Abstract The following critiques express the opinions of the individual evaluators regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and value of the books they review. As such, the appraisals are subjective assessments and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or any official policy of the American Ornithologists' Union.

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Birds in Europe: Population Estimates, Trends and Conservation Status

The Birds of the Western Palearctic

This volume, 20 years in the making, was primarily intended as a field guide and starts with a comprehensive listing of the 313 worldwide raptor species, grouped by order and family, listed with common and scientific name and cross-referenced to information detailing biology, ecology and associated colour plates. The proportionally larger number of species within the Accipitridae, Herpetotheridae and Falconidae are further subdivided by commonly applied artificial groupings (e.g. bazas, honey-buzzards, atypical kites; fish-eagles and fishing eagles) to aid in finding species quickly and easily.

Raptors of the WorldBy James Ferguson-Lees and David Christie

Birds of europe

The decline of the lanner falcon in Mediterranean landscapes: competition displacement or habitat loss?

Capsule: We report a significant reduction in population size and breeding success for the Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus in Sicily, its biggest stronghold in Europe, since the latest coordinated survey.Aims: To provide updated information on current population size of Lanner Falcon in Sicily and to compare breeding parameters with those obtained in previous studies.Methods: We performed an intensive coordinated field survey and literature review of breeding success parameters across the species range.Results: Overall, we monitored 126 territories throughout Sicily where the species had been reported in the last 15 years. Lanner Falcons were present only in 60 of them. Mean nest productivity (± standard deviation) was 1.09 ± 1.18 fledged young/checked pairs, flight rate was 2.22 ± 0.52 fledged young/successful pairs and breeding success was 49.0%.Conclusions: Indirect measures aimed at preventing abandonment of occupied territories should be applied, for instance by developing a network of priority...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00063657.2017.1359234

Population size and breeding performance of the Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus in Sicily: conservation implications

Context Dietary analyses are essential to achieve a better understanding of animal ecology. In the case of endangered species, assessing dietary requirements is crucial to improve their management and conservation. The Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) has experienced a severe decline throughout its breeding range in Europe and, in Italy, fewer than 50 pairs remain, and only in Sicily. This species is subject to major threats, including changes in landscape composition and, consequently, prey availability, which is further aggravated by the occurrence of viral diseases in the case of rabbits. Aims To provide current data on the diet of the Bonelli’s eagle in Sicily during the breeding period and to examine dietary shifts with regard to previous studies conducted in the same study area. To discuss possible implications for conservation of the Italian population of this endangered species. Methods We used a combination of three methods, including pellet analysis, collection of prey remains, and imagery from camera-traps installed at nests, to examine the diet of 12 breeding pairs of Bonelli’s eagle from 2011 to 2017. We compared this information with data collected between 1993 and 1998 in the same study area. Key results In number, birds were the most frequently predated items (61.6%), followed by mammals (36.88%) and reptiles (1.52%). However, in terms of biomass, mammals were the main prey (65.71%), followed by birds (34.12%) and reptiles (0.17%). There was a decrease over the course of the current decade in the consumption of European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which was compensated for with an increase in both dietary diversity and breadth in bird consumption, a trend not observed in the earlier study in the same region. Conclusions Here, we provide an updated assessment of diet composition of Bonelli’s eagle during the breeding period. Interestingly, we found significant differences within the study period (2011–2017) in terms of frequency of occurrence, percentage of biomass, dietary diversity and dietary breadth in a species at risk. Furthermore, we found significant differences between the two study periods in both frequency and percentage of biomass, with significant changes in the consumption of lagomorphs and birds. Implications Our results indicated that shifts in the diet are linked to changes in prey abundance, which may be contributing to population declines in the Bonelli’s eagle population in Sicily. Overall, measures aimed at increasing main dietary prey should be promoted to favour occupation of new territories and enhance vital demographic parameters (i.e. breeding success and survival rate) of Bonelli’s eagle across the species range. This would be particularly important for small isolated populations such as the Sicilian one.

N. Patti

Papers

Population size and breeding performance of the Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus in Sicily: conservation implications

Long-term changes in the breeding period diet of Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) in Sicily, Italy