Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

About: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is a nonprofit organization based out in Sandy, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Biodiversity. The organization has 670 authors who have published 1425 publications receiving 88006 citations. The organization is also known as: RSPB & Plumage League.

Restoration and management of machair grassland for the conservation of bumblebees

Abstract: Machair is a grassland habitat that supports nationally rare species including the bumblebee species Bombus distinguendus and Bombus muscorum. Changes in land management practices have resulted in a loss of floral diversity in some areas, reducing the availability of bumblebee foraging resources. In order to determine the most effective way of increasing forage plant availability on degraded machair, a restoration trial was established in western Scotland and comprised four seed mixes and a fallow treatment. Treatments were monitored over 3 years in order to compare the relative abundance of bumblebees and their forage plants. Two mixes contained wildflower species; one mix is currently used to create bird and bee foraging habitat on nature reserves and the fourth is a commercially available grass mix. There was little variation in inflorescence and bumblebee abundance between treatments early on but marked differences emerged later in the season in all 3 years. By the end of the monitoring period, the wildflower treatments contained between four and eighteen times more inflorescences than other treatment types. Similar trends were observed in bumblebee abundances. Some of the rarest bumblebee species exist primarily in areas that have largely escaped agricultural intensification. In these areas it is important that habitat management is specifically targeted and translated into appropriate agri-environment schemes. We suggest that the most effective method for restoring bumblebee forage plants on machair is to sow wildflower-rich seed mixes and this should be combined with late cutting and winter grazing practices to maintain sward diversity over time.

Movements of British Hen Harriers Circus cyaneus outside the breeding season

Abstract: Hen Harrier chicks were wing‐tagged in four regions in Scotland and in North Wales between 1990 and 1995, and resighted or recovered dead as fully grown birds during the non‐breeding season (August to April) throughout Britain and Ireland, and on the Continent, until April 1997. Results were analysed in terms of the percentages of birds that carried out long‐distance movements (over 25 km) and the extent of the long‐distance movements. The percentages of first‐year birds undertaking long distance movements were related to natal area, sex and season. A higher percentage of first‐year males in the East Highlands undertook long‐distance movements than females. For first‐year birds that made long‐distance movements, there were significant effects of season and natal area, and interactions. Thus, longer movements occurred in winter and spring, and males from the North Highlands made the longest movements. Records on the Continent referred mainly to first‐year males. For all age classes, the percentage of birds...

Loss of forest intactness elevates global extinction risk in birds

Abstract: Only around a third of the world’s remaining forest cover survives in the form of Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL), and that proportion is declining. Loss of intactness could impact on biodiversity in many ways but the relationship between intactness and extinction risk has not been quantified. We created Extent of Suitable Habitat (ESH) maps for all the world’s forest-dependent birds and intersected them with an independently derived IFL layer. We also estimate the proportion of the total global range-rarity of forest-dependent birds that is captured by IFL. The majority of forest-dependent bird species are now confined largely or entirely to be degraded, disturbed, or fragmented (non-IFL) forests. Furthermore, only 22.5% of global hotspots of range-rarity for forest-dependent birds are found within intact forests. We find a very strong positive relationship between the global extinction risk of forestdependent birds and the proportion of forest within their ESH that is no longer intact. This effect was independent of overall range size and phylogeny. There was also a tendency for extinction risk to be higher in species that lost more intactness in their forest ESHs between 2000 and 2016. Restoring intactness to forest landscapes will reduce global extinction risk in forest-dependent birds.

Observations of parrots at a geophagy site in Bolivia

Abstract: Geophagy, or soil ingestion, is known from a wide range of animal taxa but is particularly common among macaws and parrots in the family Psittacidae. Current theory suggests that Neotropical parrots ingest soil to neutralize toxins in food such as seeds and unripe fruit and as a mineral supplement. Here, we document the occurrence of geophagy at a site in lowland forest in Bolivia. We recorded six species of parrot with a maximum of 1,044 birds on any one day. Aratinga weddellii, Pionus menstruus and Ara severa (maxima of 654, 337 and 108 birds respectively) were the most numerous species visiting the site. We recommend that the Valle de la Luna be afforded formal protection by incorporating the site into the nearby Parque Nacional Carrasco.