Volume 28 (2020): Issue 1 (June 2020)

A national White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) census was organised in Hungary in 2019. The 14^th country-wide nest count was coordinated by MME/BirdLife Hungary, also involving local branches and volunteers of the society and national park directorates.

Altogether 5,018 nests and 2,358 White Stork nest holders without nest material were reported. 89.2% of occupied nests were built on electric poles. Although 80 years ago every third nests were found on trees, in 2019, only 6 were reported at that location. Successful pairs raised 2.62 nestlings on average, breeding success for all breeding pairs was 2.19, which is lower than typical, probably due to chilly and rainy weather during the breeding season. Based on 3,540 reported breeding pairs and former census data, the White Stork population of Hungary is estimated to be 3,860–4,020 pairs in 2019. The size of the population was ca. 15–16 thousand pairs in 1941, which halved by 1958 and decreased to 5 thousand pairs by the late 1960s. For four decades, the population fluctuated between 4,800 and 5,500 pairs but in the last twenty years, the number of breeding pairs slightly decreased in the country. The population decline is stronger in hilly areas of W Hungary, i.e. in Somogy, Vas and Zala counties is about 60%.

The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is the most widely distributed bird species in the world, but very little is known about its tropical populations, where even very basic information (e.g. about population density) is mostly lacking. In January 2017, 2018 and 2019, we conducted three intensive surveys amounting to 27 days and 5,400 km driven by car in West Malaysia at latitudes between 3 and 7 °N, where the ernesti subspecies was confirmed to be a resident breeder only as recently as 1996. Here, we summarize our findings and combine them in a synthesis that includes all published and unpublished records of nesting peregrines that we could obtain in that area. In particular, we draw on the foundational work conducted by our late colleague Laurent Molard in 2003–2005. We give information about breeding habitats, local density, behavior and breeding phenology. We also describe and discuss our use of call playback during the surveys. Much more extensive reports for each survey, with plenty of photographs of all sites visited, are available upon request from the authors.

According to current knowledge, Peregrines in West Malaysia nest mainly in cliffs, with some nesters on buildings exceptionally found (in Kuala Lumpur and suspected also elsewhere in cities) and possibly on large towers. Virtually all natural nesting places are limestone mountains with vertical cliffs. Owing to the mostly flat terrain in West Malaysia, with limestone cliffs only occurring very locally, the peregrine breeding distribution is extremely patchy. We found local aggregations in the regions of Ipoh (Perak), Gua Musang (Kelantan) and in the state of Perlis. However, local density is fairly low even in these hotspots, with nearest-neighbor distances in the densest cluster ranging from 3.7–5.6 km (mean 4.7). Overall, by the end of 2019, 36 occupied sites had been found in West Malaysia, of which 10 were known before 2003, 9 were found during the surveys by Mo-lard and his colleagues in 2003–2005, and 17 were new discoveries during our surveys in 2017–2019. In West Malaysia, the start of egg-laying appears to be late January and early February. We found playback of the ‘eeechup’ courtship calls to be extremely helpful when locating pairs. Playing a 26-sec sequence twice enticed the majority of birds to become airborne and/or to call, which greatly increased their detection probability and therefore survey success.

In spite of the great increase in the number of known peregrine sites owing to our surveys, the currently known number of pairs is still considerably lower than the estimate by Molard et al. (2007) of 70–80 pairs. Although this latter may perhaps be a slight overestimate, we are convinced that many more pairs remain to be discovered in cliffs, where most of the future survey effort should be concentrated. This will then also provide the basic knowledge required to protect limestone outcrop sites, e.g. from quarrying activities, which may destroy entire limestone hills. However, we believe that the major uncertainty about the size of the population of nesting F. p. ernesti in Malaysia arguably comes from the population segment of nesters on buildings, which is likely underestimated and hard to survey and even discover in the first place. Moreover, given the rate of increase of nesters on buildings in other parts of the world, it is likely that the proportion of pairs nesting on buildings will increase also in Malaysia. Hence, we believe that new pairs will be discovered in the future also where there were none in earlier years.

The article presents the results of monitoring studies on the population dynamics of goose species at one of the largest stopover sites in Northern Kazakhstan during the springs of 2011–2018. Comparative analysis of the phenological phases at the beginning and end of migration over a 50-year period is conducted and changes in timing of migration for the studied groups are established. Data on the number of flocks at various stages of the migration process are presented. Authors revealed characteristics of the distribution of birds in the directions of migration through the region associated with the presence of various migration strategies. Based on the distribution and number of geese in the region for rest and feeding, key zones with characteristics of their natural and anthropogenic state were identified. It has been established that water bodies and large areas have optimal conditions for rest and replenishment of energy reserves for the birds.

Diversity in avian assemblages of urban (UR), peri-urban (PE) and rural (RU) areas was studied to explore variations in the avian community dynamics in rural – urban gradient. For this purpose, sampling was done from September 2013 to August 2015. A total of 35 sites, each covering an area of 300 m² were sampled by using point count method. At each site, randomly three points (minimally 5 m apart from each other) were selected to study the birds. According to data, species richness (F_{2, 32}=47.18, P<0.001) varied significantly along a rural-urban gradient. A significant difference in avian density per sampling site (F_{2, 32}=105.41, P<0.001) was also observed along urbanization gradient. In PE and RU areas, avian assemblages were more diverse than UR areas. Among avian guilds, omnivores were the most abundant in UR while insectivores in PE areas. Frugivores and carnivores were abundant in RU areas. Granivores were recorded in all habitats with similar diversity. A close association was recorded in bird density of RU and PE areas than UR areas. Bird species richness and diversity showed negative correlation with built area and positive correlation with vegetation cover in an area.

Between 1931 and 2018 in the Danube Delta, 1,171 Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus 1758) were ringed (731 with metal rings, 440 with coloured plastic rings) at breeding sites. The majority of the captured birds were flightless young individuals. From the ringed birds, 25 (2.13%) were reported as recaptured. Most were reported from Israel (28%), and the rest from 8 other countries. Recovery distance varied between 50 and 3,000 km. 19 birds (76%) were reported within half year after ringing, 2 birds (8%) within a year, and further 4 individuals (16%) were reported after a year. With the exception of a single photographed individual, all the others perished: they were shot or fell victims to accidents. These cases suggest high mortality in the young age cohort. Very little knowledge is available about the African wintering grounds; there are only two reports from Egypt and one from Southern Sudan. Traditional ringing yields little information for this species. Considerably more exact data could be expected from satellite tracking, use of other modern locating techniques and use of genetic methods. The ringing of nestlings is only possible if we can apply less aggressive methods then used to date. Besides its scientific value, the intense research on the still numerous Great White Pelican population would be justified by the outstanding faunistic, economic and cultural importance of this species.

The reedbeds provide essential habitat for many Acrocephalus and Locustella species during both breeding and migration periods. The nesting and the migration of these species have been the subject of detailed research over the past half century in the Carpathian Basin. However, these studies have focused primarily on natural habitats and large reedbeds and thus, little is known about the role of smaller habitat fragments in the migration and nesting of these species. During my work, I studied the spring and autumn migration of five passerines in a landscape dominated by agricultural land in Southeast Hungary. Field observations were carried out to survey the populations of different species between 2010–2019. To study their migration, I used the method of bird ringing between 2016–2019 in an oleaster forest and a drainage canal. I was able to determine the migration periods of the species and in autumn, to calculate the time spent in the research area based on the recaptures. In conclusion, reedbeds in secondary habitats play a similar role in the migration of the most common Acrocephalus and Locustella species as in the natural habitats in different regions of the Carpathian Basin. There are differences among species in the timing of migration, the length of time spent here, and the accumulated fat stores. As these species nest in small numbers in the area, primarily individuals from more distant populations occur here during the migration.

In this study, we summarized and evaluated nesting data of 300 Woodcocks in both historic and present Hungary recorded from the 19^th century until now that appeared in 108 ornithological and hunting literature including the results of Vönöczky Schenk’s study (1908–1917). We acquired a comprehensive picture of Woodcock nestings in the Carpathian Basin as we drew nesting maps based on previously collected data analysis. We classified those significant regions where nesting data of this sparsely nesting species were registered. It is ascertainable that the distribution of Woodcock nestings concentrated in certain regions of the country both before and after the First World War. Nesting data collected before 1921 concentrated to higher areas especially the well forested regions of the Carpathian Mountains where 3 main nesting regions can be distinguished with 72% of all nesting data. The most significant nesting area is the region of the North Carpathian Mountains (36%) (Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun, Esztergom, Hont, Nógrád, Borsod, Gömör and Kis-Hont, Abaúj-Torna, Zólyom, Liptó, Sáros, Zemplén and Ung counties). The second main nesting region is situated on the ranges of the East and South Carpathian Mountains (26%) (Máramaros, Beszterce-Naszód, Maros-Torda, Udvarhely, Kisküküllő, Nagyküküllő, Brassó, Fogaras, Szeben, Alsó-Fehér, Torda-Aranyos counties). The third important nesting region can be found in the west part of Historic Hungary (10%) (Moson, Győr, Sopron, Vas, Zala counties). The distribution of nesting observations – based on data collected between 1921–2019 – can be connected well to mountainous nesting regions in the Kingdom of Hungary where nesting conditions were more favourable. Many of these regions are abroad now. Apart from sparse nestings on the Great Hungarian Plain, breeding grounds concentrate in well forested areas such as in North Hungarian counties (63%) (Pest, Nógrád and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén) and in some Transdanubian counties (31%) mainly in Győr-Moson Sopron, Vas, Veszprém and Baranya counties.

In the dominant nesting regions this species typically do not join to higher altitudes, however, in the south margin of their nesting region in the Carpathian Basin – based on 170 years nesting data (n=704) – it can be stated that they rather nest in woodlands of higher altitudes due to their more favourable (cool and rainy) climatic features.

Parrots (Psittaciformes) are a unique and diverse avian group and vary tremendously in size, shape, and colour. Mainly distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, most species of parrots are largely or exclusively arboreal with several exceptions. The species also differ in diet and habitat, which led to different musculoskeletal adaptations of the skull. However, parrots have conspicuous generalized external features; in this recent study, we tried to increase our knowledge of the cranial shape and foraging habits. A geometric morphometric approach was used to analyse two-dimensional cranial landmarks. We used principal component (PC) analyses on measurements that may be related to diet. The PCs described the relative height of the cranium, the relative length and curvature of the beak, differences in the orientation and curvature of the lacrimal bone and the upper margin of orbits, variation in the size and position of the palatine bone and the relative width of the cranium, and variation in the relative size of the neurocranium compared to the viscerocranium. The dietary categories overlap in the morphospace but the analysis in lateral and ventral view resulted in significant differences.

Corvids are the largest songbirds in Europe. They are known in the avian fauna of Europe from the Miocene, the beginning of the Neogene, and are currently represented by 11 species. Due to their size, they occur more frequently among fossilized material than other types of songbirds, and thus have been examined to the largest extent. In the current article, we present their known evolution and their fossilized taxa in Europe and examine the osteology of extant species.

The Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is considered as the most important factor in the dispersal and spread of oak species. We conducted studies in oak stands in four countries (Poland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine) in the autumn of 2015 and 2016. To identify the preferences of Jays for both acorns and trees, we compared the size of acorns and tree characteristics between each selected tree and the closest unused oak. We found that acorns from selected oaks were smaller (narrower) than those from unused trees. We found no differences in the characteristics of selected and unused oaks. These results indicate that the size of acorns can be an important indicator determining the choices of foraging birds. The Jays’ preferences for specific trees may influence the composition of oak populations. Trees with certain phenotypic and genomic characteristics may be favoured and dominate in the ecosystem.

Facultative avian brood parasites increase their reproductive output by laying eggs in the nests of conspecifics or closely related species. The Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus is a well-known facultative brood parasite that nests in wetlands, which are utilised also by a wide range of waterfowl, including the Eurasian Coot Fulica atra. The two species breed in similar habitats and have a similar egg pigmentation pattern; thus, the Coot can be a suitable host of brood-parasitic Moorhen. To study whether there is any discernible difference between the spotting pattern of Coot and Moorhen eggs, we compared the density of different sized spots on eggs of the two species. Our results show that Coot eggs have a significantly higher density of small speckles then Moorhen eggs, while the latter species has eggs with more conspicuous larger spots. Therefore, Coots can possibly rely on these differences in eggshell pattern to recognize and eject the brood parasitic Moorhen eggs.

At Mietków Reservoir (SW Poland), during the breeding season of 2019, we found 52 dead swallows in Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans) colony. Most of them were Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). The bodies of swallows were fresh and torn with traces of bill. We assume that swallows might have been in weak condition and hunted by gulls. They also could die because of bad weather conditions and hypothermia, fell into the water and then were taken. However, to our knowledge, it was the first mass event of feeding on migrating birds by Caspian Gull.