The long-range, migratory eastern relict population of Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita has been steadily declining since the time of discovery in 2002, despite the protection programme in place at the breeding grounds in Syria. Assessing the ecological conditions and threats along the migration route and at the wintering site, both discovered in 2006, has become a priority for this “Critically Endangered” species. Adult ibises spent the winter at the same site on the central Ethiopian highland plateau, from August until mid-February during five consecutive winters (2006-2011). The wintering site was surveyed during four field visits and assessed through a spatial analysis of 1,067 satellite locations. The site is in an agro-pastoral landscape, inhabited by a settled community of people living in relatively poor and isolated conditions. Home range analysis based on kernel distributions showed that the bald ibises used a core range area of 9.1–19.0 km² (confirmed by direct visual observations in the field) and an extended range area of 61.0–126.1 km². These figures are c.20 and 60 times smaller, respectively, than those calculated for the breeding site in Syria. Eighty-one percent of the core area in Ethiopia was used in all five years confirming the birds’ fidelity to this wintering site. Ibises preferred to forage in wet or dry pastures and in recently cut hayfields, and avoided tall grass, uncut hayfields and cultivation. Despite dependence on human-created habitats, human disturbance observed in the field was minimal. The main short-term threat for the ibises was judged to be the potential raising of attention on the part of the local community specifically towards these few individual ibises. In the medium term, the main threat comes from the conversion of pastures into crops and the potential use of fertilisers and pesticides.

The Fennoscandian population of the Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus (LWfG) is on the verge of extinction and migrates from northern Fennoscandia to Greece on a regular seasonal basis. For the first time, diet selection was investigated during two years at Kerkini Lake, a wintering site in Greece. The relative use of LWfG’s feeding habitats was systematically recorded by visual observations of the LWfG flocks. Food availability was measured by the relative cover of available vegetation types while the diet composition was determined by the microhistological analysis of droppings. In addition, we determined crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin content of the most preferred plant species by LWfG and all vegetation categories that contributed to LWfG diet in the middle of the duration of their stay at Kerkini Lake and after their departure from the lake. LWfG feeding habitat was exclusively marshy grassland in water less than 5 cm deep up to 300–400 m away from the shore. LWfG selected a diverse number of plant species (33), however, grass made up the 58% of their diets. The most preferred plant species were Echinochloa crus-galli, Cyperus esculentus, Scirpus lacustris and Ranunculus sceleratus. LWfG departed from Kerkini Lake in mid-December to the Evros Delta (Thrace, eastern Greece), when either food availability falls in very low levels or flooding occurred in their main feeding habitat. Consequently, as long as food and habitat resources are available for LWfG, it is very likely that the birds will winter mainly at Kerkini Lake and not at the Evros Delta, which will contribute to further minimisation of the theoretical risk of accidental shooting of LWfG at the latter wintering habitat. Thus, future conservation actions should primarily focus on the grassland improvement at Kerkini Lake enhancing the availability of food resources for LWfG (mainly grasses) and the protection of the feeding habitat from flooding.

A review by Peterson (2006) claims that a new species-level taxonomy leads to improved conservation insights for Philippine birds. However, it does not report how borderline taxonomic cases were dealt with, how many taxa and specimens were examined, how closely the evaluations were made, why four key museums were omitted from the survey, and why certain taxa were omitted despite their presence in museums visited. It provides no conclusive or accurate diagnoses in more than 40% of taxa on the first two pages of the Appendix, and overlooks another 16% that have already achieved species-level recognition. It unjustifiably asserts that work was hampered by lack of material, and inappropriately calls for the collection of a highly threatened taxon. It employs one unstable diagnostic method but preaches the virtue of another, entirely different but equally unstable. All these shortcomings undermine confidence in the paper's rigour; and reference to the recent conservation literature shows that in any case no new conservation insights have resulted.

Release into the wild is the preferred outcome for rehabilitated animals, but often little is known about what happens to individuals following their release. Increased knowledge of post-release survival and reintegration into the wild could improve release and rehabilitation strategies. To assess the survival and reintegration of rehabilitated Endangered Carnaby’s Cockatoos Zanda latirostris into wild flocks we studied the movements and behaviour of 23 birds fitted with satellite tracking devices. We assessed longer term survival by collating records of leg-banded birds over eight years. Rehabilitated birds had an estimated annual survival rate of 0.73. The band recovery rate for all rehabilitated Carnaby’s Cockatoos banded between 2005 and 2013 was not significantly different to those fitted with tracking devices (10.3% versus 13.0% respectively, P = 1). Physical, social and behavioural indicators of fitness were used to assess the success of the reintegration of rehabilitated birds. Released birds flew, roosted and foraged with wild birds. Whilst pair bond formation and breeding of study birds could not be confirmed during this study, behaviours associated with pair bonding were observed, including allo-preening and male courtship displays. The rehabilitation process and pre-release procedure for identifying individuals ready for release was effective at selecting suitable release candidates.

The Yellow Cardinal Gubernatrix cristata is an ‘Endangered’ passerine from southern South America. For the past three years a management plan for Yellow Cardinals has been implemented in Argentina, in which rescued individuals from the illegal cage bird trade were released back into suitable habitats within their population of origin. We studied the reproductive success of a mixed population of released and wild Yellow Cardinals in La Pampa province, Argentina, during the reproductive season of 2019. The population was highly parasitized by the brood parasitic Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis. The frequency of parasitism was 100% and the intensity of parasitism was 4.5 ± 3.4 (mean ± SD) eggs per parasitized nest (range 1–13). No Yellow Cardinal chicks were recruited in the monitored nests, mainly as a consequence of Shiny Cowbird parasitism. The unusually high rate of parasitism led to a poor outcome of the reintroduction programme and indicates the need to update the conservation actions that have been carried out for the Yellow Cardinal so far. Shiny Cowbird abundance varies within the distribution of Yellow Cardinals, related to habitat modification and farming activities. Thus, further research on habitat suitability and assessment of Shiny Cowbird abundance should be incorporated into future strategies for the conservation of the Yellow Cardinal.

The aim of this study was to assess the temporal transferability of species distribution models (SDMs) and their potential implications for bird conservation. We quantified the loss and fragmentation of Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus and Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus habitats over 13 years (2001–2014) in a highly dynamic landscape in north-western Spain. For this purpose, priority habitats for the target species were modelled at four different spatial scales using an ensemble forecasting framework. To explore the temporal transferability of our ensemble predictions, the models were back-projected to the land cover conditions in 2001 and evaluated using historical occurrence data. In addition, models calibrated with historical data were projected to the land cover conditions in 2014 and evaluated using updated occurrence data. Changes in availability and connectivity of suitable habitats between both years were estimated at four spatial scales from a set of widely-used indicators. SDMs showed a good predictive accuracy but with limited temporal transferability due to changes in the species-habitat relationships between 2001 and 2014. The results showed a decrease in the avaliability of suitable habitats of 33.4% and 47.7% for Montagu’s Harrier and Common Kestrel, respectively; with the subsequent increase in their fragmentation. However, our estimates were found to be strongly dependent on the scale of analysis and model transferability. Changes in habitat availability and connectivity ranged from -48% to +54% for Montagu’s Harrier, and from +116% to +5.6% for Common Kestrel. We call for caution when using SDMs beyond the model calibration time period to guide bird conservation. This is especially important for raptors, often characterised by low population sizes and large home ranges, and particularly sensitive to unstable, highly dynamic environmental conditions. In light of these results, specific, long-standing monitoring protocols remain essential to ensure accurate modelling performance and reliable future projections.

Mapping migratory routes and the distribution of species during migration requires information collected over large scales (e.g. survey data), or the ability to follow specific movements (e.g. using tracking devices), which is often limited to a few individuals. For endangered species, such techniques may be impractical, but developments in flight range modelling allow inferences about migratory routes and potential site occupancy, given a few morphological parameters. We modelled flight range in a rapidly declining population of continental Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa limosa departing from a staging site in Iberia during spring migration and found that the vast majority of godwits are able to reach the breeding grounds in a single flight. Contrary to the traditional use of staging sites in France (and Morocco), godwits currently staging in Iberia are predicted to fly directly to The Netherlands and be present at breeding locations earlier than previously expected and observed. Despite harbouring approximately 75% of the total population during spring migration, Iberian staging sites currently lack any legal protection. Our example of the Black-tailed Godwit illustrates the potential of this approach to identify migration strategies and locate staging sites for species of conservation concern for which such information may be virtually absent.

We investigated population productivity and habitat selection of the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax in the late breeding period, in grassland-dominated landscapes of south-west Iberia. Specifically, our goals were to investigate how these parameters are influenced by the management of (1) grazing and (2) hay production. We conducted bird counts from 22 June to 4 July (2012 to 2016) using low speed 4x4 car surveys. The relationship between the density of the species, population productivity and farm management (grazing and haying) was evaluated using Generalized Linear Mixed Models and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Male and female densities were significantly higher in short vegetation compared to all other types of vegetation considered, but population productivity was similar in short and medium vegetation. Hay stubbles were found to be unattractive for the species. The availability of suitable habitats depends on the timing of grazing, notably of seasonal (spring) grazing. Species density was higher in fields ungrazed during winter and with moderate to high stocking rates in spring (around 0.8 LU/ha or higher), depending, at least for males and females, on each year’s weather characteristics. We conclude that low to moderate stocking rates during winter and spring are essential to ensure successful breeding and thus population persistence. Current levels of haying in our study area are detrimental for the species’ conservation.

Since our paper on the efficiency and biases of 20-species lists (Poulsen et al. 1997) went to press we have recognized a further two biases in the method, after discussions with C. Rahbek. We remarked in our paper that the abundance curves were behaving rather strangely and that “the importance of these phenomena needs to be investigated in more detail”. The behaviour may be due to the method setting constraints on the highest possible frequency, namely the number of times a species occurs in 20-species lists. This could affect the calculation of the expected abundances and hence the a-index. Another bias must be the indirect way of determining the relative abundances, ignoring the true number of individuals. A species with many individuals will be given the same relative abundance as a species with very few individuals if both species occur in the same number of 20-species lists. We do not know the importance of these constraints but recommend that the method is not used until the results of a current computer modelling study examining its efficiency (S. Herzog and M. Kessler pers. comm.) are known.

Between June and September 1995 estimates were made of the population densities of birds inhabiting fragments of unprotected montane cloud forests in southern Ecuador. The study focused on 10 species: Bearded Guan Penelope barbata, Golden-plumed Parakeet Leptosittaca branickii, Red-faced Parrot Hapalopsittaca pyrrhops, White-capped Parrot Pionus seniloides, Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan Andigena hypoglauca, Barred Fruiteater Pipreola arcuata, Turquoise Jay Cyanolyca turcosa, Great Thrush Turdus fuscater, Hooded Mountain-tanager Buthraupis montana, and Mountain Cacique Cacicus leucoramphus. Species assemblages and population densities varied greatly between sites, despite the presence of similar habitats and altitudinal ranges. Substantial populations of the threatened Bearded Guan, Grey-breasted Mountain-Toucan and Golden-plumed Parakeet were found in areas previously unstudied, as well as in areas previously known to be important. Currently unprotected areas are important for the conservation of montane cloud forest birds.

The São Tomè Grosbeak Neospiza concolor, previously known from three nineteenth century specimens from the southern part of São Tomè, was rediscovered in August 1991, when two birds were seen in a small clearing above the Rio Xufexufe in the remote forests in the south-west of the island.

Ambatovaky Special Reserve was created in 1956 and is the largest lowland rainforest reserve in Madagascar, comprising more than half of the total area of this habitat represented in the country's protected area system, yet there are no measures in place actively to protect it, due to its remoteness and a lack of funds. This study in February-March 1990, part of the first faunal survey to be undertaken in the reserve, found seven threatened, five near-threatened and two other localized bird species. In itself this would make the reserve an important site for conservation. However, three of the finds are of particular note: Ambatovaky is one of only two known sites for the Red-tailed Newtonia Newtonia fanovanae which was rediscovered in 1989; a dead Madagascar Serpent-eagle Eutriorchis astur was found - the first specimen since 1930 of one of the world's rarest raptors; and the White-breasted Mesite Mesitornis variegata was discovered in rainforest where Brown Mesite M. unicolor was also present, this being the only known case of sympatry within the endemic Mesitornithidae family. Shifting cultivation threatens the habitat of all these species and an integrated plan for conservation and sustainable development for the local people is urgently needed.

La Réserve Spéciale d'Ambatovaky a été crée en 1956 et représente la plus grande réserve de forêt pluviale à basse altitude de Madagascar. Elle couvre plus de la moitié de la superficie totale de cet habitat, intégrée au système de zones protégées du pays. Pourtant, à cause de l'isolement géographique et du manque de ressources financières, aucune mesure de protection active n'a pu être encore mise en place. Cette étude accom-plie en février-mars 1990, et faisant partie de la première recherche menée sur la faune de cette réserve, a permis de découvrir sept espéces d'oiseaux menacées, cinq especes presque menacees et deux espèces locales. En soi, cela suffirait pour dormer à cette réserve le statut de site important pour la conservation. Cependant, trois de ces decouvertes méritent une attention particulière: Ambatovaky est l'un des deux seuls sites connus abritant la Newtonia fanovanae qui a été redécouverte en 1989; un aigle-autour de Madagascar, l'Eutriorchis astur a été trouvé mort - le premier spécimen depuis 1930 de l'un des rapaces les plus rares au monde; et le Mesitornis variegata, découvert dans la forêt pluviale où le Mesitornis unicolor éiait également présent, ceci représentant le seul cas connu de sympatrie à l'intérieur de la famille endémique des Mesitornithidae. L'exten-sion des cultures agricoles menace l'habitat de toutes ces espèces, et il est urgent d'établir un plan de conservation et de développement pour la population locale compatible avec l a conservation des ressources naturelles.

Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax surveys were conducted in Iran in autumn and winter from 2005/2006 to 2008/2009. Across northern Iran, Little Bustard presence was confirmed at 15 of the 84 sites visited during the surveys. Three main wintering regions were identified: the Moghan Plain in the north-west of the country, the Turkmen Sahra Plain at the south-east corner of the Caspian Sea and the Sarakhs Plain in the north-east, close to the Afghan border. Up to 10,050 individuals were counted in winter 2009 in the Moghan Plain, which was recognised as the most important area for wintering Little Bustards in Iran. The species was also found in good numbers in Miankaleh, Gomishan, Soufikam, Shour Lake and Sarakhs. Flocks comprising 51 to 500 individuals were the most commonly observed and represented 32% of occurrences. A marked increase in wintering population size was noted in recent years. The main wintering period in Iran extends from November to February. At a national scale, we estimated the Iranian wintering population of Little Bustards at 5,000–10,000 individuals. This preliminary assessment suggests the need for a nationwide survey, emphasising in particular the western, south-western and central parts of the country that were overlooked in our study. It suggests further that Little Bustards in Iran would greatly benefit from national and regional conservation programmes.

Because migrant birds occur in different parts of the world in different seasons, their numbers may be limited by the size of the smallest area they inhabit during the year. In addition, restricted ranges make populations more susceptible to local perturbations such that range size is frequently considered a correlate of species vulnerability. Despite this, little is known about the balance between seasonal ranges in the migrant populations of partially migratory species. These migrants are difficult to segregate from sedentary conspecifics in winter grounds and thus the extent of their ranges is difficult to assess. Here, we studied the extent of potential breeding and wintering ranges of 10 partial migratory passerines moving to winter in the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. After testing migratory connectivity of the individual species, we used niche modelling to calculate the extent of potential breeding and wintering ranges in 1,113 pairs of ring recoveries linking individuals between breeding and wintering localities. The results indicate that most species show migratory connectivity and that all of them show range compression in winter relative to the breeding range, with scores ranging between 19% and 58% (mean 37%) of breeding ranges. We discuss the importance of non-breeding grounds for conserving migratory passerines in the Western Mediterranean Basin, an area under pressure from climate change and agricultural intensification.

During 1942–1983, the average survival rate of Ospreys in Sweden (as derived from ringing data) was 53% during the first year, and for older birds it varied between 72% and 86% (below the level recorded in North America). The annual survival rate decreased significantly among young birds (1st-3rd years of life) but not among older age classes. A weak relationship between annual survival and rainfall in wintering areas in West Africa may exist for some year-classes.

Breeding success was 2.1 young per successful breeding attempt over the period 1961-1987, which is lower than during 1938-1946. The long-term annual growth rate of the population declined from 7% around 1940 to 5% around 1990.

A local decline in breeding success occurred during the 1960s and 1970s in areas heavily affected by acid precipitation in south-west Sweden, but this trend halted during the 1980s as liming programmes restored the fish stocks in acidified lakes. There was a significant relationship between lake productivity, measured as concentrations of total phosphorus, and breeding success: at 16 lakes breeding success ranged between 1.6 and 2.3 young per nest per year, and at the most oligotrophic lakes breeding success was close to the minimum required to balance mortality.

The Swedish population of the Osprey is not in acute danger, but the decline in the potential for population growth should be noted.

The lowland forest on the southern Pacific slope of Costa Rica has an extremely diverse avifauna, including the Black-cheeked Ant-tanager Habia atrimaxillaris. The only known remaining populations of this highly range-restricted species occur in the areas of Piedras Blancas and Corcovado National Park. It is assumed that the population is decreasing due to habitat loss and fragmentation. We assessed the species’ population density in a part of the Piedras Blancas National Park using distance sampling (in February–April 2009 and November 2010–January 2011) and territory mapping (November 2010–January 2011). We also examined habitat preferences based on vegetation structure at point count locations. Black-cheeked Ant-tanagers were exclusively found in old-growth forest. The species’ likelihood of occurrence at census points increased with forest cover (within a radius of 200 m around census points), canopy closure, and density of trees (with diameter at breast height >10 cm). Average population density estimated by distance sampling was 24–27 individuals per km², which is in accordance with the population size estimated by territory mapping (17–25 birds per km²). Based on these estimates, an overall population size of 12,432–20,720 birds is predicted for the remaining 592 km² lowland forest area of the Golfo Dulce region. The Black-cheeked Ant-tanager was only recorded in old-growth forest, but not in gallery forests embedded in a human-dominated landscape matrix. Since the species appears to avoid forest edges, further forest degradation and fragmentation will have a strong negative impact and should be rapidly reduced by adequate conservation measures.

During June and July 1994, five sites in the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area weresurveyed for restricted-range and globally threatened birds, with the ultimate aim of identifying a suitable area for protected area establishment to safeguard populations of endemic Lophura pheasants. Vietnamese Pheasant L. hatinhensis was found at twosites situated less than 10 km apart, although only regularly encountered in one area, the Net River watershed, Quang Binh province. No conclusive evidence was found of the existence of Imperial Pheasant L. imperialis at any site, although it almost certainly also occurs in the Net River watershed or close by. Where they occur, logging and hunting pose the most serious threats to the long-term survival of these endemic pheasants. Although previously believed to be largely confined to forest in flatter areas, evidence collected during the surveys suggests that L. hatinhensis is commonest on ridgetops and slopes in areas with relatively undisturbed, closed-canopy forest. Hence, a major recommendation of this study is that conservation areas for this species should include the maximum extent possible of closed-canopy or lightly logged forest that includes hilly terrain as well as lower-lying, flat areas. The most appropriate area for designation as a protected area was identified as forest in the Net River watershed. It is recommended that a full feasibility study for the establishment of such an area be undertaken as a priority, and that meanwhile a moratorium on legal logging activities and efforts to curtail illegal logging and hunting be implemented by Vietnam's Ministry of Forestry.

Australasian teal consist of five taxa (Anas gracilis, A. castanea, A. chlorotis, A. aucklandica and A. nesiotis) whose taxonomic identities and relationships have been uncertain. Analysis of variation at 14 allozyme loci indicates limited but clear divergence of New Zealand taxa (A. chlorotis, A. aucklandica, A. nesiotis), in agreement with previous studies of morphological variation. The New Zealand taxa are “terminal and evolutionarily independent units” that clearly meet the criteria for specific recognition in line with the phylogenetic species concept (PSC). Because each is also geographically restricted and has small world population size, specific recognition supports increased conservation status for each. The three New Zealand species do not form a sister group with A. castanea, as previously hypothesized; instead, A. castanea and A. gracilis are sister taxa.

The Corncrake Crex crex breeds in the Palearctic but overwinters in central and southern Africa. While some information had previously been gathered about the Corncrake’s African wintering distribution, we here analyse a much more comprehensive database of 1,284 records based on a five-year desk study completed in January 2011 and use those records selected for spatio-temporal accuracy to build a continental distribution model. Our model was based mostly on climatic variables and predicts a high suitability for most eastern Africa countries south of the equator, but none of the western African countries with the exception of Angola and Namibia. Both the actual number of records as well as the distribution model thus indicates that the vast majority of Corncrakes migrate through and overwinter in the eastern parts of Africa. Because large parts of Angola, Mozambique, north-eastern Namibia, and Tanzania are predicted as suitable but have yielded very few actual records so far, they should be targeted for future field work. A very small number of Corncrakes may oversummer in Africa but such individuals are possibly unable to migrate due to sickness or injury, or may be first-year birds that are not ready to breed. An analysis of habitat and population density data indicates that, within the continental distribution, Corncrakes are mostly concentrated within grass-dominated habitats, mirroring their habitat preferences in the breeding areas. Corncrakes reach their wintering distribution mostly through an eastern migration route, but some individuals or subpopulations from the Western breeding population also use a western migration route. We also document the food choices, weights, and causes of injury and death within Africa. Because habitat conversion is accelerating all across Africa, we recommend constant monitoring of habitat availability and population densities within the Corncrake’s wintering distribution.

For Greater Scaup Aythya marila, classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the European Red List of Birds, the south-western Baltic Sea is one of the most important wintering sites in Europe. In this area, a large concentration of gillnet fishery temporally overlaps periods of the most abundant occurrence of foraging diving birds. The aim of the article is to show how bycatch can impact the population of a diving duck. To assess this, we calculate the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) for the studied Greater Scaup population and we model the population change according to age-structured matrix models. Summing all the available recent figures on Greater Scaup bycatch in north-west Europe yields an estimated mean annual total of 3,991 individuals (2% of the flyway population). For a baseline stable population, an age-structured matrix model indicates that at this bycatch level the Greater Scaup population that winters in north-west Europe will decrease by 36% over the next 30 years, qualifying the status of the population as ‘Vulnerable’ according to IUCN criteria. As this population also experiences decline prior to bycatch, this decrease will be 57%, which qualifies the status as ‘Endangered’. PBR as an indicator of population vitality does not work in our case because the PBR-informed allowable bycatch values have a significantly negative impact on the population. Our results indicate unambiguously that fishery bycatch is among the most important threats responsible for the Greater Scaup’s decline. While recent data suggest that some improvement has taken place in the species’ status over the last 10 years, measures to protect Greater Scaup from bycatch are required. The solution should involve the prohibition of gillnet fishing in selected key sites and the use of mitigation techniques in other areas.