During 1942–1983, the average survival rate of Ospreys in Sweden (as derived from ringing data) was 53% during the first year, and for older birds it varied between 72% and 86% (below the level recorded in North America). The annual survival rate decreased significantly among young birds (1st-3rd years of life) but not among older age classes. A weak relationship between annual survival and rainfall in wintering areas in West Africa may exist for some year-classes.

Breeding success was 2.1 young per successful breeding attempt over the period 1961-1987, which is lower than during 1938-1946. The long-term annual growth rate of the population declined from 7% around 1940 to 5% around 1990.

A local decline in breeding success occurred during the 1960s and 1970s in areas heavily affected by acid precipitation in south-west Sweden, but this trend halted during the 1980s as liming programmes restored the fish stocks in acidified lakes. There was a significant relationship between lake productivity, measured as concentrations of total phosphorus, and breeding success: at 16 lakes breeding success ranged between 1.6 and 2.3 young per nest per year, and at the most oligotrophic lakes breeding success was close to the minimum required to balance mortality.

The Swedish population of the Osprey is not in acute danger, but the decline in the potential for population growth should be noted.

We review the distribution and habitat of four Myrmotherula antwrens endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, and present data to correct and update the information available in the literature. Based primarily on field experience over the past several years, we show that these birds are highly threatened despite having beenrecorded in several reserves. The chief issue affecting the continuedsurvival of these Myrmotherulas is that very little lowland (i.e. below 300 m) forest is included in the reserve system, and almostnone exists outside the protected areas. Those lowland forests that do exist, both within and outside of reserves, are invariably under greater human pressure than the much more extensive forests of the adjacent uplands, and are disappearing at a much greater rate. With the aim of protecting not only these Myrmotherulas but also the entire lowland fauna of the Atlantic Forest, we recommend that funding for a significant and monitored increase in the guard system be made available to help ensure the integrity of the existing forest reservesinto the future. As probably the single most important lowland forestpatch in Espirito Santo/Rio de Janeiro that does not have official reserve status, we highly recommend that negotiation to establish “Fazenda Uniāo” in northern Rio de Janeiro as a carefully maintained protection area be initiated immediately, before thepossibility to preserve it passes.

Apresenta-se uma resenha da distribuição e habitat de quatro espécies endêmicas do gênero Myrmotherula da Mata Atlântica e também dados para corrigir e atualizar a informaçao disponivel em literatura. Baseando-se principalmente na experiência de campo dos autores durante os ultimos anos, evidências são fornecidas para demonstrar que a sobrevivência destas espécies está claramente ameaaçcada a despeito da ocorrência destas em diversas unidades de conservaaçcão existentes ao longo de suasdistribuiaçcōes. O dado mais relevante que interfere diretamente na continuada sobrevivência destas formas é quemuito pouco das florestas baixo-montanas estao inseridas no sistema de unidades de conservaaçcão ao longo da Serra do Mar e mesmo quase nada existe destes ambientes fora das reservas. Estas poraçcões de floresta nas baixadas ou em cotas inferiores a 300 m quando existem, fora ou dentro das unidades de conservaaçcão, estão invariavelmente sob maior pressão humana e assim desaparecendo em muito maior proporaçcāo do que as mais extensas florestas montanas adjacentes. Dentro de uma perspectiva conservacionista n???amacr;o somente destas quatro especies de Myrmotherula mas de toda fauna da Mata Atlântica de baixas altitudes recomenda-se o investimento monitorado a longo prazo de um expressivo sistema de guarda-parques para garantir a integridade das unidades de conservaaçcāo existentes permanentemente. Recomenda-se especialmente tambem a negociaaçcão imediata para o estabelecimento da Fazenda Uniao no norte do Estado de Rio de Janeiro como unidade de conservaaçc‘atilde;o para que esta area, provavelmente o mais importante trecho de floresta nao preservada legalmente dos estados Espirito Santo/Rio de Janeiro, desapareaçca antes da sua possibilidade de preservaaçcāo.

Eastern Mongolia supports one of the most important breeding populations of the White-naped Crane Antigone vipio (WNC), which is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN. Large numbers of WNCs were found to be breeding at high densities within the Ulz River basin during surveys conducted in 2000 and 2001, along a 270 km section of the river. Following these surveys, an extended drought continuing for at least a decade has threatened wetland ecosystems throughout Eastern Mongolia. This study reports the findings of surveys conducted in 2010 and 2011 along the same section of the Ulz River surveyed a decade earlier, as well as a generalised survey of other sites where breeding WNCs had previously been recorded. Along the Ulz River, populations declined from 42 territorial pairs in 2001 to 17 in 2011. Estimates of detection probability using distance sampling and occupancy methods at two locations gave consistent results of 23%–27% detectability. With a minimum population of 234 WNCs observed across all sites in 2011, these detection probabilities suggest that the areas surveyed support the majority of breeding WNCs in the western population. Although we cannot exclude the movement of WNCs beyond the survey area, these findings also suggest that the population has declined between 2001 and 2011. Exploration of key habitat variables using occupancy models and generalized linear mixed models found that WNCs favoured areas of high wet vegetation (estimated as ‘wet meadow’ coverage and using normalized difference vegetation index), and low grazing pressure. Given the importance of water resources to WNCs and nomadic herding communities, use of wetland habitat must be carefully managed to balance the needs of cranes and people, particularly during periods of drought.

Seabirds face diverse threats on their breeding islands and while at sea. Human activities have been linked to the decline of seabird populations, yet over-wintering areas typically receive little or no protection. Adult survival rates, a crucial parameter for population persistence in long-lived species, tend to be spatially or temporally restricted for many seabird species, limiting our understanding of factors driving population trends at some sites. We used bio-loggers to study the migration of Western Australian Flesh-footed Shearwaters Ardenna carneipes carneipes and estimated adult survival over five years. Western Australia is home to around 35% of the world’s breeding Flesh-footed Shearwaters, a population which was up-listed to Vulnerable in 2015. During the austral winter, shearwaters migrated across the central Indian Ocean to their non-breeding grounds off western Sri Lanka. Low site fidelity on breeding islands, mortality of adult birds at sea (e.g. fisheries bycatch), and low annual breeding frequency likely contributed to the low estimated annual adult survival (2011–2015: ϕ = 0.634-0.835).

Genetic structure among five populations of Elliot's Pheasant sampled from five different provinces – Anhui (AH), Zhejiang (ZJ), Fujian (FJ), Hunan (HN) and Guizhou (GZ) – was assayed using mitochondrial control region sequences from 33 individuals. Using AMOVA, we found a high level of haplotype variation within populations, and a degree of genetic structure among groups (GZ population relative to all others pooled). However, this difference was not statistically significant and little geographical structure was indicated among the remaining populations. Furthermore, using a rooted maximum parsimony tree, we found the sequences of the GZ population were largely grouped in their own branch, while sequences of the other four populations were interspersed among branches. We identified a lower level of gene flow between the GZ population and all others, a finding supported by significant FST values. Conversely, we identified a larger amount of gene flow between the remaining four populations, particularly among the three easternmost populations (AH, ZJ and FJ). Given our results, further study should be focused on the GZ population and on management units for the purpose of maintaining the genetic structure of the species in the west of China.

The Raso Lark Alauda razae is a single island endemic confined to the island of Raso in the Cape Verde islands. It has been studied via short (11–20 day), similarly-timed visits every year from 2001 to 2017. These November/December visits have occurred towards the end of the main rainy period (August–October) in the Cape Verdes. Average clutch size ranged from zero (no nests found) to 3.57 in different years and was strongly correlated with rainfall in the three months preceding the year’s visit, but not with population size, which varied 25-fold during the study period. Since the nomadic pursuit of rain is not an option for the Raso Lark, the species adjusts clutch size according to conditions prevailing on Raso.

The Endangered Rodrigues Warbler Acrocephalus rodericanus is endemic to the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues, one of the world's most devastated tropical islands, its native forest having been completely destroyed since human colonization three centuries ago. It is now found in thickets and woodland dominated entirely by non-native trees and shrubs. As a step to implementing conservation initiatives, a population census and habitat study was undertaken in April-June 1999. Using a combination of tape playback of song and point counts, at least 103 Rodrigues Warblers spread through nine wooded localities were observed, and a minimum population of 150 birds estimated. The majority (78%) and highest densities (2.3/ha) were found in habitat dominated by one introduced invasive tree, the rose-apple Syzygium jambos. Warblers were also found in plantations dominated by mahogany Swietenia mahagoni, tecoma Tabebuia pallida and Norfolk Island pine Araucaria cunninghamii, but at much lower densities (0.5/ha). Warbler densities were highest in habitat with a dense structure of small branches. There was a strong positive relationship between one index of human disturbance (number of cut branches) and warbler densities. This low-intensity cutting may promote the growth of new shoots thus perpetuating the dense vegetation structure that Rodrigues Warbler favours. At two localities, one supporting an existing population of warblers and the other prone to extirpation (shown from previous surveys), vegetation structure and composition were similar between sites, hinting that in some currently unoccupied areas, habitat is probably suitable and other factors are operating to preclude colonization and establishment. Further ecological studies would be desirable, especially to investigate the effect of nest-predation by introduced mammals and other factors suppressing warbler population growth.

Movement ecology and environmental factors are topics of paramount importance to consider when planning conservation programmes for target species. Here we discuss this topic by reviewing the available information related to the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, with reference to the remnant breeding population of Southern Italy, of high conservation concern and subject of a long-term captive-breeding re-stocking programme. We describe how adverse wind conditions over the Central Mediterranean Sea make the sea-crossing challenging with detrimental effects on the survival of inexperienced birds, and coupled this information with count data of migrating Egyptian Vultures. Furthermore, we indicate how low population size and scarce opportunities in meeting migrating conspecifics could potentially lead juvenile Egyptian Vultures to follow unfavourable migratory routes, with possible repercussions on survival. We postulate how these concomitant factors could be indirectly influencing the long-term survival of this small population, principally affected by anthropogenic threats. We also discuss how the same factors could actually be affecting captive-bred young individuals released in late summer in southern continental Italy, in the framework of the restocking programme. An integrative approach with tailor-made release methods, which also takes into account the age of released birds and geographical and environmental factors, would likely be useful for a more goal-oriented and long-lasting conservation outcome, for the preservation of this endangered scavenger.

We estimated the population density of the globally threatened Elfin-woods Warbler Setophaga angelae within two forest types at different elevations in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in north-eastern Puerto Rico. Population densities ranged from 0.01 to 0.02 individuals/ha in elfin woodland and 0.06–0.26 individuals/ha in palo colorado forest in 2006, with average rates of decline since 1989 of 0.002–0.01 and 0.003–0.06 individuals/ha respectively. These estimates show a significant general declining trend from c.0.2 individuals/ha in 1989 in elfin woodland to c.0.02/ha in 2006, and from 1 to 0.2 in palo colorado forest. Although variation in estimated population density depended on the statistical method used, we document and discuss possible causes of an overall population decline from 1989 to 2006, lending support to previous initiatives to reclassify the species from the IUCN Red List category of “Vulnerable” to “Endangered”.

The Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaeus is one of the most threatened migratory shorebirds in the world, breeding in Russia and wintering in Asia. The global population is declining rapidly and is projected to be extinct within a few decades without intervention. Here, we present the results of shorebird surveys in previously unrecognised site in Bangladesh along the Meghna Estuary, identified for the first time by using species distribution models. Counts and habitat preference of Spoon-billed Sandpipers and other endangered shorebirds are described here with notes on the global importance of the newly discovered site. The sum of the peak counts for each shorebird species across the two surveys was 25,993 including a minimum of 48 Spoon-billed Sandpipers. The majority of the Spoon-billed Sandpipers were observed during low tide while foraging (66.6%) and logistic regression testing for effects on the presence of foraging Spoon-billed Sandpiper indicate that they mainly preferred to forage on shallow mud. We summarise the threats to Spoon-billed Sandpipers and other birds in the new site that is currently not recognized as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, although it fulfils several Ramsar Criteria. We also propose conservation and monitoring measures for long-term protection of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and its habitat.

An annotated compendium of all those bird species known to have occurred in the lowland “Man and Biosphere” Beni Biological Station (B.B.S.) reserve is provided. Previous checklists are reviewed, together with sightings accumulated over the 1992–1995 period during which approximately 70 new species have been added to the reserve inventory, bringing the total to 478. Occurrence across the 12 delineated habitats, relative abundance and sighting documentation are given for each species. The avifauna of the B.B.S. is mixed biogeographically; in addition to a substantial component of lowland birds widespread throughout South America, it is composed of Amazonian, cerrado and chaco elements also. Representation from the Bolivian Yungas is minimal. Significantly, no less than four threatened and 15 near-threatened species have occurred, including the little known Bolivian endemic Unicoloured Thrush Turdus haplochrous, and the enigmatic White-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus candicans, known until recently only from Emas National Park (Brazil). Short accounts are provided detailing records of all of these species. Birds of the reserve core, consisting largely of humid tropical forest formations inundated during the austral summer, appear not to be subjected currently to any serious environmental degradation, although some subsistence clearance by Chimane Indians in the northern reaches of the reserve gives some cause for concern. Of much greater import, however, are changes occurring outside the confines of the B.B.S. These include increasing urbanization immediately to the west (and associated road upgrading) and forest fragmentation to the south brought about by logging. The latter is especially worrying because linkage of the B.B.S. forest block to surrounding forest is already physically tenuous, and therefore it is imperative that future logging activities be geared to minimize isolation occurring and the damaging restriction of gene flow. Monitoring in rainforest immediately south of the reserve should become routine to warn of putative avifaunal impoverishments. Extensive surveying of the 2,500-ha El Porvenir éstancia (savanna and related forest islands) due to be assimilated shortly into the B.B.S., which constitutes less than 2% of the area under consideration, has shown that it is used by no less than three threatened and up to nine near-threatened species. In the absence of data relating to other savanna areas (c. 15%) at present, the exact status of each species at the B.B.S. remains imprecise and begs for further research to be undertaken. Unfortunately, present management of the El Porvenir savanna is not conducive to the long-term maximization of populations of these species, several of which have local strongholds in this part of Beni. We recommend that the current policy of cattle ranching adopted by this éstancia should cease or be reduced dramatically, to minimize grazing and trampling damage, and that measures should be taken to reduce incursions of fires started wilfully in neighbouring properties. The Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Bolivia, which administers the reserve, should be encouraged to safeguard and enhance the savanna complement further by ensuring that the impending ratification of El Porvenir proceeds as quickly as possible, and by purchasing additional tracts of land to the south of the present southern reserve boundary, where feasible. Such actions should not only secure the future of the biota of the savanna habitat within the B.B.S. but also should ameliorate the degree of isolation which has occurred already by preserving the “curiches” (former river beds) and forest islands which act as access corridors for forest-dwelling and other birds.

The “Critically Endangered” Beck’s Petrel Pseudobulweria becki has been recorded regularly in the Bismarck Sea during the past five years, but its nesting grounds are yet to be located. Previously, over 70 years elapsed between the collection of the original specimens in 1928 and 1929, and the next confirmed observations in 2007. We evaluate over 40 documented records of the species as well as recorded survey effort within the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands and we assess potential breeding areas as well as land and sea priority search areas. On current evidence, southern New Ireland, within the Bismarck Archipelago, remains the highest priority area to search for nesting colonies but other parts of the region also warrant further investigation. The species’s distribution, population size and trends, ecology and threats are all poorly known, so prescribing conservation actions is difficult. As a starting point we identify the most important research actions to advance current knowledge, recognising that locating the nesting grounds of the Beck’s Petrel remains the prime conservation priority for this species.

Neotropical deciduous forests are threatened by anthropogenic activities and only a small area is protected against exploitation. In contrast to other Neotropical forest types, not much is known about the effect of habitat disturbance on deciduous forest bird communities. In the present study, we examine the effects of human disturbance on a deciduous forest bird community in the Andean foothills of Bolivia. Bird community composition was determined by means of point count surveys in three forest types, i.e. undisturbed deciduous and semi-deciduous forest, and disturbed forest habitat. Habitat disturbance was estimated indirectly by measuring vegetation structure variables in these forests. The effect of habitat disturbance was subsequently examined at bird community level (species richness, species abundance and diversity indices) and functional group level (habitat preference categories and foraging guild). Differences in community composition and reduced species abundance could clearly be related to habitat disturbance. However, results also indicated that sensitivity to disturbance varied among functional groups. Humid forest specialists showed the strongest response to habitat disturbance, predominantly bark-gleaning insectivores, canopy insectivores, understorey insectivores and ground-dwelling species, whereas dry forest specialists were not affected by disturbance. The present study suggests that anthropogenic disturbance negatively influenced the forest bird community in the investigated deciduous forest in Bolivia. This may indicate that conservation of both deciduous and semi-deciduous forest remnants is relevant for a diverse montane bird community in South America. Because various bird species typical of deciduous forests may also be able to survive in partly disturbed forests, conservation strategies should not only be focussed on the protection of pristine remnants but should also include secondary forest edge zones.

The Aldabra White-throated Rail Dryolimnas cuvieri aldabranus is confined to Middle Island (c. 7,700 birds), lie Polymnie (c. 270) and De aux Cèdres (c. 80) on Aldabra Atoll (now a World Heritage Site) in the Seychelles. It uses all available terrestrial habitats, but chiefly occurs in scrub cover and particularly in the densest types, where leaf-litter (and hence litter fauna) is richest. Its extinction on Assumption, Astove and Cosmoledo is attributable to widespread habitat loss and disturbance, and to human utilization as food; the extent to which rats and cats affect the form, which is flightless, is debatable.

Accurate assessments of population sizes and trends are fundamental for effective species conservation, particularly for social and long-lived species in which low reproductive rates, aging demographic structure and Allee effects could interact to drive rapid population declines. In the parrots (Order Psittaciformes) these life history characteristics have combined with habitat loss and capture for the pet trade to lead to widespread endangerment, with over 40% of species classified under some level of threat. Here we report the results of a population survey of one such species, the Yellow-naped Amazon, Amazona auropalliata, that is classified as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. We conducted a comprehensive survey in June and July of 2016 of 44 night roosts of the populations in contiguous Pacific lowlands of northern Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua and compared numbers in Costa Rica to those found in a similar survey conducted in June 2005. In 2016 we counted 990 birds across 25 sites surveyed in Costa Rica and 692 birds across 19 sites surveyed in Nicaragua for a total population estimate of only 1,682 birds. Comparisons of 13 sites surveyed in both 2005 and 2016 in Costa Rica showed a strong and statistically significant decline in population numbers over the 11-year period. Assessment of group sizes approaching or leaving roosts indicated that less than 25% of groups consisted of three or more birds; there was a significantly higher proportion of these putative family groups observed in Nicaragua than Costa Rica. Taken together, these results are cause for substantial concern for the health of this species in a region that has previously been considered its stronghold, and suggest that stronger conservation action should be undertaken to protect remaining populations from capture for the pet trade and loss of key habitat.

The study area at Zait Bay, Egypt (c. 700 km2) is situated in the middle of the West Asian-East African migration flyway used by very large numbers of soaring migrants. At this site the corridor narrows into a bottleneck. There exist only very few bottlenecks of this magnitude in the world. Observations were performed at all hours between sunrise and sunset at 26 observation sites, situated 5 km apart. The northern part of the area under investigation (19 observation sites) was situated within the Gebel El Zeit IBA (criteria A1 and A4iv), while the southernmost part (8 observation sites) was outside. The overall evaluation has shown that 179,681 soaring birds including 122,454 storks and 36,976 raptors were observed in total. Within a radius of 2.5 km from each observation site 97,143 soaring birds including 59,308 storks and 30,489 raptors were observed during the 604 hours of observation. Eleven species were recorded in numbers that exceed 1% of their flyway populations. Of special concern regarding bird conservation are those birds resting or flying in the first 200 m of elevation. In total 6,624 soaring birds were seen resting (2,252 within a radius of 2.5 km). Thirty-three percent of the storks and 47% of the raptors were observed resting or flying at heights within the lowest 200 m. The median height of flying birds varied between 5 m (harriers) and 500 m (Common Crane Grus grus). According to the raw data, criteria for nomination of the area as an IBA (20,000 raptors and storks in one migration season, globally threatened species) were fully met outside the existing IBA. Also, to the south of the study area, very high numbers of migrants were confirmed by spontaneous, non-systematic observations. Accordingly, a change of the boundaries is suggested. The regional analysis, based on extrapolations, has to be regarded as a preliminary study. The analysis failed to show a geographical trend for any single species. The data from this study establish a high concentration of gliding and soaring birds in the study area, within and adjacent to the already designated IBA.

Low-latitude penguins naturally breed in burrows dug in guano. This affords them a buffered environment that remains cool and humid, reducing the risk of hyperthermia while on land. As a conservation strategy, several versions of artificial housing units have been trialled at various breeding sites of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) around South Africa, where former guano exploitation forced many penguins to breed in exposed surface nests. While some units yielded a positive effect on breeding success by providing protection against predation, none of them have effectively mitigated the risk of heat stress in penguins or their eggs. Here, we investigated the microclimate of a recent double-layered design of ceramic artificial nests and compared that to natural burrows, exposed surface nests, and commonly used cement pipe nests, in austral summer 2021 on Bird Island, South Africa. We also recorded penguin behaviour during the hottest period at each of these nest types using remote camera traps to determine the onset of heat stress (panting). Double-layered ceramic nests out-performed all other nest types, including natural burrows, by remaining cooler throughout the day, with temperatures never exceeding 36.7°C. By contrast, all other nest types had multiple episodes where temperatures exceeded 40°C. Double-layered ceramic nests also maintained constant levels of high humidity (relative humidity [RH] >70%) throughout our study, whereas low humidity levels were observed in surface nests (RH ≈ 60%) and cement nests (RH <50%) during midday heat. We observed penguins panting at temperatures of 25°C in nest boxes, and at 22°C in exposed surface nests. This suggests that heat stress in African Penguins may occur much sooner than anticipated and that they are particularly vulnerable to hyperthermia as climate change-related global warming progresses. Fortunately, we are encouraged by the capacity of double-layered ceramic nest boxes to buffer environmental extremes and maintain suitable breeding conditions.

The Moroccan population of Great Bustard Otis tarda was surveyed in the four years 1998–2001. Highest numbers were counted in December 1998 (21 males, 62–65 females, four first-year males: total c. 90) and March 2001 (15 males, 60–66 females, four first-year males: total 75–81). Combining enquiry results from local people with these data, the population size for spring is estimated at 92–111 individuals, and 117–133 for winter. Reproduction is confirmed. Threats to the population include illegal hunting, habitat loss through agricultural intensification (irrigation, use of pesticides) and infrastructural changes (construction of a motorway and a powerplant), disturbance, and accidents at powerlines and antennas. Several conservation measures are suggested: cease hunting; maximize the attention given to display sites; encourage villagers to carry out “Great Bustard-friendly” land use and adapt animal stocks to the carrying capacity of their regions; clarify the situation of genetic exchange between Spanish and Moroccan populations; study movements between the Moroccan sites; monitor the size and trends of the most important subpopulations; and conduct education campaigns in schools and increase public awareness among adults.

Between June 1989 and October 1990 casual records of rare birds were made in Sabah and on Sipadan Island, Malaysia, and on Luzon, Negros, Bohol and Mindanao, Philippines, with additional observations on Palawan and Tawitawi, Philippines, in August and September 1991. Key sites for bird conservation profiled here are the Angat watershed, Quezon National Park and Candaba Marsh (all on Luzon), Mt Canlaon (Negros), Rajah Sukituna National Park (Bohol), Mt Katanglad (Mindanao), remaining forest on both Tawitawi and Sipadan, and the Danum Valley in Sabah. Notes are provided on 31 species of bird, 17 already considered threatened, three near-threatened. While one threatened species (Nicobar Pigeon Caloenas nicobarica) should be downlisted, at least six species (Spotted Imperial-pigeon Ducula carola, Blue-winged Racquet-tail Prioniturus verticalis, Blue-naped Parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis, McGregor's Cuckoo-shrike Coracina mcgregori, Falcated Wren-babbler Ptilocichla falcata and Palawan Flycatcher Ficedula platenae) should be elevated to threatened status. Records for other species supplement and reinforce current assessments of threat or indicate new distributional or taxonomic information on non-threatened forms.

This study investigated the distribution and habitat selection of the globally threatened East Coast Akalat Sheppardia gunningi sokokensis in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, the Shimba Hills (both Kenya) and the lowland East Usambara Mountains (Tanzania). The species is more abundant than originally thought. In Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, akalats occur in two of the main vegetation types, and an estimated 7,500–9,000 territories represent one of the largest populations of this species in the world. Akalats occurred at similar densities to those in Arabuko-Sokoke (c. 0.5 pairs/ha) in parts of Shimba Hills and East Usambaras, but were more patchily distributed. This akalat prefers areas where the undergrowth is partially open with large amounts of dead wood. It forages on or near the ground. In Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, areas where akalats were present had a higher abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods than areas where they were not. The akalat inhabits both primary forest and regenerated areas that have been selectively logged probably more than 20 years ago. Despite its relatively high densities where it occurs, this species (like other threatened birds in the East African coastal forests) is very patchily distributed and dependent on a habitat that is now highly fragmented and under considerable human pressure. The conservation situation in Arabuko-Sokoke gives cause for concern, and the destructive effects of a large elephant population threaten the forests of the Shimba Hills. The conservation status of the lowland Usambara Mountains is probably better and more stable.