Codfish Island is the southernmost breeding location for Cook's Petrel (Pterodroma cookii), endemic to the New Zealand archipelago. To provide a population estimate and indication of population growth following introduced predator eradications we conducted an island-wide survey of Codfish Island within two a priori defined strata. Plot surveys revealed only five burrows within forest habitats from 175 plots surveyed and the locations of these and other burrows observed incidentally were used to identify three key areas of Cook's Petrel breeding activity that were subsequently surveyed using line transects. Within these areas, 42 burrows were counted with burrow densities ranging from 0.0003 to 0.002 burrows m−2. Burrow densities in conjunction with the three-dimensional surface areas of the surveyed locations suggested a minimum of 6,194 ± 956 burrows present and equated to approximately 5,000 (95% CI 3,000–6,000) breeding pairs, using a burrow occupancy estimate of 80%. The Cook's Petrel population on Codfish Island appears to have increased markedly since Weka (Gallirallis australis ) and Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans) were eradicated in 1980 and 1998 and is consistent with a recent upwards revision of the species' world population size of approximately 1,300,000 (900,000–1,800,000) individuals. Revised population data, and ongoing protection of Cook's Petrel's major breeding sites may now qualify the species for a revised conservation status moving from Endangered to Vulnerable under IUCN criteria.

Belding's Yellowthroat (Geothlypis beldingi) inhabits freshwater marshes the length of the state of Baja California Sur. A gap in occurrence from approximately 25°50′N to 24°50′N separates the subspecies goldmani to the north from beldingi to the south. According to BirdLife International's (2000, 2007) population estimates, the most important sites for the species are San Ignacio (537–648 birds) and La Purísima (203–450) in the north and San José del Cabo (219–480) and Punta San Pedro (70) in the south. Half of 12 presumed breeding sites in the north and five of 14 in the south were discovered within the last ten years. The species apparently no longer occurs at one historical site in the south. Since 2000, two records from Guerrero Negro and one from Bahía Tortugas approximately 140 km and > 200 km respectively northwest of the known breeding range demonstrate the species' dispersal ability. Belding's Yellowthroat is of utmost conservation concern, but the most recent conservation summaries exaggerated the species' plight, in particular by under-appreciating the bird's capacity for long-range dispersal and the ability of marsh habitat to regenerate quickly. Formal studies of the species should be undertaken and marsh creation should be incorporated in the state's development plans. Previous calls for reintroduction efforts should not be heeded, at least for the time being.

Common Guillemots Uria aalge and Brünnich's Guillemots U. lomvia are common victims of oil spills, drowning in fishing nets and winter wrecks. Because the Norwegian population of Common Guillemots is classified as critically endangered and the Russian population of the Brünnich's Guillemot has declined greatly, it is important to be able to identify the origins of birds killed outside the breeding season. Measurements of birds made in nine colonies in the Barents and Norwegian Seas showed that although it is impossible to determine with reasonable accuracy the colony of origin from body measurements, the most likely sea of origin of Common Guillemots may be determined on the basis of wing and head + bill lengths, whereas there was no systematic variation in any measurement of Brünnich's Guillemots.

The distribution and abundance of Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti populations between 1974 and 2004 were determined using information from national censuses. Its breeding area occupies the south-western quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and is composed of 13 nuclei and 5 subpopulations. Since 1974, population levels in all nuclei, except the one in Doñana, have expanded. The non-breeding dispersion area, according to sightings of juvenile and immature individuals in quadrants of 10 x 10 km, coincided with that of the breeding area. Bibliographical information showed that halfway through the 19th century the Spanish Imperial Eagle was considered abundant, at least locally; and most cited breeding areas were in relatively human-occupied plains. Towards the end of the 19th century the population became scarce; remaining so for most of the 20th century, with remote mountain ranges being the most cited breeding habitats. The comparison between the data from the first census, in 1974, that located 38 territorial pairs, and the 2004 census that located 198 pairs, shows that: 1) percentages of pairs in plains have increased, while those in mountains have decreased; 2) the trophic quality of the habitat, based on rabbit abundance, has decreased, and 3) numbers of nests in both protected areas and on private ground have increased significantly. The type of land ownership did not seem to affect breeding performance. Populations have increased more outside protected areas than within, despite the availability of potential habitat. In the past century, legal protection and attitude changes towards this eagle seem to have been influential in preventing its extinction. At present, habitat management seems also to be an important factor in its continuing recovery.

Roosting behaviour in diurnal ground-dwelling birds is important to their conservation as they are particularly vulnerable to predation when on their roosts. In 2005, we studied the roosting behaviour of the globally ‘Endangered’ Sichuan Hill-partridge (Arborophila rufipectus) in Laojunshan Nature Reserve, southwest China, a site dominated by evergreen broadleaf forest. Our study showed that the birds roosted on elevated perches and roosting behaviour was associated with social organization. Breeding males roosted alone within their territories before mating or during the female's involvement in incubation, but at other times they roosted with the female bird. After hatching of the brood, the adult males roosted on the ground close to the brooding female for about two weeks. After this time the male left the female and chicks to roost elsewhere in the territory. High vegetation cover around the perch site was a key predictor of roosting sites for the partridges. Only six out of 84 tree and shrub species were typically used by the roosting birds, although individual roosting plants varied from night to night. The median height of roosting plants was 6.9 (3.8–10.5) m, which was significantly lower than many shrubs within the breeding territory. Perches were 1.7–6.4 (median = 2.7) m from the ground and independent of roost tree height, suggesting an optimum roosting height. The partridges preferred roosting sites with denser shrub vegetation. In terms of the species' conservation, our results highlight the importance of protecting primary forest that contains suitable roosting trees and shrubs.

The Asian Golden Weaver (Ploceus hypoxanthus) occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia and inhabits marshes, grasslands, reeds and rice fields close to water in the lowlands (Robson 2000) and natural waterholes in lowland dry dipterocarp forest (Round 1998). It is globally ‘Near-threatened’ due to habitat loss through the conversion of wetlands to agricultural and settlement areas (BirdLife International 2007). In Thailand it is local and uncommon in the north, north-east and central regions (Lekagul and Round 1991, Robson 2000). However, no quantitative data are available regarding its ecological requirements. Our objectives were to collect basic ecological data on: i) population structure, ii) nesting habitat characteristics, iii) food selection and foraging behaviour, and iv) parental care at the nest.

Effective shorebird conservation requires a greater understanding of use and availability of high-tide roosts in coastal non-breeding areas. In this paper, we explore 1) variation in use of roosts; 2) landscape and environmental correlates of roost use; and 3) responses to predators and humans at roosts, to evaluate roost availability for a wintering population of Dunlin Calidris alpina pacifica at Humboldt Bay, CA, USA. For four winters (2002–2005), Dunlin use of particular roosts was highly variable at the population and individual level, even at the most-used roosts. In any given day, week, or month, most Dunlin roosts were unused, and we continued to record new roosts even in the fourth year of study. Although roost use was influenced by landscape attributes, time of day, and environmental conditions, these variables left most variation in roost use unexplained. Dunlin departures from roosts were associated with the presence of avian predators, but not with human activity. Collectively, these observations revealed no strong evidence that roost availability was limited. This contrasts with findings of other studies, even after considering differences in methodology and spatial scale of analysis. We discuss implications for the interpretation of movement data, protection and/or creation of roosting habitat, and assessment of roost quality.

The Oriental White Stork Ciconia boyciana is threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic habitat destruction. The scaling of its environmental capacity (K) with number of patches (P) has been studied and its response to the cumulative impact of anthropogenic habitat destruction has been simulated by a non-autonomous population model for single species. The results are: 1) The scaling index of environmental capacity of the Oriental White Stork to number of patches is 0.9768, i.e., K∝P0.9768. 2) By designing different scenarios to improve habitat quality, we find that it is more beneficial for the long-term persistence of the Oriental White Stork to increase average patch size than to increase the number of patches, if the total area of habitat remains the same. 3) If the Allee effect is significant, the Oriental White Stork is a ‘living dead’ species – one which is doomed to local extinction. To avoid extinction, habitat quality must be considerably improved.