Review of McMullan M., Sallmann D. & Sallmann R., 2025. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Pelagic Publishing, Exeter, UK, 360 pp

Review of Hume R. 2024. Purposeful Birdwatching. Getting to know birds better. Pelagic Publishing, London. 290 pp., many b/w sketches by the author.

The active participation of scientific trusts, including CISO (Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici), in applied conservation actions plays a crucial role in addressing the challenges faced by natural and semi-natural landscapes, which are increasingly impacted by improper land-use and land-cover. This is particularly true for those landscapes where Large Infrastructures and Big Events (LIBEs) are planned. In these circumstances, researchers, professionals, and environmentalists typically express their concerns on the impacts of LIBEs through mediatic campaigns, often highlighting the ecological importance of vulnerable areas. These actions form the first, useful level of engagement in conservation. However, we advocate for a more proactive role of scientific trusts, which should entail forming task forces of conservation experts and providing scientific support in management decisions when LIBEs are being considered. In our opinion, scientists should locally produce original field studies by using effective sampling designs such as Before-After-Control-Impact surveys. We highlight that such a targeted level of action may support the public agencies when authorizing (or not) LIBEs, by providing evidence-based information about the ecological value of the target area and the potential impacts of LIBEs on ecosystem functions and local biodiversity. The aim is to avoid emotion-based social media loops, conflicts, and polarizations in the discussions about the ecological impacts of LIBEs.

The breeding grounds of the Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus encompass a wide area in northern North America. During the austral winter individuals migrate to non-breeding areas in South America. There had been only three known locations for the species in Brazil, two in the Amazon Forest and one in the Atlantic Forest. Here, we aim to present new records in Brazil and to organize the available literature recovering historical data. The new records are in the Southeast and South regions and thus represent the first documented records outside the Brazilian Amazon. These findings indicate an expansion of the area considered nomadic for the species. All extra-Amazonian records were made in strong El Niño years, a climate phenomenon that may be changing bird migration patterns in South America, which requires further investigation.

This study describes the monitoring work related to the nesting of the Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos in Northern Marches Apennines (Central Italy), in province of Pesaro-Urbino. Monitoring took place between 1983-2023, when a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 breeding pairs nested in the research area. The 16 nesting sites used by the Golden Eagle were located on cliffs with niches, ledges and high shallow caves, at an average height of 744.43 m (±249.7 m) a.s.l. The average number of nests per territory was 3.2 (±2.28 SD). The exposure of nest sites was heterogeneous. The maximum density for the species was 0.60 pairs/100 km2 and the Nearest Neighbor Distance was 8.84 km ±2.5. Most of the first incubations occurred in March and within the study period, at least one incubation was always observed. Incubation and fledging periods lasted on average 44.70 days (±1.78 d) and 81.76 days (±6.45 d), respectively. Over the study period, the breeding pairs raised a total of 98 chicks, of which 75 fledged successfully. Across the 41 years of monitoring, the productivity rate recorded was 0.65 (N. fledglings /N. pairs), the reproductive success 0.94 (N. fledglings /N. pairs with confirmed incubation), the fledging success 1.14 (fledglings/N. success pairs) and the nestling mortality was 23.5%. In 13.6% of the total successful breeding events, two fledglings were raised per nest. Only in three years of monitoring, no fledgling was raised.

Territory selection by birds of prey is an essential process influencing survival and productivity. ForGolden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, research in Europe has focused primarily upon migrating and high-densitypopulations, and rarely on the territory selection in low-density populations. We analysed Golden Eaglebreeding sites in Central Apennines (Italy), spanning from 29 sites in 1980 up to 38 sites in 2020, verifying in 4different years (1980, 1990, 2000 and 2020) their status of occupancy or vacancy, through cross-checking datafrom available literature and field observations. In the chosen years, each site was characterized by land useand neighbouring distances variables, to individuate the presence of a possible common selection process.The different protection status of each area (unprotected or Natural/National Parks) was tested, assuming thathabitat protection could have positive effects on Eagles’ territory selection. The so obtained panel data wasstatistically analysed by means of t-test, χ2 test and probit models. In one hand, Golden Eagles in the Apenninesshowed a continuous recolonization of territories, including seven previously vacant and two undiscoveredsites. On the other hand, half of the vacant sites remain unoccupied. Our results suggest that Golden Eagles, ina low-density population, tend to minimize the effect of lower quality habitats by choosing a breeding territorywhich can guarantee low intra-specific interferences: 35% of 2020 breeding pairs have, at least, one nearbyvacant territory. Depending on the quality of the available breeding habitat, Individual Adjustment Hypothesis(IAH) supports or replaces Habitat Heterogeneity Hypothesis (HHH).

Territorial songbirds use singing as an interactive social signal during territorial interactions. Considerable information has been accumulated about the communication of passerine birds in the context of territorial competition. Most of such data, however, were gathered in the northern temperate zone. Only a few studies have been conducted in the tropical zone. In this study, we describe for the first time the vocal and territorial behaviour of the Puff-throated Babbler Pellorneum ruficeps, a South Asian tropical resident bird. We recorded spontaneous vocalization simulated territorial intrusion by broadcasting different vocalizations at territories. We played back different types of conspecific vocalizations to territorial males: (1) male simple song, (2) male complex song, and (3) duet. Depending on context, there were three types of male vocalizations: simple song, complex song, and subsong. While singing spontaneously, males produced a simple song of 2–3 elements, repeated at a rate of 10–12 songs per minute. Males could respond to playback with complex songs, which are much more elaborate and longer (up to 5–10 seconds) vocalization emitted at a rate of approximately one song per minute. Subsong is the most commonly heard vocalization during playback-simulated territorial intrusion. Females could acoustically respond to playback along with the males, forming a duet. While duetting, females produced a sequence of identical broadband elements (trills) overlapping the male complex song. In response to simple song playback, males sang, approached the loudspeaker, and flew around it. Males reacted much more strongly when presented with the playback of complex songs. They sang more complex songs, performed more flyovers, and produced subsongs. Therefore, complex songs are an aggressive signal used in the context of territorial competition. We observed male-female duets in response to complex song playback only. Males sang more actively and performed more flyovers in response to duets than to complex songs. We thus assumed that the duet is a more aggressive signal than the complex song.

Assessing patterns of activity rhythms in wildlife is pivotal for species conservation. In this work, we aimed at determining the curve of activity rhythms of male and female common pheasants Phasianus colchicus in a Mediterranean area in central Italy. We used camera-trapping and we computed the inter-sexual temporal overlap of activity rhythms in the breeding period. We collected 129 independent records of common pheasants (males, N = 90; females, N = 39). Males were mostly active in the morning, whereas female activity was mostly concentrated at dawn and dusk, showing an intermediate overlap of diurnal activity rhythms (Δ1 = 0.55). Recorded patterns of activity rhythms confirmed the importance of ecotones for the conservation of this species, which represent an important prey for several native carnivores.

Abstract - Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus is the only snake eagle that nests in the Palearctic. Its diet has been studied in several European countries and it is essentially based on reptiles. The aims of this work were to characterise the feeding habits of Short-toed Eagle breeding in the Tolfa Mountains (Central Italy) including a comparison of the diet with that of other populations. Moreover, we assessed changes in the diet of the former population using published data collected more than 35 years ago. We monitored five nests and three roosts between 2020 and 2021. Using camera traps and the collection and analysis of feeding remains, a total of 247 prey items were identified. The diet of the sampled nests/individuals was clearly snake-based (93.5% of prey spectrum). We found no significant differences between the diet of nestlings and adult individuals. The main prey was the Western Whip Snake Hierophis viridiflavus (83% of snakes captured), probably due to its high availability in the environment and its average size, which is positively selected by the Short-toed Eagle. Long-term comparison with previous data shows an over time contraction of the diet breadth with a relative increase of Western Whip Snake compared to other prey. The same pattern is observed in long-term studies on the snake community of our study area and is probably linked to both local anthropogenic impacts and global warming, which tend to favour thermophilic and generalist snake species During the reproductive period our population showed a narrower diet breadth when compared to the diet of other Mediterranean sites, but a similar overall structure, with a comparable frequency of snakes. The populations with the wider diet breadth are those located in areas with a greater abundance of thermophilic snake species of medium to large size, such as France, Spain and Greece.

An interesting point of view by our Editor Giacomo Assandri, an expert on farmland biodiversity.