On islands where populations of the endemic Seychelles Fody Foudia sechellarum and the introduced Madagascan Red Fody F. madagascariensis coexist, previous studies have concluded that the two species are reproductively isolated. On Aride Island, Seychelles, one female F. sechellarum became established within a population of F. madagascariensis and produced at least two hybrid offspring. This paper describes the first known case of hybridization between the two species and highlights the possible biological consequences.

In the 1950s the Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis was a highly threatened single-island endemic species with a population of 26 individuals confined to Cousin Island in the inner Seychelles. Following long-term management of Cousin, the population steadily recovered to around 300–360 birds. In order to give the species the security of additional breeding populations, some warblers were successfully transferred to the islands of Aride and Cousine in September 1988 and June 1990 respectively. During the three years after the transfer to Aride and the first year after the transfer to Cousine, mean territory quality (measured as insect prey available) on these islands was significantly higher than that on Cousin, leading to higher reproductive success per territory and survival of juveniles and adult birds. In November 1991, all transferred birds were still alive, and 205 young had fledged successfully, bringing the total warbler population to c.585 birds. By then there was enough suitable space still remaining on Aride and Cousine for young birds to establish territories and the rise in warbler numbers is expected to continue. The successful establishment of three self-sustaining and viable breeding populations has ensured that the Seychelles Warbler is no longer a globally threatened species.

The Chestnut-bellied Partridge Arborophila javanica is confined to the hill and mountain forests of Java. Until recently, its range was thought to be restricted to the western and eastern part of the island. Surveys performed in March-September 1994 in the central part of the island showed it to be present there as well. The species was found in six remnant forest patches where it was not known to occur. Data on habitat preferences and altitudinal distribution are given.

Raccoons Procyon lotor were introduced into the Haida Gwaii archipelago of British Columbia in the 1940s and have spread throughout the islands. Although feeding mainly on inter-tidal invertebrates, they also take seabirds. Haida Gwaii supports internationally important populations of several species of burrow-nesting auks. In 1993, we visited several islands to determine the current status of their seabird populations. We found extensive signs of predation on auks by raccoons, including burrows that had been excavated and carcasses from which little had been eaten, suggesting excess killing. On islands with raccoons, numbers of burrow nesting auks had fallen by as much as 80% since 1986, whereas on islands without raccoons numbers had remained stable or increased. The evidence obtained suggests that burrow nesting auks will not coexist with raccoons and that once raccoons are established the auk populations will be rapidly extirpated.

Tropical forests are disappearing very rapidly, so there is often not time for thorough quantitative studies. It therefore becomes increasingly important to use rapid, reliable and informative methods which are also adjusted to tropical logistic constraints. In this paper we use data from seven dry and semi-humid temperate forest patches in Bolivia and three humid, temperate forests in Ecuador to estimate the efficiency, potential biases and the amount of information obtained by the 20-species list method, which we applied in a rapid assessment of avian species richness. Even when used without any standardizations, 20-species lists produce more data than simple species lists, particularly on the amount of survey effort, the order of species richness, the relative abundances of species and the α-diversity index. This approach precludes comparisons with lists from other sites. However, when applied with standardization of area, altitude and effort, the method is neither easier to use nor superior to point counts (based upon vocalizations) in combination with dawn chorus tape-recordings. In species-poor habitats, it is more appropriate to use lists of fewer species. The method is recommended due to its simplicity and the increased quantity of information produced, but it requires a reasonable amount of observer competence and is therefore unfit for use by people ignorant of local avifaunas.

The Ultramarine Lory (Ultramarine Lorikeet, Marquesas Lorikeet, Pihiti) Vini ultramarina is one of the most threatened insular Lory species. Endemic to the Marquesas Islands, where it probably once ranged throughout the archipelago, it has been nearly extirpated from all but the tiny island of Ua Huka. Given the vulnerability of a single population inhabiting one small island, and the decline of the species in recent years, establishment of the Ultramarine Lory on another less disturbed island within its historic range has been proposed as a conservation strategy. This paper describes a 1991 survey evaluating the status of the Ultramarine Lory in the Marquesas Islands, and three subsequent translocations of birds from the island of Ua Huka to the island of Fatu Hiva. Twenty-nine birds were relocated during the period from 1992 to 1994 at the request of the Delegation de L'Environnement, French Polynesia. A preliminary survey, prior to the third translocation, indicates that previously transferred birds are surviving and may be reproducing; an intensive survey is planned in 1997.

To produce conservation indices from bird community data, with the aim of identifying and comparing areas of regional conservation concern, we selected bird community samples randomly over a large study area, without including habitat features a priori in the sampling procedure. Subsequently, we subjected the samples to a cluster analysis to identify a posteriori bird communities to be indexed together with their associated habitat and distribution/abundance on a regional scale. We identified 15 bird community types and were able to characterize each of them by a community conservation index (CCI) taking into account three different components of rarity: habitat selectivity, geographical distribution, and abundance. A cluster of four communities was associated with lowland farmland and woodland; another cluster of five was found at higher average altitudes and degree of urbanization; a third one of six showed a montane distribution. This third cluster showed much higher CCI values in comparison with the first two suggesting that the index here proposed is very sensitive to a high community selectivity and a restricted distribution/abundance.