Upon its adoption in 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was greeted with enthusiasm by the conservation community including bird conservationists. Nine years after its entry into force in 1993, the CBD still has to live up to the original high expectations if it is to halt, or even slow, the loss of biodiversity at the ecosystem, species and genetic level. Among the reasons for this shortcoming, the rather vague nature of obligations for the 182 governments who have ratified the Convention is probably the most important. National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) form the most significant instrument for the implementation of the CBD. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is supporting the NBSAPs financially, as well as local, national and regional projects, many of which are relevant for bird conservation. Being the best-researched animal taxa, birds could serve relatively easily as indicators for the success of efforts under the Convention. Some cases, where ornithological data are being used within NBSAPs and related processes, are highlighted. From the early stages of planning, bird surveyors should take the potential use of their results by decision-makers into account. For ensuring that survey data are fed into NBSAPs and other similar policy documents, a strong collaboration of ornithologists and birdwatchers with non-governmental conservation organizations is recommended.

The highland grasslands of central Kenya hold a suite of restricted-range bird species, including several of global conservation concern. These grasslands occur almost entirely on private land with no formal protection, and have received little conservation attention. This paper describes land-use change on the Kinangop Plateau, Kenya, and considers the implications for grassland bird species, especially Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei. The Kinangop Plateau is an area of montane grassland east of the Rift Valley, used primarily for dairy farming since human settlement in 1964. However, dairy farming (which retains grassland as pasture) has given way to other forms of land-use, especially cultivation of crops. In March 1996, a questionnaire was administered to 50 landowners to investigate community attitudes towards birds and their conser vation, the extent of present land-use changes and likely future land-use patterns. The mean acreage of landholding was decreasing, and more grassland was rapidly being converted into cultivated land, with 3.2% being ploughed up during the six months from November 1995 to May 1996. Farmers expressed a preference for crop farming (66%) over livestock farming (26%) or other land uses. Thirty-two per cent expressed a positive attitude, and 60% were indifferent, towards birds. Most (76%) were not aware of biodiversity values or conservation. Though 64% were aware of declining bird populations around them, 82% of this group did not realize that their activities might be contributing to this decline. Sixty-eight per cent of landowners planned to convert all or part of their grassland holdings. Although landowners' interests seemed generally incompatible with grassland conservation, a substantial proportion (44%) were prepared to consider opportunities to enhance the area's conservation value. An informal follow-up survey in March 1999 concluded that prospects for the dairy industry and for grassland habitats on Kinangop were not as bleak as the initial survey suggested, but confirmed the delicate conservation status of Sharpe's Longclaw and its habitat. We suggest a variety of actions that might help to secure the future of Sharpe's Longclaw while promoting sustainable agricultural development on Kinangop, and propose several topics where further research is needed. Species such as Sharpe's Longclaw will only survive if we can develop ways of managing their habitats in a manner that is consistent, rather than in conflict, with the needs of the agricultural community.

The island of Santa Catarina lies in the Atlantic Forest Domain of southern Brazil, one of the most threatened ecosys tems on the planet. It holds a wide variety of habitats, ranging from sand dune ‘restingas’ to mature rain forest. We report, for the first time, a survey of the bird species and their conservation status for the different habitats present on the island. We recorded 269 bird species of 54 families (25 species were seabirds). More than 50% (140) of the total number of species were residents or probable residents, 20% (58) were visitors and a relatively high number of species (61, 23%) had indeterminate residential status. Nearly 15% (35 species) of the 244 landbird species observed were endemic to the Atlantic Forest. Habitat specificity was recorded for 40% (97 species). We recorded one Endangered (Solitary Tinamou Tinamus solitarius), one Vulnerable (White-necked Hawk Leucopternis lacernulata), and three Near-threatened species (Azure Jay Cyanocorax caeruleus, Azure-shouldered Tanager Thraupis cyanoptera, Black-backed Tanager Tangara peruviana). We also recorded six locally threatened species that we predict will become extinct in the near future. The future for the birds of the island is uncertain, especially for habitat specialists, due to habitat loss for resort developments, and a lack of concern by the government and local people.

A high proportion of island birds are threatened with extinction as a result of their vulnerability to introduced predators, habitat destruction, and fragmentation/isolation effects. In order to conserve island species effectively, it is necessary to disentangle these effects on distribution and abundance. We attempt to do this for the nine native passerines in the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, using a database of presence/absence on 59 offshore islands in the archipelago, linked to data for each island on mammal presence, habitat modification, and isolation. Falklands native passerines are of considerable conservation importance, comprising one endemic globally threatened species, several endemic subspecies, and several restricted range species. Presence of rats on islands was by far the most important predictor of passerine presence, overriding the effect of habitat modifications. The globally threatened endemic Cobb's Wren Troglodytes cobbi was absent from all islands containing rats. Some species were more likely, and others less likely to occur on islands where tussac Poa flabellata grassland had been destroyed by grazing. The former species were primarily those adapted to dwarf-heath vegetation, and/or that thrive around human settlements. Island size and isolation were important predictors of occurrence for several bird species. The analyses show that, if vegetation restoration in the Falklands is to meet conservation aims, then it should be accompanied by introduced mammal control. Secondly, they indicate that biogeographical effects on bird distribution among islands in the Falklands are important, and need to be considered when assessing the conservation status of species, and when considering conservation action.

Grey-headed Quail-dove Geotrygon caniceps has traditionally been considered a polytypic species endemic to Cuba and the Dominican Republic and treated as globally threatened within the most recent Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2000). Chapman (1917) described Geotrygon leucometopius of Hispaniola as specifically distinct from G. caniceps of Cuba based on 10 specimens, taken by Rollo Beck in the Dominican Republic. Subsequently, Bond (1936, 1956) merged leucometopius within caniceps, an arrangement that has persisted, unchallenged in the technical literature, until the present. Through examination of 76 specimens, extensive field experience of Cuban birds, and less exhaustive fieldwork in the Dominican Republic, we re-evaluate the taxonomic status of the Hispaniolan population, identifying consistent differences in coloration, tail length and characteristics of the second to fifth primaries between it and the Cuban population. Based on these differences, we suggest that caniceps (endemic to Cuba) and leucometopius (restricted to the Dominican Republic) be henceforth resurrected to species status. We were unable to undertake a complete analysis of the vocalizations of the two forms, due to the lack of definite recordings from Hispaniola, but present sonograms and notes concerning Cuban birds. Further work, including molecular analyses, would be clearly desirable to test our hypothesis. Both forms are undoubtedly declining due to habitat destruction and hunting, and both certainly qualify as Vulnerable under current IUCN criteria. Indeed, leucometopius may even qualify as Endangered under the range criterion. Its status requires particularly careful monitoring, while new information, published since the BirdLife International (2000) review of globally threatened birds, suggests that the range even of nominate caniceps is considerably smaller than previously considered.

Pygmy Palm-Swift Micropanyptila furcata is endemic to the Maracaibo Basin of Venezuela and Colombia. Described by Sutton in 1928, it is still known only from < 30 museum specimens from seven localities, leading it to be included in the first edition of the bird Red Data Book, but not subsequent editions. During a field survey in January 1995 we regularly encountered this species throughout the south-eastern Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela, at elevations from 30 m to 800 m. We found them in a variety of habitats including cleared pastures, cropland, open forest and rural towns, and observed them near mature cultivated palms, which represented nesting and roosting substrates. Pygmy Palm-Swifts foraged in small groups immediately above the treetops and over grass savannah. As we recorded them at nearly all previously known sites and many additional ones, often in close proximity to human activities and potential sources of disturbance, we suggest that it is not a rare bird and currently does not require special status or conservation efforts.