'u Psittitostra psittacea), and two non-native additions (Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea and Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelana) to the study area since the Hawai'i Forest Bird Survey conducted in 1979. We present evidence that native 'Elepaio Chasiempsis sandwichensis has experienced a decrease in population density and an elevational range contraction since 1979. Surveys indicate Puna's forest bird community has had increasing aliens and declining native species since 1979. The persistence of some native bird species within the range of avian disease vectors such as Culex quinquefasciatus in forests below 1,000 m elevation presents an important enigma that requires additional study.

Marquesan Imperial Pigeon Ducula galeata only survives on Nuku Hiva island in the Marquesas archipelago. It lives and nests mainly in small patches of forest with tall trees, in deep valleys. The population is likely to consist of only 80-150 birds. However, its forest habitat is in peril due to overgrazing, especially by goats, which precludes growth of young trees. Better control of feral herbivores should be a priority for the conservation of the species, as well as the cessation of poaching of this endangered pigeon. Introduced black rats Rattus rattus do not seem to be a threat for this bird.

The distribution and abundance patterns of Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus and Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis were studied in one undisturbed and one heavily altered rainforest landscape in the southern Western Ghats, India. The Agasthyamalai hills (Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, KMTR) contained over 400 km2 of continuous rainforest, whereas the Anamalai hills (now Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, IGWS) contained fragments of rainforest in a matrix of tea and coffee plantations. A comparison of point-count and line transect census techniques for Malabar Grey Hornbill at one site indicated much higher density estimates in point-counts (118.4/km2) than in line transects (51.5/km2), probably due to cumulative count over time in the former technique. Although line transects appeared more suitable for long-term monitoring of hornbill populations, point-counts may be useful for large-scale surveys, especially where forests are fragmented and terrain is unsuitable for line transects. A standard fixed radius point-count method was used to sample different altitude zones (600–1,500 m) in the undisturbed site (342 point-counts) and fragments ranging in size from 0.5 to 2,500 ha in the Anamalais (389 point-counts). In the fragmented landscape, Malabar Grey Hornbill was found in higher altitudes than in KMTR, extending to nearly all the disturbed fragments at mid-elevations (1,000–1,200 m). Great Hornbill persisted in the fragmented landscape using all three large fragments (> 200 ha). It was also recorded in four of five medium-sized fragments (25–200 ha) and one of five small fragments (< 25 ha), which was adjacent to shade coffee plantations. Abundance of Malabar Grey Hornbill declined with altitude and increased with food-tree species richness. Great Hornbill abundance increased with food-tree species richness, suggesting that maintenance of high diversity of hornbill food species in fragments is important for their persistence. It is likely that the smaller and less specialized Malabar Grey Hornbill will survive in disturbed and fragmented forest landscapes, while Great Hornbill is more vulnerable to habitat alteration. Protection and restoration of rainforest fragments and food-tree resources, besides protection of existing large fragments, will aid the conservation of hornbills in the region.

In this study we demonstrate that non-breeding adult Lesser White-fronted Geese Anser erythropus from the Fennoscandian breeding population may undertake long-distance moult migration eastwards. Of three individuals equipped with satellite transmitters at a spring staging site in northern Norway, two migrated to moulting sites in the area of Kolgujev Island and Kanin Peninsula, while the third headed towards the Taimyr Peninsula, all in northern Russia. The first leg of the moult migration route for non-breeders was between Finnmark, Norway and the Kanin Peninsula area in north-western Russia, a similar route to that taken on autumn migration by Fennoscandian Lesser White-fronted Geese that had bred successfully. After the moulting period, one of the individuals followed a south-western route to Poland and Germany, where it spent the first part of the winter. The satellite signals from the other two geese ceased abruptly in early autumn, indicating that the birds may have been illegally shot in Russia. Locating new moulting and migration stopover sites is of crucial importance for the conservation of the critically endangered Fennoscandian subpopulation of this species.

The Chimalapas region, in eastern Oaxaca, Mexico, holds lowland rainforests, tropical dry forests, and cloud forests typical of the Neotropics, as well as montane pine and pine-oak forests more typical of the Nearctic. Totaling more than 600,000 ha, much of the region is forested, and in a good state of preservation. The Chimalapas avifauna is by far the most diverse for any region of comparable size in the country, totalling at least 464 species in the region as a whole (with more than 300 species in the lowland rainforest) representing 44% of the bird species known from Mexico. Within the region, the humid Atlantic lowlands hold 317 species, the montane regions 113 species, and the southern dry forested lowlands 216 species. Important species present in the region include Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja and several other large eagles, Black Penelopina nigra and probably Horned Oreophasis derbianus Guans, Scarlet Macaw Ara macao, Cinnamon-tailed Sparrow Aimophila sumichrasti, Rose-bellied Bunting Passerina rositae, and Resplendent Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno. The area holds immense lowland rainforests and cloud forests that rank among the largest and best preserved in all of Mesoamerica, including a complete lowland-to-highland continuum, with entire watersheds preserved more or less intact.

The Kilum-Ijim forest is an excellent example of the ornithological riches of the Cameroon montane forest biome. The forest is also important to over 200,000 people who exert enormous pressure on the ecosystem. In 1995, the Kilum-Ijim Forest Project began systematic monitoring of birds, with the intention of using them as indicators of the overall condition of the forest, as well as monitoring the status of individual species. Analyses of data collected in 1999–2000 demonstrated some clear differences in habitat use, suggesting suites of bird species may be indicators of changes in vegetation. However, beyond this, little is known about the response of birds to habitat modifications, or the relationship between bird abundance and diversity of other organisms at Kilum-Ijim. It is argued that the objective of assessing changes in vegetation could be more satisfactorily pursued through direct measurement of structural changes in habitats. We highlight the necessity for a shift in the programme objectives to place greater emphasis on monitoring endemic and threatened bird species for their own status and on assessing changes in the bird community as a function of changes in the vegetation.