Three weeks of intensive surveys in Norfolk Island National Park in 2009 failed to find White-chested White-eye Zosterops albogularis and it was calculated that there was a less than 17% probability that a population of 10 birds had been overlooked. The last multi-observer record of this species was in 1978, and it is recommended that the species’ IUCN Red List status of “Critically Endangered” is tagged as “Possibly Extinct”. During these surveys, the population densities of seven bird species were calculated from 352 independent point counts. Causes of imprecision and bias were investigated, suggesting a small underestimation. Other species were recorded too infrequently, or their distributions were too biased, for analysis. The population densities of the extant endemic taxa were relatively high and suggest no current declines, and the population estimates were consistent with previous studies. This study recommends monitoring most species by point counts, or line transects if resources are limited, supplemented with specific monitoring of Tasman (Norfolk Island) Parakeet Cyanoramphus cookii, Pacific Robin Petroica multicolor, Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae and seabirds. Ongoing monitoring of these birds is needed to help inform management of the National Park and the island in general, given their small population sizes and their likely susceptibility to rat and cat predation, competition from alien species and drought.

Reducing the time that birds’ eggs are exposed during incubation in the wild is a management strategy with the potential to reduce nest predation rates, enhance breeding success and increase the population size of endangered species. We tested whether manipulation of clutches through artificial incubation of Lesser Elaenia Elaenia chiriquensis eggs and subsequent reintroduction of new-born nestlings to their original nest, and the use of adoptive parents, were efficient ways of increasing the population size of this species. We evaluated the financial cost and benefit of three different management strategies of artificial egg incubation with reintroduction of nestlings to the original nest. We searched for nests and manipulated eggs during the breeding seasons of 2009 and 2010 in a savanna reserve in central Brazil. Real eggs were replaced by artificial eggs and artificially incubated. The following breeding parameters were monitored: hatching rate, fledgling productivity, daily survival rate of nestlings and nest success. The effect of nest monitoring frequency (daily or every 3–4 days) on breeding parameters was also tested. Hatching rate was much higher amongst artificially incubated eggs than naturally incubated eggs. Artificially incubated clutches presented higher rates of fledgling production and apparent nest success than non-manipulated clutches. Clutch manipulation did not interfere with nestling daily survival rate. Daily monitoring did not have negative effects. The clutch manipulation methodology we used proved to be viable and is a potential tool for increasing population size.

Drastic recent decreases in numbers of the ‘Endangered’ African Penguin Spheniscus demersus highlight the need for conservation efforts to reverse this trend. Habitat reduction due to former guano scraping forces penguins to breed in surface nests, which are vulnerable to predation by Kelp Gulls Larus dominicanus and to extreme weather events. Here I compare gull predation and the success of penguins breeding in surface nests and two types of artificial nests, before (2009) and after (2010–2011), the removal of predatory gulls from Bird Island, South Africa. Both culling gulls and providing artificial nests improved penguin chick survival, but post-culling chick survival was lower in surface nests than in artificial nests, suggesting a major impact of weather on chick mortality. Success of artificial nests was design-dependent, with poor hatching success in fibreglass burrows (probably due to high ambient temperatures), but nests under 50 cm cement pipes cut in half had the highest breeding success. Therefore, appropriately designed artificial nests can enhance African Penguin breeding success, shielding them from both predation and extreme weather events. Where implementing such nests is constrained, controlling Kelp Gulls can also enhance penguin production, especially during years of low food availability when the vulnerability of chicks to predation is exacerbated. Such a strategy would, however, require ongoing management, as territories freed by culled gulls are constantly filled with new individuals. The alarming trend in African Penguin numbers justifies robust conservation strategies, although these should also be concomitant with limiting oil spills and increasing food availability around their colonies.

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.

We present results on breeding parameters, nesting performance and nest habitat selection of the globally threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda, gathered during a 3-year study in Castro Verde (southern Portugal). A total of 107 nests were located. The estimated average onset of laying was 22 April (SD = 12 days, n = 8). The incubation period ranged from 25 March to 15 June. Nearly 95% of females incubated between 1 April and 31 May. Mean clutch size was 2.12 (SD = 0.69, n = 86), showing no significant inter-annual differences. There was no significant relationship between clutch size and average nest finding date, although, on average, nests were found later each year. Hatching occurred between 21 April and 26 June. The estimated proportion of eggs hatched per nest (hatching percentage) was 87.5% in 2002 (n = 8), 64.0% in 2003 (n = 33) and 75.8% in 2004 (n = 33). Overall nesting success for the three years was 71% (n = 107). The main causes of nesting failure were agricultural activities, mainly ploughing and harvesting, followed by corvid predation. Nests were spatially aggregated up to 800–1,500 m. At larger scales, the spatial distribution of nests can be considered random or uniform. Females showed a clear preference for nesting in cereal fields, followed by young fallows, old fallows, ploughed fields and then other habitats, although the intensity of selection of particular habitats varied between years. Nests were associated with both cereals and fallows, thus aggregating where those habitat types occurred within the study area. These results provide the first complete description of the nesting process in a Great Bustard population, as well as important cues to the assessment of conservation measures implemented in Castro Verde, an area holding around 80% of the Portuguese population of this species (application of EU agri-environmental schemes, power line signalling, water-point provision in dry years).

Prolonged declines in the number of Steller’s Eider Polysticta stelleri wintering in Europe have raised concerns about the conservation status of the Western Palearctic population. Coordinated helicopter surveys of all known wintering areas in Norway and Russia and ground counts in the Baltic in 2009 found c.27,000 Steller’s Eiders, similar to numbers found during the last such survey in the mid-1990s. However, around 85% of the population now winters in Russia compared to 30–50% then. The reasons for this rapid shift in distribution are unknown but are likely linked to climate change. The continuing small population size, specialist feeding and restricted distribution of Steller’s Eider necessitate continued survey and research to track population changes and provide evidence for conservation management actions to safeguard the species.

Understanding habitat requirements is vital for developing successful management strategies for threatened species. In this study we analyse the habitat selection of two globally threatened waterbirds (Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris and White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala) coexisting in an internationally important wetland (El Hondo Natural Park, south-eastern Spain) at three spatial scales. We surveyed adults and broods of these species fortnightly during two consecutive years and we related density and presence of birds to several habitat variables. At a pond-selection scale, the density of both species was related to the surface area of the ponds, with Marbled Teal showing avoidance of medium-sized ponds, and White-headed Ducks strong selection for the largest ponds. Within ponds, Marbled Teal avoided open waters, and was mainly associated with Phragmites reedbeds, but also selected areas with saltmarsh and Scirpus vegetation, especially for brood-rearing. White-headed Duck made more use of deeper areas with open water, especially in winter, and Phragmites was the only emergent vegetation with which it associated. When breeding success was very high in 2000, strong creching of broods was observed in White-headed Duck, but not in Marbled Teal. In order to provide suitable habitat for both species, there is a need to maintain spatial diversity with a combination of large wetlands suitable for both species and small, vegetated ones suitable for the Marbled Teal.

The largely deforested island of Cebu, Philippines, hosts a forest-dwelling hawk-owl identified in the literature as Ninox philippensis spilonota but which is in fact a Cebu island endemic species, soon to be named. To determine the current distribution and habitat requirements of this hawk-owl, the five largest of 11 remaining forest patches on Cebu were surveyed between March and June 2011, involving 64 post-sunset 500-m walked transects with playback and habitat assessments. Radio-telemetry studies were also conducted on 10 owls but only for 3–5 days per owl as they removed the transmitters. A total of 52 owls were located across all five forests (at 16 sites two owls responded together to playback) but only the largest forest, Alcoy, contained enough transects for analyses of habitat in relation to owl distribution. Alcoy stands on steep-sided hills and some planting of exotic species occurs within it. Owls were detected in forest interior, forest edge and forest-plantation mix in Alcoy, and on ridges and in gullies despite lower tree densities and greater proximity to clearings in the gullies. However, parts of Alcoy experience strong winds, and owl occupancy decreased significantly with increasing wind speed. Home ranges for the 10 radio-tagged owls were estimated to cover ∼10 ha, although given the short tracking periods this may be an underestimate. Suitable forest studied covers roughly 1,670 ha, with six unstudied forests totalling 250 ha, so assuming a pair every 10 ha would give a tentative global population estimate of ∼ 200 pairs of Cebu Hawk-owls, and even fewer if home ranges are larger than estimated. This, coupled with continuing habitat degradation, triggers the IUCN Red List category ‘Endangered’. Tree cavities suitable for nests may be limiting, and nest-box provision could be explored, provided this does not increase predator pressure on other rare species.

Delimiting the distribution of a species is a complex task because many determining factors are difficult to assess in the field. This is important because distribution is a key factor in the decision-making process for conservation. One example is the Bearded Wood Partridge Dendrortyx barbatus, a species endemic to the temperate forests of the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMO) mountain range in Mexico. Lack of knowledge of its distribution has generated confusion over the assignment of the correct risk category. With the aim of predicting the distribution area of the Bearded Wood Partridge and contributing to strategies for its conservation, we updated and extended the knowledge of its distribution by modelling its ecological niche using GARP and MaxEnt algorithms. We also analysed its environmental distribution using principal components analysis, and contrasted the two most important environmental variables with the species’s distribution based on vegetation type. We found that the area potentially occupied by this species covers 17,956 km2 according to GARP and 12,974 km2 according to MaxEnt. We suggest that there is a biogeographic barrier which limits the distribution of this species in the southern part of its range. The abiotic variables that best explain its distribution are average annual precipitation and elevation, both of which coincide well with the distribution of cloud forest. A redefinition of the current range as recognised by IUCN is proposed along with the need to change its national risk category.

The Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus is the only wader that nests on the beaches of Galicia, north-west Spain. In November 2002, much of that habitat was heavily affected by the Prestige oil spill, considered one of the largest spills ever experienced in Europe. We used a 23-year dataset (1988–2010) tracking the abundance and distribution of Kentish Plover breeding pairs along the Galician coast to evaluate population trends and identify the underlying effects of an oil spill. A TRIM linear trend model classified the population trend as a moderate increase; the main trend exhibited a decline in the population from 2002 to 2004 (the second reproductive period after the catastrophe), followed by a moderate increase to the present. The results showed that the variation in annual population trends can be explained by considering the characteristics and location of breeding beaches. In the most parsimonious model, three covariates were significant: the beach position: inner (located in the interior part of the estuaries), or outer (exposed to the open sea), the beach length, and the location of the stretch of coastline in relation to the Prestige wreck. The variation was obvious both with regard to population size and habitat use, with an increase in the number of birds and breeding locations and changes in distribution along the entire Galician Coast after 2004. The birds reacted to the catastrophe by avoiding the most affected areas and moving to new breeding beaches, suggesting that conservation plans must take into account the correct management of currently unoccupied beaches that could provide potential habitat for the species.