Non-native bird species have colonized and negatively affected natural ecosystems and social economics globally; however, most cases have been poorly studied. We evaluated the effectiveness of playback surveys for enhancing detectability of the non-native Red-billed Blue Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha, and revealed the drivers of the magpie's distribution using an occupancy model that considers the detection process and effects of survey conditions in Shikoku, southern Japan. Using this model, we mapped the potential distribution of suitable magpie habitats across Shikoku. Furthermore, we obtained detection/non-detection data for native bird species (Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina, Varied Tit Poecile varius, Japanese Tit Parus minor, and Japanese Bush Warbler Cettia diphone), and evaluated the impacts of magpie presence on occupancy of these native bird species using a multispecies occupancy model that considered interspecific interactions (i.e., co-occurrence or mutually exclusive occurrence patterns). The results showed that detection probability was enhanced by broadcasting a specific series of magpie calls in the early morning from late May to early July. Magpie occupancy was higher in areas of lower elevation and peaked in areas with moderate forest cover (76%). However, magpie presence did not significantly affect the occupancy of four native bird species. Mapping the distribution of magpie occupancy demonstrated that potentially suitable habitats are widely distributed in near-coast areas between lowlands and mountains, even in eastern Shikoku, which has not yet been colonized. Therefore, before the magpie expands across Shikoku and becomes prevalent, it will be necessary to further assess potential impacts of magpies on local native species, develop efficient methods to capture magpies, and establish a monitoring scheme in priority areas to block magpie expansion. Our approach, using a combination of playback surveys and models considering detectability, holds potential for application in studies of other non-native bird species, as well as to support their appropriate management.

Bird banding has been widely used for more than a century to study the large-scale spatial movements of birds. Continent-wide and transcontinental movements of birds, such as dispersal and seasonal migration, have been revealed by ring recoveries that link departure and destination locations. However, movement inferences have been mostly qualitative, and many limitations and biases have impeded accurate and detailed inferences of movement patterns. Banding data, nevertheless, provides the largest data set for bird movement studies, thus the development of statistical methods to utilize them effectively is the active frontier of research. In this review, we summarize briefly emerging opportunities for quantitative inferences of bird movements from banding data and indicate how they have improved our understanding of bird movements. Banding data is powerful when integrated with external data sources (e.g., direct tracking data), and prove informative for macroecological and macroevolutionary studies. However, such integrated practices have been limited to studies of European and American avian species. A systematic review of the use of Japanese banding data in scientific publications, shows that it is used significantly less often than that of European or American data, and publications were often invisible to the international scientific community. This poor visibility and low rate of usage is likely due to the relative inaccessibility of the data, as most of it is published in Japanese, and the relatively small number of ring recoveries, which makes the data less attractive. We argue that such an inter-flyway disparity may have created severe knowledge gaps in avian movement studies, including incorrect predictions of avian responses to future climate change and less effective conservation actions in Asia. The Japanese data represents Asia's largest banding and recovery archive, and future work needs to effectively integrate it into cutting-edge statistical frameworks to expand the field of bird movement studies.

The Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus is an obligate brood parasite commonly known to parasitize open nests of various passerines. However, in the Philippines, no information on the Asian Koel's hosts is available. We present the first record of an Asian Koel parasitizing the cavity nest of a Coleto Sarcops calvus, at the Subic Watershed Forest Reserve, Luzon, Philippines. Our findings provide important insights into the species' brood parasitism in the Philippines and within its range.

In this paper we describe first breeding of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea in Cyprus. Twenty-three nests were found during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons in riparian habitats adjacent to major river systems in the Paphos State Forest. Most nests were located on roadside banks at a height of 2.38 m above the ground and at a distance of about 0–10 m from the river. Nests consisted of grassy cups with a mean diameter of 13.39 cm, while the nest cup itself had a mean diameter of 7.07 cm and a depth of 3.41 cm. Twelve nesting attempts were monitored with females laying eggs between early April and early July. A total of 54 eggs were laid and 44 nestlings were successfully raised from the 12 nests. The mean clutch size was 4.5 eggs per nest, the mean number of hatched eggs was 3.92 and the mean number of fledglings was 3.67. Parents fed their young mostly on invertebrates and in particular on insects. Diptera and Odonata were the most common insect Orders comprising the majority of prey items. Average insect prey size was 10.79 mm (range 2–60 mm), with little difference in prey size between that delivered by males and females. This study confirms the first breeding of the species in Cyprus, where it follows a breeding pattern similar to that in other parts of Western Palearctic range. The affinity of the Grey Wagtail to human structures and the low predation rate highlight the successful breeding potential and the future range expansion of the species across the island of Cyprus.

We used radio telemetry to provide the first information concerning home range size of Hainan Partridge Arborophila ardens, a vulnerable species endemic to Hainan Island, China, in both a fragmented and a continuous natural rainforest. Both the monthly and daily home range sizes of the population in the fragmented rainforest were significantly larger than those in the continuous rainforest, with no difference between males and females. Fragmentation reduced habitat quality and thus may have forced the partridges to forage over a wider range, which may threaten their survival.

Fundamental demographic data of insular populations of Otus owls are not available for most species. This study investigated the population size and the sex ratio of the Ryukyu Scops Owls Otus elegans on Hateruma Island. Capture-recapture data was obtained by intensive marking and route census surveys from July to September in 2021. Analysing the data using a site-occupancy model combined with a data-augmentation technique, the population size was estimated as 155.470 individuals (97.575 males and 57.895 females), with a significant male-biased sex ratio (0.631).

Raptors are long-lived apex predators with a lower rate of breeding success than smaller birds. Therefore, their responses to the construction of wind farms must be documented to assess the impact of wind energy on birds. We estimated the home ranges of three pairs of Mountain Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus nipalensis orientalis before, during, and after construction of a wind energy facility to assess changes in home range. We also compared altitude, inclination, and land cover composition of habitats within home ranges during the construction phase. For one pair, the home range of which included wind farm construction, the distance from the home range to the construction area during the first year of construction increased significantly compared with that during pre-construction, but there was no significant difference between the post-construction and construction phase. It is thought that the construction of a wind farm within the home range caused the displacement, and that displacement began during the first phase of construction and continuing during the second phase and afterwards. Because the birds moved about 500 m away from the wind farm during the construction and post-construction phases but succeeded in breeding, we think that the distance of 500 m may be meaningful in terms of mitigating disturbance. The nest trees of all three successful breeding pairs were more than 1.3 km from the closest wind turbine, perhaps indicative that impact on breeding is light if construction takes place this far away from breeding sites. No significant differences in either land cover or inclination within home ranges were found during the construction phase, which might explain why all birds bred successfully during the second construction phase. After construction, all three pairs continued to use areas with similar habitat.