Mathew Prophet The Denham’s Bustard has a spectacular display. Zoom In

BirdLife News-Bytes

12-06-2009

Conserving bustards in South Africa - BirdLife South Africa (BirdLife Partner) has formed a working group to aid the conservation of bustards within the country. "South Africa’s bustards are in trouble, with six of the country's ten species listed in the South African Red Data Book", said Mark Anderson - Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa. For example, experts identified that populations of Ludwig's and Denham's Bustard [Near Threatened] are threatened by a single mortality factor - collisions with the cables of power-lines. Studies by Mark Anderson and the University of Cape Town's Dr Andrew Jenkins, found that on average about one Ludwig’s Bustard collides per kilometre of power line per year at these sites. "The thought that we could be potentially losing them at a rate of over 10,000 birds killed annually by this factor alone is terrifying", said David Allan, ornithologist at the Durban Natural Science Museum. The new working group will have several aims, but will focus initially on disseminating information about bustards to the relevant authorities and stakeholders, prioritising research needs, and determining urgent conservation interventions.

Hawaiian honeycreepers - A recent U.S. Geological Survey review discusses the likelihood of a forthcoming "disease invasion" by examining the present altitudinal range of avian malaria and pox, Hawaiian honeycreeper distribution, and the future projected range of diseases and honeycreeper habitat with climate change. At one time, the Hawaiian Islands had no mosquitoes – and no mosquito-borne diseases. But, by the late 1800s, mosquitoes were common, and honeycreepers – just like people faced with novel viruses – had no natural resistance against these diseases, and so declined significantly in number and geographic range. Today, native Hawaiian birds face one of the highest rates of extinction in the world with 13 species being listed by BirdLife as Critically Endangered. Pox and malaria transmission in Hawaii depends on climatic conditions, especially seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall that increase or decrease mosquito populations. To find out more click here.

Twelve thousand people celebrate the 4th Brazilian Birdwatching Fair - The Villa-Lobos Park in the city of São Paulo recently hosted the fourth Brazilian Birdwatching Fair. The fair was visited by 12,000 people and included a great variety of activities, including seminars and workshops, and a number of fun events were organised for children. SAVE Brasil (BirdLife Partner) helped develop the fair, and had a stand to showcase its main projects on Brazilian threatened birds. The artist Reginaldo Souza Santos painted a giant mural of 12 of the most threatened birds in Brazil, including Red-billed Curassow Crax blumenbachii and Lear's Macaw Anodorhynchus leari, to highlight the country's avian wealth to visitors.

Botswanan children celebrate migratory birds - More than three hundred children participated in the first drama and poetry competition organised by BirdLife Botswana (BirdLife in Botswana). The event was held on World Migratory Day and celebrated the migration of millions of birds from south to north and back again at the change of seasons. During the day the children performed act of or poems inspired by bird migration, and also had the opportunity to see a variety of waterbirds at the Bokaa dam. The celebrations were hosted by the Bokaa village chief, Sue Mosinyi, who in his speech urged his people to take notice of migratory species in Bokaa and to conserve Bokaa dam as a habitat for birds. To conclude the event the Chairman of BirdLife Botswana, Harold Hester, presented trophies, certificates and prizes to the winners which included BirdLife Botswana’s publication: The Beginner’s Guide to Birds of Botswana.

Free tools for conservation - Everyone loves free stuff and this is equally true for conservation biologists, especially if it is easily downloadable from the internet! Xeno-canto is a platform for birders, biologists and conservationists to share knowledge and recordings of the world’s birds. Visitors can search through sounds in many different ways, make maps showing locations of recordings, and use simple song characteristics to try and identify unknown songs heard in the field. Xeno-canto provides access to its collections to anyone in the world. The recordings are shared under a Creative Commons license, allowing unlimited (non-commercial) distribution and copying. The final region (Australasia) has recently come online. Check it out at www.xeno-canto.org

Listen to the amazing call of the Critically Endangered Stresemann's Bristlefront Merulaxis stresemanni (XC22834) coutresy of Xeno Canto