Migration patterns of four Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii wintering in the Cholistan Desert, Pakistan in 1998 were monitored using satellite transmitters. Their homeward migration began between 15 and 31 March, and they arrived on breeding grounds in China, Mongolia and Uzbekistan between 16 and 27 May. The houbara stayed on their breeding areas for c. 135 days (range = 124–140). They arrived on the wintering grounds in the Cholistan Desert between 20 October and 15 December. During their migration, they avoided the mountain massifs of Hindu Kush, Pamir, Tien Shan and Himalaya. They could fly up to 220 km day−1 and covered a total distance of up to 4,400 km between their departure and destination points. Long stopovers were made mainly in the Registan Desert (Afghanistan), the Kyzylkum Desert (Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan), the Muyunkum and Taukum Deserts (Kazakhstan) and to a lesser extent the Zhob Valley (Pakistan). Conservation issues of a long-distance migrant species like Asian Houbara should be addressed at a broader scale through an international collaboration between Central Asian countries, from the breeding grounds of China to the wintering grounds of the Indian subcontinent.

Kulal White-eye Zosterops kulalensis is endemic to Mt Kulal, northern Kenya. It is currently considered a Vulnerable species because of its restricted range. We investigated its habitat and microhabitat use, and flocking and foraging behaviour, with respect to seasonal and diurnal variation. In the dry season, Kulal White-eye was encountered only in montane forest, where it was more abundant in glades than in closed-canopy habitats. Here it fed frequently on fruit, as most fruiting occurred in the drier months. In the wet season population density was also higher in glades than in closed-canopy forest, but birds were mostly insectivorous. Foraging in bush outside the forest was favoured. In the wet season, Kulal White-eye inhabited both the forest and the drier bush at lower altitudes, and avoided habitats with mature trees, preferring young tree formations where vegetation was thicker. Flock size was larger in the dry season, and, in the wet season, larger flocks were encountered in the morning and in late afternoon. Our study suggests that Kulal White-eye is less restricted to mature forest than previously thought. The conservation of the species requires that both the forest and the adjoining bush habitats receive adequate protection. Although some traditional human activities could be compatible with conservation, grazing of domestic animals inside the forest and the removal of large tracts of bush to create new pastures could be detrimental to the species.

The Eastern Arc Mountains of East Africa are known for an exceptionally rich flora and fauna with very high endemism. For the conservation of rare forest birds these mountains are of the utmost importance in Africa. We provide the first population estimate of the endemic Loveridge's Sunbird Nectarinia loveridgei in the Uluguru Mountains of eastern Tanzania. Our study was conducted between September and December 2000. Capture-recapture using mistnets was used to gather data at eleven study sites between 1,300–2,600 m altitude in four different areas of the Ulugurus. The program CAPTURE was used to estimate the population at each study site. Since the home range of Loveridge's Sunbird is unknown, the density of the potential population was calculated by assuming home ranges ranging from 0 km2 through to 3 km2. When combined with data on the forest area in the Ulugurus and fixing the lower and upper home range sizes for this species at 0.1 km2 and 0.8 km2, we obtain an estimated total population ranging from 21,000 to 166,000 individuals. A median home range of 0.45 km2 estimates the population close to 37,000 individuals. The species does not seem threatened but its long-term survival will depend on the survival of the forest, and in particular on how well the forest reserves on the Ulugurus are managed in the future.

Between 1989 and 1999, the Spanish population of Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus increased from 8,064 to 22,455 breeding pairs. This increase was not linked to any clear density-dependent process of population control given that the population grew more steadily in the more densely occupied sectors. This growth was related to a small increase in the breeding range of the species supporting the strong effect of the availability of nesting sites in limiting the range of the species. Around 85% of the breeding pairs were restricted to limestone sectors where cliffs suitable for breeding colonies were more abundant. In these limestone sectors, changes in the number of breeding pairs were positively correlated to changes in livestock abundance during 1989–1999, supporting a functional relationship between food availability and vulture abundance. Any active destruction of livestock carcasses to prevent the spread of some epidemic livestock diseases (e.g. bovine spongiform encephalopathy, African swine fever, foot and mouth disease) will probably produce a concomitant reduction of the Spanish population of Griffon Vulture.

Many species of China's Galliformes live in forests and it is often difficult to assess populations of species in these habitats. Such assessments are becoming increasingly important because much of China's forest has been altered through logging and other forms of human activity. After describing and mapping habitat types, we assessed two commonly used methods for counting pheasants (transects and point counts at dawn) in the Xianshennongjia Mountains in the Three Gorges area of Hubei Province in east-central China. Four pheasant species were recorded: Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus, Temminck's Tragopan Tragopan temmincki, Koklass Pucrasia macrolopha and Common (or Ring-necked) Pheasant Phasianus colchicus. Golden Pheasants were detected most often by calls heard during transects and Koklass were recorded mostly during point counts at dawn. Temminck's Tragopan was detected during transects (by sightings) and also by calls at dawn. The relatively few Common Pheasants that were detected were registered mainly during transects. Golden Pheasants were found at the lowest altitudes, closest to human habitation and both Temminck's Tragopan and Koklass lived in various forest types above this. Common Pheasant was found in meadows at higher altitudes. We conclude that the methods used can determine general habitat use, but that no one method is likely to prove sufficient to unravel the detailed pattern of habitat use across all four species. In particular, further study is required to assess the relative importance of different forest types to Golden Pheasant, Temminck's Tragopan and Koklass. It would appear that human impact on the forest has affected the distribution of the pheasant species. For example, Common Pheasant is now absent from low-lying areas and occurs at what appears to be an unusually high altitude in the study area.

We used artificial social stimulation (decoys, vocalization playbacks, and artificial nests) to initiate group displays in six (two females, four males) Caribbean Flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber ruber that had not successfully bred since their introduction to Guana Island, British Virgin Islands, in 1992. During a control period prior to the introduction of stimuli, flamingos exhibited no social displays or nest building activities. All flamingos were observed approaching the decoy area as a flock within four hrs of the decoys being introduced, and Head-Flagging displays were exhibited by two birds within the first 24 hrs. In a 12-hr watch conducted two-weeks post decoy introduction, there were significantly more group display behaviours, as well as nest-building, as compared with the control period and immediately after the introduction (3.6% as compared with 0% and 0.35%). Two individuals performed the majority of group displays (although at least one social display posture was observed for each bird) and three birds exhibited nest-building behaviour. Overall, individuals spent most of their time feeding and resting/sleeping (> 95%) during all observation periods. We show for the first time that decoys and vocalization playbacks could have a positive impact on breeding success in the wild by inducing group displays and nesting behaviours in this group of introduced flamingos. We suggest that social attraction techniques may be a useful tool to stimulate breeding in small captive and wild small populations of flamingos.