The Nerussa-Desna woodland (south-western Russia) is one of the core areas for the Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius, a habitat specialist restricted mainly to mature oak forests. Recent studies have shown a lower breeding density of the species in fragmented compared with continuous habitat. To evaluate reproduction as a possible mechanism underlying the fragmentation effects, we studied reproductive performance of the species in both continuous habitat and fragmented habitat in the forested landscapes of the Nerussa-Desna woodland. During 1997–2001, annual variation of reproductive indices in both continuous and fragmented habitat was insignificant. None of the indices was significantly lower in fragmented habitat though nestling losses were significantly higher in fragments. Timing of breeding in 2000 was later in fragmented than continuous habitat, probably due to differential landscape phenology. In fragments, fledging success in a year was inversely related to the mean amount of rain. On the basis of individual pairs, fledgling production also correlated significantly and negatively with the amount of rain during the nestling period in food-poor fragments only. In 1999– 2001, abundance of Lepidoptera larvae, main food for the Middle Spotted Woodpecker during nestling phase, varied significantly in continuous habitat, whereas in fragmented habitat the patterns of variation differed between fragments. No significant correlation was found between larval density and reproductive performance of individual pairs in either habitat. Large oak density, a habitat feature related to potential food abundance, was higher in fragments than in continuous habitat but was not related to the reproductive performance. The lower larval density within some territories in fragments as opposed to continuous habitat is likely to explain higher nestling mortality in fragmented compared to continuous habitat. Generally, we found little evidence for lowered reproductive performance in relation to fragmentation. Therefore, this seems unlikely to be responsible for the fragmentation-sensitive patterns of density.

Since 1997, a population of the Pine Processionary Moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa exhibited a shifted life cycle in a restricted area of a managed pine forest, at the central west coast of Portugal. Rather than during the regular winter period, larval development of this novel population occurs during the summer. We indicate the populations accordingly as the Winter Population (WP) and the Summer Population (SP). We quantified the numerical response of Great Tits Parus major to irruptions of the SP. In the years following an irruption, Great Tits were more abundant in the SP area, than in two similar non-infested forest areas. This was particularly pronounced during summer and autumn, at the time when moths, eggs and larvae of the SP were available for bird predation. A nestbox study allowed us to verify that the SP moth emergence period coincided with egg laying and raising of second broods in Great Tits, and higher reproductive rates were recorded in the SP than in the WP area. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document a response of a bird predator to a local T. pityocampa irruption, which was even more special as it concerned an insect population with a large shift in its life cycle. Our results show that the Great Tit is able to respond to local outbreaks of forest defoliator insects, and we suggest a potential impact of Great Tit predation on the population dynamics of the SP.

The current feeding habits of the Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus remain largely unknown since most studies were carried out in the 1970s. To update the information, we studied the diet of the species in different colonies in Extremadura by analyzing the frequency of presence of 378 prey items observed in 283 pellets. In all colonies, sheep carcasses formed the staple food. Nevertheless, there were major differences between colonies in supplementary prey: farm poultry and swine in Sierra de Gata, swine and deer in Sierra de San Pedro and Granadilla. There were also variations between subcolonies within a colony and differences with colonies elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula. In colonies situated in areas with a high abundance of lagomorphs and deer, such as Cabañeros and Sierra de Andujar, the diet is based on wild animal populations. In other colonies, the diet depends to a large extent on livestock farming: sheep in Sierra de Gata, Granadilla and Sierra de San Pedro, and swine and sheep in Sierra de Guadarrama. The Cinereous Vulture thus shows great trophic plasticity, taking advantage of new resources (such as carcasses of poultry from poultry farms) and responding to variations in prey availability in the area surrounding the colonies. These circumstances need to be taken into consideration for the conservation of the species, in particular when the vultures depend on human resources, which are prone to drastic changes in availability. The recent outbreaks of veterinary diseases (like BSE, foot-and-mouth disease, Rift Valley fever and bluetongue disease) and reforms related to the Common Agricultural Policy, are a point in case.

We studied density, habitat selection and reproduction of Barbary Falcons Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides on Tenerife Island during 2004 and 2005. A total of 26 breeding pairs were counted, all of them occupying natural cliffs around the island. Density observed was 1.27 pairs/100 km², and was positively correlated with cliff availability. Mean distance between neighbouring pairs was 5869 ± 3338 m, ranging from 1388–13 610 m; in some areas this value was as low as 2062 ± 673 m. Tenerife still shows potential for further increase regarding the observations of single females and the availability of potentially suitable but unoccupied cliffs. Falcons selected taller cliffs, more apart from roads and houses, near the coast, with lower presence of cultivated and urban areas, and associated with other cliff-nesting species. Stepwise discriminant analysis of habitat selection selected cliff height, nearest neighbour distance and distance to road, and correctly classified 71.1% of the cases. Productivity averaged 1.55 fledged young/pair and breeding success was 81.1%. No correlations were observed between habitat features and productivity. Since most territories are located in protected zones and human disturbance seems to be absent, special management measures are not necessary. However, further study into the biology of this population is required for effective and timely conservation of this species if need be.

This study, conducted in the region of Sofia (western Bulgaria), investigated activity patterns of juvenile Woodchat Shrikes Lanius senator after fledging. Time spent to flying, social interactions, ground hunting and solitarily behaviour increased with age, while the time spent food begging, obtaining food from adults, and staying close (<1 m) to adult birds decreased with age. Occupation of concealed perch-sites decreased with age whereas use of exposed lookout posts increased. Young Woodchat Shrikes became increasingly independent at an age of about 30 days. After 45 days they were not fed by parents at all.

Knowledge of diet and intake rates are useful first steps in understanding the distribution and behaviour of foragers. The diet of Golden Plovers and Lapwings feeding on arable farmland has been rarely studied, yet these species increasingly occupy this habitat in winter. They are known to feed at night but little is known about their diet and foraging success at night. This study aimed to describe and compare diurnal and nocturnal foraging behaviour in order to explain spatial and temporal patterns in foraging. Over three winters (1999/2000–2001/02) diurnal and nocturnal observations of focal individuals and collection of faecal samples were used to reconstruct diet and quantify intake rates across a range of arable habitats. Numerically, arthropods (mostly Carabids and millipedes) were the main diurnal prey types but by biomass, small earthworms were the major prey items. Diurnal intake rates were low but comparable with other studies of these species, prompting questions concerning the profitability of feeding on agricultural farmland and the pause-travel foraging mode. Nocturnal intake rates were up to 50% higher due to a greater reliance on catching large earthworms at night. Diurnal intake rates were highest during mild weather and on grass and sugar beet stubble fields; they were lowest on cereal crops, yet this was the habitat most consistently occupied. Current methods for assessing earthworm abundance limit further explanation of foraging behaviour.

The foraging behaviour of typical plovers is highly stereotyped, and short-billed plovers all forage visually in a run—stop—search manner. To date, the use of a sandpiper-like foraging method by typical plovers is considered anecdotal in non-breeding plovers, since only one study has described Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola foraging as sandpipers do, striding slowly and pecking at the water surface during short periods. We studied the behaviour and intake rate of Grey and Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula foraging like sandpipers on suspended prey items in the water column of hypersaline pans, and investigated factors that may influence their occurrence. The feeding rate was 48.9 ± 18.0 (SD) and 19.1 ± 6.3 prey min^-1 for Ringed and Grey Plover, respectively. For Ringed Plovers, the net intake rate was 0.23 ±0.05 kJ min^-1, and for Grey Plovers 0.09 ± 0.01 kJ min^-1. The sandpiper-like foraging method was particularly important for Ringed Plovers, since up to 24% of the population foraged in this way at high tide. We found that the sandpiper-like foraging method is a common foraging method in Ringed Plover feeding in prey-abundant pans and is occasionally used by Grey Plovers as well. We showed that behavioural plasticity in foraging methods of typical plovers may be greater than has been assumed previously. These results suggest that typical plovers can successfully locate and capture small prey items while walking continuously and without the need to stop to improve visual acuity.

In search for an alternative to lethal methods of predator control, we tested the efficacy of two noxious odours, Hukinol and Hundeschreck, as predator repellents in field experiments with artificial and real nests. Hukinol produces a strong human scent, whereas Hundeschreck is a combination of minerals, plant extracts, and pelargonic acid. In two field experiments with artificial nests exposed in open landscapes of Western Lower Saxony, we found no evidence for a longer survival rate of nests treated with the odour repellents. The same result was obtained in a pilot study with real nests of Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. In the latter study half of the nests were treated with Hukinol, the others were used as controls. In summary, both chemicals show little promise in reducing predation-dependent nest failure in ground-nesting birds.

We examined space use by Black-necked Stilts Himantopus mexicanus in the San Francisco Bay estuary, USA, to better understand how shorebirds use their Pacific Flyway landscape. These efforts are particularly important in the San Francisco Bay estuary where ongoing large-scale restoration projects are rapidly changing the mosaic of wetland habitats. We radio-marked 59 stilts and tracked individuals for up to four months and found no difference in home range size by sex or between North and South Bay subrogions. We did find differences in home range size by capture site. Mean home range was 283.5 ha and movement from capture sites was 4.5 km. We used cluster analysis to calculate number of focal areas for individuals and found that overall space requirements were larger for stilts with multiple centres of activity. Birds with multiple use areas were often those that bred in vegetated marshes and moved into salt ponds when their nests failed or after chicks hatched. In the South Bay subregion, salt pond use was greater than availability in core use home range areas despite comprising the largest proportion of available habitat. Tidal salt marsh restoration from former salt ponds may reduce available habitat of invertebrate prey species that depend on hypersaline habitats; retention of some shallow, mid-salinity managed ponds may mitigate this loss. A better understanding of the space use and habitat requirements of stilts will provide for more specific habitat and management recommendations in areas targeted for wetland restoration, contributing to better conservation of shorebird populations along the Pacific Flyway.

The influence of floating seaweed patches on the distribution and behaviour of seabirds was investigated using the European Seabirds At Sea database (ESAS). The percentage of observations that seabirds were observed with floating seaweed differed among species, depending on the mode of foraging. The results indicate that surface feeding species that make shallow dives (terns and Red-breasted Mergansers Mergus serrator) benefit most from the presence of floating seaweeds and their associated macro- and ichthyofauna. Species hunting for pelagic and bottom-dwelling prey (divers, Guillemots Uria aalge, Razorbills Alca torda, Puffins Fratercula arctica, Gannets Sula bassana and Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo), and especially benthos feeders (Common Scoters Melanitta nigra and Eiders Somateria mollissima) were frequently seen in association with floating seaweeds, while opportunists and scavengers like gulls and skuas were recorded on few occasions. Petrels and shearwaters (surface-seizing, pursuit-plunging, pursuit-diving) were seldomly seen in association with floating seaweeds. The most common behavioural activities of the birds associated with floating seaweed were found to be surface pecking, actively searching, and pursuit plunging.

Reflectance spectrometry, in the avian visible range, is currently a standard methodological approach for plumage colour assessment in birds. However, the method generally employed, whereby only one observation and illumination angle is used, can fail to reveal important colour characteristics. This study shows how the sexual dichromatism of the European Magpie Pica pica can be overlooked by the use of single angle spectrometry, rather than multiple angle spectrometry, and stresses the need to adopt more refined methods for plumage colour assessment. The results of this study may not only have implications in avian colour classification but also in many related fields of biology.

The Gough Moorhen is endemic to Gough Island and is classified by the IUCN as Threatened. We present several observations of Gough Moorhens preying on introduced House Mice Mus musculus and on eggs and chicks of burrow-nesting procellariiform seabirds. The incidence of egg predation is almost certainly related to incubation breaks or abandonment. We estimate that Moorhens could access and depredate unattended eggs of at least five species but levels of predation appear to be low and are unlikely to affect population parameters of impacted species. Moorhens hunting live mice and scavenging carcasses presents a significant conservation concern. A possible eradication of mice from Gough Island is likely to employ poisons that are toxic to the Moorhens. Therefore secondary poisoning of Moorhens, by eating poisoned mice, is a threat to the Gough Moorhens. An eradication effort will be required to take appropriate mitigation measures. The introduced Gough Moorhen population on Tristan da Cunha serves as an ex situ population and could, if required, be used to re-stock Gough.

Nesting in the same breeding area in successive years provides information to help understand the cues used by birds in habitat selection. Moreover, such information may also be an important tool for the conservation and management of endangered species. Based on the ringing results of 122 adult and 1245 nestling Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio in the years 1996–2005, we studied philopatry of the species in two different populations: in western and in eastern Poland. Moreover we analysed all Polish Red-backed Shrike ring recoveries since 1996 (n = 3102 ringed birds). We noted that both natal and breeding philopatry in the populations were almost entirely absent. This is surprising in comparison with other studies, especially those including shrikes. Comparisons with other populations suggest that the lack of philopatry is not related to the breeding success of local birds and/or the size of the study area. In contrast, we suggest that low philopatry is an effect of and/or an adaptation to a relatively high population density at the land-scape scale, where many breeding areas and potential nesting sites still remain vacant.