Agriculture and urban development have been the main drivers of loss and fragmentation of grasslands worldwide. The Argentine Pampas has been highly transformed by human activities. However how birds respond to the size of grassland patches and landscape matrices is unknown. We studied the effects of these on the abundance and richness of both specialist and opportunist grassland birds. In addition, we evaluated the patch size effect in contrast with unfragmented grasslands. We surveyed birds in small and large patches of Cortaderia selloana grasslands embedded within agricultural, planted forest, dune and urban landscape matrices and, specifically in spring, in unfragmented grasslands. The abundance and richness of specialist grassland birds in small patches were lower than in large patches, but richness depended on the type of matrix and was lowest in patches surrounded by a forest matrix. Extensive grasslands are a key habitat for grassland specialists during the breeding season. In contrast, the abundance and richness of opportunist grassland birds were higher in patches than in unfragmented grasslands, and showed a negative effect of dune matrix in winter. Our results enable prediction of how bird species with different habitat requirements may vary in abundance and richness depending on the size of grassland patches and the type of land use following grassland replacement. —Pretelli, M.G., Isacch, J.P. & Cardoni, D.A. (2018). Species-area relationships of specialist versus opportunistic Pampas grassland birds depend on the surrounding landscape matrix. Ardeola, 65: 3–23.

In Argentina, predominantly in the Pampas ecoregion, the natural rangelands have increasingly been replaced by crops. Avifaunal studies have shown that the population density of several species decreased as the proportion of cropland in the landscape increased. The Greater Rhea Rhea americana and two migratory sheldgeese: the Upland Goose Chloephaga picta and Ashy-headed Goose Chloephaga poliocephala, are medium-large native species that have been common and sympatric inhabitants of the Pampas ecoregion. We aimed to analyse and compare the current ecological niches occupied by the three species during the non-breeding season in the southern Pampas of Argentina, the region where their original distributions overlapped, using Ecological Niche Factor Analysis. The three species showed high global marginality values, indicating that they occupied only a specific subset of environmental conditions of those available across the region. Suitable areas for Greater Rhea were located in the west and south of the study area, overlapping grazing lands and native habitats. The three species responded to landscape composition and configuration, as indicated by the low proportion of areas with suitable conditions for these medium-large birds. Suitable areas for Ashyheaded and Upland Geese were especially concentrated in the eastern part of the area and suitable areas for Upland Goose were more widespread than those suitable for the Ashy-headed Goose. We provide compelling evidence of low overlap between the ecological niches of the three species in the southern Pampas, which highlights the need for specific management strategies to ensure the conservation of these emblematic species. —Pedrana, J., Bernad, L., Maceira, N.O. & Isacch, J.P. (2018). Niche overlap determination through habitat suitability models: a management tool for native birds of the Argentinean Pampas. Ardeola, 65: 25–40.

Common bird monitoring schemes have become an important tool in conservation biology because they provide useful information for assessing spatial and temporal variations of bird populations. However, recorded data may suffer from several observational procedures that cause error. In recent years, a robust mathematical framework has been developed to control for potential confounding factors affecting the assessment of the actual spatial and temporal variability of bird populations. Surprisingly few attempts have been made to check the effectiveness of current methodology empirically and thus to determine to what extent monitoring scheme data can provide accurate estimates of actual bird abundances. To check the effect of intra-annual variability of bird counts, I conducted daily surveys of House Martin Delichon urbicum and Common Swift Apus apus populations along a 2-km transect line in Tres Cantos (Madrid, Spain) between March and September 2005. The data recorded perfectly mimicked the information collected every spring by observers participating in the common bird monitoring schemes of Spain. Computer simulations with my data showed that the probability of recording the actual annual maximum of individual numbers was less than 9% by the available protocols. Simulations of protocols with increased survey frequency demonstrated that three or four surveys per year would be enough to increase the accuracy of recorded House Martin abundance significantly. However, at least weekly surveys in spring would be required to produce acceptable annual estimates of the abundance of the Common Swift. My results suggest that two surveys per spring are not enough in the studied species, due to the huge between-day variability of records. Such variability is primarily caused by the nature of the count data and the seasonal patterns of occurrence/ detectability of individuals. Abundance data for swifts and house martins recorded in common bird monitoring schemes should thus be used cautiously due to its potential inaccurary. —Gordo, O. (2018). Are two days enough? Checking the accuracy of the survey protocols used in common bird monitoring schemes. Ardeola, 65: 41–52.

Lead ammunition represents a source of poisoning for raptors eating game. Although the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus commonly preys on gamebirds, only a few cases of lead poisoning have been recorded, probably owing to the lack of specific investigations. We document an adult female found dead with many lead shot in the digestive tract, mixed with the remains of a feral Pigeon Columba livia domestica and a European Starling Sturnus vulgaris. Concentrations in heart blood clot, liver, kidney and bone suggest that lead poisoning was not the ultimate cause of death. However, lead levels in the blood clot suggest that a small amount of lead may have been absorbed from the shot. The two prey species involved cannot be hunted in Italy but they are intensively shot all year round to prevent damage to crops. —Andreotti, A., Fabbri, I., Menotta, S. & Borghesi, F. (2018). Lead gunshot ingestion by a Peregrine Falcon. Ardeola, 65: 53–58.

During the last few decades, many breeding waders have been declining worldwide, probably due to the reduction of suitable coastal habitats. Diagnosis of population parameters has become increasingly important for the conservation of waders. We used capture-recapture information of 214 adult Kentish Plovers Charadrius alexandrinus, marked between 1977 and 2015 at two breeding areas in Mallorca, Spain, to assess any possible temporal trend in the survival probability. Mean adult survival probability was 0.756 ± 0.05 with no differences between the two areas. The sparseness of the data did not permit robust estimates of yearly survival. However, models with a temporal trend in survival probability were not retained. An age-structured population model including demographic stochasticity suggested a stable population (λ = 1.024 ± 0.09). Perturbation analyses indicated that a 10% increase in mean breeding success (from 0.44 to 0.63), by reducing habitat loss or nest predation, would be sufficient to obtain positive population trajectories. —Garcias, P.J. & Tavecchia, G. (2018). Apparent survival and long-term population growth rate of the Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus in Mallorca, Balearic Archipelago, Spain. Ardeola, 65: 59–68.

Oxidative stress is the imbalance between the antioxidant capacity of an organism and the production of free radicals that can damage important biomolecules (lipids, proteins or DNA), affecting cellular senescence. Environmental conditions experienced by organisms can exert a strong influence on the development and expression of their phenotype, especially during early development and reproduction, which may determine access to territories, fecundity and survival. On the other hand, understanding the relationship between oxidative status and telomere dynamics -regions of non-coding DNA whose function is to stabilize the structure of chromosomes and with a fundamental role in ageing- is essential to fully appraise the mechanisms underlying the life-histories determined by the existing trade-offs between reproduction, maintenance and growth. Thus, the main objective of this thesis is to determine, from an ecological-evolutionary point of view, the role of oxidative stress in relation to the different life-histories developed by the birds, analyzing the influence of the nesting environment and the intrinsic and external factors affecting individuals during early development and reproduction. We have studied the physiological adaptations, in relation to oxidative stress, to the different trade-offs that birds face during their life cycle. The Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) has been used as the study model. The study areas are located in the Sierra de Guadarrama, one in Montes de Valsaín (Segovia), where there are 570 nest boxes, and another one in Lozoya (Madrid), with 100 nest boxes. Both experimental and observational studies have been carried out to analyze the influence of nesting environment and nest-dwelling ectoparasites on nestlings and parental individuals, the costs derived from the reproductive investment and the maintenance of sexual ornaments, the factors affecting the redox status in the early life and the relationships between reproduction, oxidative stress and ageing. Films of nests have been made to analyze parental care and, in all cases, blood samples have been taken from all individuals (adults and nestlings), for analysis of oxidative and biochemical parameters (oxidative damage, antioxidants, triglycerides, uric acid), sex (only in nestlings) and measures of telomeres (adults). In addition, photographs of adult plumage ornaments have been taken to analyze them as a sign of individual quality. This thesis contributes to verify the strong implication of the oxidative state in the trade-offs that sustain life-histories of birds. On the one hand, this thesis shows that the presence of old material in the nest does not affect all populations of ectoparasites equally, questioning the general idea that nest reuse is linked to higher infestations, with consequences on reproductive success and nestling growth. In addition, it is shown how the method to reduce ectoparasite loads of the nest can have uncontrolled effects on birds, which may lead to underestimation of the potential consequences of the presence of such ectoparasites on their avian hosts. We found experimental evidences of negative effects of ectoparasite loads on the oxidative status of adult females and developing chicks, which could have consequences on future survival and reproduction. This study also shows the associations between different components of the oxidative status of developing chicks and various environmental and intrinsic factors, which is essential to understand the importance of oxidative stress in the formation of the phenotype. On the other hand, it is suggested that different achromatic features of plumage can signal the individual capacity to cope with oxidative stress and the importance of the different phases of the reproductive cycle is emphasized to understand the role of oxidative stress as cost and constraint in reproduction. Finally, it is evidenced how the oxidative status is related

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Observaciones de aves raras en España, 2016. El presente informe publica 253 registros estudiados y aceptados por el Comité de Rarezas (CR), relativos a la presencia de 97 taxones de aves raras en el conjunto de España. El índice de aceptación de las citas obtenidas se ha situado en el 93%. Las citas más destacables que incluye son las de zorzal rojigrís (Turdus obscurus) -primera y segunda observación para España-, curruca carrasqueña de la subespecie nominal (Sylvia cantillans cantillans) -primera y segunda observación para España-, pito real bereber (Picus vaillantii) -primera observación para España en los territorios del norte de África-, alcaudón meridional estepario (Lanius meridionalis pallidirostris) -primera observación en España-, negrón aliblanco (Melanitta deglandi stejnegeri) -segunda observación en España-, polluela culirroja (Porzana marginalis) -segunda observación en España-, andarríos solitario (Tringa solitaria) -segunda observación en España- y bisbita estepario (Anthus godlweskii) -segunda y tercera observación para España-. También presenta la primera observación en la península Ibérica y Europa de guión africano (Crex egregia) y la segunda observación para la península Ibérica de págalo polar (Stercorarius maccormickii). Asimismo, se recoge la tercera cita para España y cuarta para el Paleártico Occidental de paíño ventrinegro (Fregetta tropica). Otros datos interesantes son los relativos a la segunda reproducción confirmada de corredor sahariano (Cursorius cursor) en la península Ibérica y el elevado número de observaciones de mosquitero de Hume (Phylloscopus humei) recogidas durante 2016, que duplica el total hasta la fecha.

Este informe recopila información de 182 especies que se reparten por toda la geografía nacional. Desde hace algunos años las citas y observaciones se encuentra por diversas plataformas, foros, blogs, etc. En esta ocasión se ha hecho un esfuerzo especial de búsqueda de observaciones de algunas especies de presencia puntual o escasa y que recientemente ha salido de la lista de aves raras (véanse Rouco et al., 2017; De Juana y García, 2015; Gil-Velasco et al., 2017, Gutiérrez, 2017; Reservoir Birds, 2017). Se presentan algunos mapas y gráficas que recogen el número de citas que proporcionan información sobre su patrón de presencia. La secuencia taxonómica sigue la Lista de Aves de España (Gutiérrez et al., 2012).