Motacilla Flava Research Articles

Low first-year apparent survival of passerines in abandoned fields in northwestern Russia

Abstract First-year survival probability of migratory passerines during the period between fledging and first reproduction is a highly variable parameter that has a major effect on population dynamics. We used a long-term mark–recapture dataset (2002–2018) to examine first-year survival of 3 passerine species breeding in abandoned agricultural fields of northwestern Russia: Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata), Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), and Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava). We banded 3,457 nestlings, including 1,363 Booted Warblers, 1,699 Whinchats, and 395 Western Yellow Wagtails, and resighted 12 Booted Warblers, 29 Whinchats, and 13 Western Yellow Wagtails in the year after fledging. We evaluated first-year apparent survival rates using Cormack-Jolly-Seber models in MARK program within the multispecies approach. We tested effect of fledge date on the first-year apparent survival. In all focal species, first-year apparent survival rates were low and reached the lower limits known for migratory passerines. We found no differences in first-year survival rates among the 3 species: the estimated average first-year apparent survival rate of all species was 0.05 ± 0.01. The fledge date had a considerable impact on first-year survival rate: later fledge dates negatively affected first-year survival. We suggest that first-year apparent survival rates in our study were low due to low natal philopatry and high mortality in the post-fledging period. Low apparent first-year survival may be a specific feature of open-nesting birds breeding in abandoned fields that are low-quality habitats because of high predation pressure.

Temporal dynamic of the phylogenetic diversity of the bird community of agricultural lands in Ukrainian steppe drylands

This study discussed the importance of the phylogenetic components in the structure of bird communities of anthropogenically transformed ecosystems. The investigation was conducted in the landscapes of the south and south-east of Ukraine in the nesting seasons 1988–2018. The bird community in the agricultural landscape was found to be presented by 10 species. The number of species was closely correlated with its phylogenetic analogue – Faith’s index. Both indices were stationary over time, as they do not show a statistically significant time trend. The two axes were extracted as a result of the DPCOA procedure and the permutation test showed their statistical significance. The axis 1 was the most sensitive to the opposite dynamics of the abundance of Coturnix coturnix and Burhinus oedicnemus on the one hand and Alauda arvensis and Melanocorypha calandra on the other. The axis 2 is the most sensitive to the opposite dynamics of Corvus monedula and Melanocorypha calandra on the one hand and Coturnix coturnix and Motacilla flava on the other. Based on phylogenetic diversity, the years can be clustered with the extraction of four relatively homogeneous phylogenetic structures of bird communities. The indicator of the initial period of dynamics (1988–1992) was Burhinus oedicnemus. Sowing or mechanical weeding may be considered as a major factor of nest destruction of Burhinus oedicnemus. The decreasing of the abundance of the trophic recourses because of agricultural activity may have caused the monotonous negative trend over time of the Burhinus oedicnemus populations. The period 1993–2003 was a transitional one, for which there were no clear indicators, as a characteristic feature of this period was the processes of bird community restructuring. The period 2004–2013 was characterized by the loss of Burhinus oedicnemus from the community and a sharp increase in the abundance of Corvus monedula. These species are distinguished by their phylogenetic specificity and are located on the periphery relative to the phylogenetic core of the community. There was growing importance in the community of such species as Alauda arvensis, Anthus campestris, and Melanocorypha calandra between 2014 and 2018. Our results also confirm the assumption that phylogenetic overdispersion is an important requirement for the stability of the bird community in anthropogenically transformed landscapes.

Breeding Conditions for Birds in the Nowaday Farmlands of the European Russia: the Impact of Agriculture Intensification and Polarization. Part II. Birds

The considerable polarization of bird habitats has been formed in European Russia – extensive abandoned lands, of low suitability for nesting of typical meadow species, alternate with increasingly intensively cultivated fields. Though the abundance of most species is low in these fields, the polarization has resulted in their increasing exploitation by Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Black-winged Pratincole, Demoiselle Crane, Montagu's Harrier, Grey Partridge, Short-eared Owl and Mallard, apart from those more typical for fields: Lapwing, Common Quail, Eurasian Skylark, Calandra Lark and Western Yellow Wagtail. However, nesting of these species on most crop fields often results in low breeding success. The trends most unfavorable for nesting birds in European Russia are conversion of grasslands into arable lands, associated with the switching to indoor keeping of cattle, and increasing no-till farming.

Impact of agricultural crop type and hunting on bird communities of two villages in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Hakim L, Abdoellah OS, Parikesit, Withaningsih S. 2020. Impact of agricultural crop type and hunting on bird communities of two villages in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 57-66. Land use change has occurred in the Upper Citarum Watershed over time, converting tropical rain-forest to man-made cash-crop gardens dominate the agricultural landscape, leaving mixed-garden (talun), rice fields and smallholder plantation. This changes species composition, community structure and animal diversity, especially bird species. The objective of this paper was to study bird structure community in rural agricultural landscape in Upper Citarum Watershed. We conducted the survey from February to March 2018. We surveyed birds at 36 point counts (PCs), each PC's surveyed six times for 15 minutes along total 6 km of transects in the agricultural landscape in Sukapura and Resmi Tingal Village, consisting of 12 PCs in mixed-garden, 12 PCs in homegarden and 12 PCs in cash-crop garden. Twenty-nine bird species, 17 families and 1.103 individuals were recorded; 2 species being protected by Indonesian law in all sites, three Javan Island endemics and one species migrant bird species. The insectivorous birds are dominant with 15 species in all land-use types. Passer montanus and Javan munia were the most common birds in all land-use types with 820 of 1.103 individual birds (74,9%) were of two bird species. Mixed-garden had higher bird diversity, species richness, and evenness index than the homegarden and cash-crops garden because of the complexity of vegetation structure and canopy cover stratification. There was a significant decrease in some bird species which in the previous study was dominant to be reduced even to local extinctions such as Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), Crescent-chested Babbler (Stachyris melanothorax) and Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava). Decreased bamboo-tree garden as Crescent-chested Babbler habitat is suspected to be the cause of declination of this bird population. In addition, unregulated bird hunting is also one of the causes of the declining bird populations, especially birds with market value. Some species such as Oriental White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), Sooty-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster), Great Tit (Parus major), Bar-winged prinia (Prinia familiaris), Javan myna (Acridotheres javanicus) and Spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis) have rapidly decreased population because of bird hunting activities.

Studies on some harmful and beneficial bird species in newly reclaimed areas in Sohag Governorate

In African countries, birds damage to cereal crops represents economic losses. Serial field trials had been conducted to study some ecological aspects associated with harmful and beneficial bird species at newly reclaimed areas in Sohag Governorate, Upper Egypt. Regarding the harmful bird species, it is clear that the house sparrow, Passer domesticus niloticus was the most prevalent species in newly reclaimed areas, throughout the different year seasons. Hooded crow, Corvus corone sardonius ranked the second followed by palm dove, Streptopelia senegalensis egyptica and rock dove, Columba livia schimpari. On the other hand, crested lark, Galerida cristata and little green bee-eater, Merops orintalis clepatra were found in a few numbers during all seasons of the year. For the beneficial bird species, the results revealed that 9 beneficial and resident bird species Black-winged kite, Elanus coeruleus; fantailed warbler, Cisticola juncidis; hoopoe, Upupa epops epops; kestrl, Falco tinnunculus;little owl, Athene noctua glaux; swallow, Hirundo rustica savignii; spur winged plover, Hoplopterus spinosus; yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava and cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis ibis. White wagtail, Motacilla alba alba and chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita were found abundantly only in winter and spring seasons. With respect to the loss caused by harmful birds, the results revealed that the average of birds damage to wheat and sorghum varied according to the type of habitats. The highest birds damage occurred in crops of nearby trees, while the lowest damage was in those nearby field crops. Also, the most birds damage was recorded in the first 10 meters then, it decreased gradually towards the middle of the field. In conclusion, house sparrow, caused the most serious damage at ripening stage of considered crops. The highest damage was occurred in most cases during the ripening stages of sorghum than that of wheat crop.

Tendencies in the Dynamics of Bird Communities in Agricultural Landscapes of the Steppe Trans-Urals at the Turn of the Century

Abstract—This paper considers the dynamics of bird communities in agricultural landscapes of the Trans-Urals steppe from the period of heavy agricultural intensification (1988–1992) until the decline of agricultural production (2000–2008). In the conditions of intensive agriculture, the agrophytocenosis structure and features of the agricultural cultivation technology serve as key factors for the differentiation of bird communities in the steppe agricultural landscape. A relatively high specific richness characterizes bird communities of virgin pastures, while among field agrocenoses, i.e., in the areas seeded with perennial grass, the population is much poorer in the grain fields, which are prevalent in the area of agricultural landscapes and, especially, in fields of cultivated crops. During the period of agricultural stability, both the living conditions and the bird community structure in the agricultural landscape remained relatively constant from year to year. The economic crisis that took place at the end of the 20th century caused a deep decline in agricultural production, namely, a decrease in livestock and a reduction in the area of land sown. The restorative successions of vegetation in pastures and fallow lands led to significant changes in the conditions of bird habitats. For many species these changes meant an increase in the ecological capacity of the environment and contributed to the growth of their populations in the agricultural landscape (Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758; Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758; Coturnix coturnix (Linnaeus, 1758); Tetrax tetrax (Linnaeus, 1758), etc.). The opposite tendency for reduction in numbers is demonstrated by species that avoid high closed grass stands (Melanocorypha leucoptera (Pallas, 1811), Oenanthe oenanthe (Linnaeus, 1758), and O. isabellina (Temminck, 1820), etc.). In general, the community density in the agricultural landscape increased by 2.3 times as compared to the precrisis period, and the number of nesting species increased by 1.3 times. For the species that had formed strong ecological connections with agriculture (primarily, the Corvidae family Рiса рiсa (Linnaeus, 1758); Corvus monedula Linnaeus, 1758; C. frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758; C. cornix Linnaeus, 1758), the decline in the agricultural production and the reduction of functioning agrocenoses had opposite consequences and caused the decline in their numbers in the agricultural landscape.

Meadow Birds at the Waning Traditional Pasture Animal Husbandry

Журнал принимает на русском и английском языках статьи, представляющие результаты научных исследований в различных областях теоретической и прикладной экологии. Приоритет отдается научным статьям, основанным на явно сформулированных гипотезах.

Directional preferences of Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava) (Linnaeus, 1758) subspecies migrating through Kızılırmak Delta in spring

Motacilla flava (Sari kuyruksallayan) taksonlarinin yonelim davranislarini belirlemek amaciyla Kizilirmak Deltasi’nda 2004 - 2006 yillari arasinda ilkbahar gocu sirasinda oriyantasyon kafesi deneyleri yapildi. Kizilirmak Deltasi’nda, Sari kuyruksallayanlarin ilkbahar gocu mart ayi sonunda baslar, nisan ayi ortasinda en yuksek seviyesine ulasir ve mayis ayi ortalarina dogru gorece azalir. 2004 – 2006 yillari arasinda bes alttur (M. f. beema, M. f. feldegg, M. f. flava, M. f. melanogrisea, M. f. thunbergi) ve iki hibride (M. f. superciliaris and M. f. dombrowskii) Busse kafesleri ile 369 oriyantasyon deneyi yapildi. Oriyantasyon deneyleri ve halkalama calismalari sonuclarina gore M. flava taksonuna ait bireyler, ilkbahar gocu sirasinda buyuk bir goc bariyeri olan Karadeniz’i asmadan once Kizilirmak Deltasi’nda karisik suruler halinde konaklamakta ve alani dinlenme ve beslenme icin kullanmaktadir. Oriyantasyon deneylerinden elde edilen sonuclara gore M. flava’ya ait altturler, kuzeye yonelmislerdir. M. flava’nin agirlikli goc yonu, kuzeybati (KB) ve kuzeydogu (KD) olarak tespit edilmistir. M. flava taksonlari, Karadeniz’i asmadan once degil de, Karadeniz’i gectikten sonra ureme alanlarina dogru yonelmektedirler.

Натальная и гнездовая дисперсия желтой трясогузки Motacilla flava в национальном парке «Русский Север» (Вологодская область)

Натальная и гнездовая дисперсия желтой трясогузки Motacilla flava в национальном парке «Русский Север» (Вологодская область)

David Pearson (1941–2017)

David Pearson (1941–2017)

Evaluating the benefits of agri-environment schemes on farmland bird communities through a common species monitoring programme. A case study in northern Italy

Biodiversity in agricultural environments is considered to be undergoing steep declines in most European countries. Among taxa which experienced consistent decreases, birds are of central importance, both for their value as ecological indicators and for the high number of species of conservation concern associated with agricultural ecosystems.In this paper, using data from the Italian Common Breeding Bird monitoring programme collected in the period 2009–2014, we analysed the effect on breeding birds of four Agri-Environment Schemes (AES) in Emilia-Romagna region, one of the most important agricultural areas of Italy. Specifically we compared the values of three community parameters (total, farmland and generalist species richness) and the abundance of seven species (Alauda arvensis, Hirundo rustica, Motacilla flava, Serinus serinus, Chloris chloris, Carduelis carduelis and Passer montanus) in areas covered by AES and not.The results of the analyses show that, at the scale we investigated, the positive effects of these measures are very limited and often not positive, particularly for farmland specialist species. These findings seem to suggest that the application of these measures, albeit widespread over the Region, is not able to counteract the negative effects of the simplification and impoverishment of the agricultural landscape. Our results show the AES management related more with single species metrics than community measures. Therefore to improve the effectiveness of AES, and to try to contrasts the dramatic decline of farmland bird species, we think these schemes should be designed on the specific needs of species and habitats of high conservation priority.

Тенденции динамики населения птиц агроландшафтов степного Зауралья на рубеже столетий

The dynamics of the bird community in agricultural landscapes of the Trans-Urals steppe from the period of heavy agricultural intensification (1988 – 1992) until the decline of agricultural production (2000 – 2008) is considered. In the conditions of intensive agriculture, the agrophytocenosis structure and features of the agricultural cultivation technology serve as the key factors for the differentiation of bird communities in the steppe agricultural landscape. A relatively high specific richness characterizes the bird community of virgin pastures, while among field agrocenoses, i.e. in the areas seeded with perennial grass, the population is much poorer in the grain fields prevalent in the area of agricultural landscape and, especially, in the cultivated crop fields. During the period of agricultural stability, both the living conditions and the bird community structure in the agricultural landscape remained relatively constant from year to year. The economic crisis that took place at the end of the 20th century caused a deep decline in agricultural production, namely, livestock and sown land area reduction. The restorative successions of vegetation in pastures and fallow lands led to significant changes in the conditions of bird habitats. For many species these changes meant an increase in the ecological capacity of the environment and contributed to the growth of their populations ( Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758; Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758; Coturnix coturnix (Linnaeus, 1758); Tetrax tetrax (Linnaeus, 1758) et al). The opposite tendency for reduction in numbers is demonstrated by such species that avoid high closed grass stands ( Melanocorypha leucoptera (Pallas, 1811), Oenanthe oenanthe (Linnaeus, 1758), O. isabellina (Temminck, 1820) et al.). In general, the community density in the agricultural landscape increased by 2.3 times as compared to the pre-crisis period, the number of nesting species increased by 1.3 times. For the species that had formed strong ecological connectionswith agriculture (primarily, Corvidae family – Р iса р iс a (Linnaeus, 1758); Corvus monedula Linnaeus, 1758; C. frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758; C. cornix Linnaeus, 1758), the decline in the agricultural production and the reduction of functioning agrocenoses had opposite consequences and caused the decline in their numbers in the agricultural landscape.

Breeding Success Affects the Apparent Survival of Grassland Passerines

The apparent adult survival rate is one of the key population parameters of migratory birds. The widely used Cormack–Jolly–Seber capture–mark–recapture model has a number of disadvantages, the main one of which is the impossibility of discerning mortality and permanent emigration. The accuracy of survival estimates can be increased using a multistate capture–mark–recapture model, with the help of which it is possible to assess the survival of successful and unsuccessful birds separately. We used this model to estimate the apparent survival rates of adults in local populations of three ground-nesting passerines: Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata), Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), and Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava), all breeding on abandoned agricultural lands. We studied the reproductive success of 472 marked pairs and analyzed individual capture histories of 814 birds. The previous reproductive success was found to influence significantly the apparent survival of adults. This relation was best expressed in the Yellow Wagtail (apparent survival of successful birds, φ = 0.39 ± 0.06, vs. that of unsuccessful birds, φ = 0.19 ± 0.06) and the Whinchat (apparent survival of successful birds, φ = 0.32 ± 0.05, vs. apparent survival of unsuccessful birds, φ = 0.10 ± 0.05), but a little lower in the Booted Warbler (apparent survival of successful birds, φ = 0.33 ± 0.17, vs. apparent survival of unsuccessful birds, φ = 0.16 ± 0.13). Unsuccessful individuals leave the study area for good, while most of the successful birds return there the next year. Thus, the apparent survival rate of passerines evaluated with capture–recapture models is determined to a considerable degree by the previous reproductive success within local populations.

The widespread biting midge Culicoides impunctatus (Ceratopogonidae) is susceptible to infection with numerous Haemoproteus (Haemoproteidae) species

BackgroundHaemoproteus parasites are widespread, and some species cause disease in wild and domestic birds. However, the insect vectors remain unknown for the majority of species and genetic lineages of avian Haemoproteus. This information is crucial for better understanding the biology of haemoproteids, the epidemiology of haemoproteosis, and the development of morphological characters of sporogonic stages in wildlife haemosporidian parasites. It remains unclear whether the specificity of Haemoproteus parasites for vectors is broad or the transmission of a given parasite can be restricted to a single or few species of vectors. The aim of this study was to examine the sporogonic development of four species of common European avian haemoproteids in the common biting midge Culicoides impunctatus.MethodsWild-caught females of C. impunctatus were infected experimentally by allowing them to take blood meals on naturally infected Muscicapa striata, Cyanistes caeruleus, Ficedula hypoleuca and Motacilla flava harbouring mature gametocytes of Haemoproteus balmorali (genetic lineage hSFC9), H. majoris (hPARUS1), H. motacillae (hYWT1) and H. pallidus (hPFC1), respectively. Infected insects were collected, maintained under laboratory conditions and dissected daily in order to detect the development of ookinetes, oocysts and sporozoites. Microscopic examination and polymerase chain reaction based methods were used to detect the parasites. Bayesian analysis was applied to identify phylogenetic relationships among Haemoproteus lineages.ResultsAll investigated parasites completed sporogony in C. impunctatus, indicating broad susceptibility of this biting midge for numerous Haemoproteus parasites. Ookinetes, oocysts and sporozoites were reported, described and compared morphologically. The investigated parasite species can be distinguished at the sporogony stage, particularly with regards to the morphology and rate of development of mature ookinetes. Analysis of data from the literature, and this study, shows that 12 genetically distantly related Haemoproteus parasites complete sporogony in C. impunctatus.ConclusionsSusceptibility of C. impunctatus is broad for Haemoproteus parasites, indicating that this biting midge is an important natural vector of numerous species of avian haemoproteids in Europe. Some Haemoproteus species can be readily distinguished using morphological characters of ookinetes and sporozoites, as well as the rate of ookinete development. These characters can be used for the identification of Haemoproteus species during sporogony in vectors, and are worth more attention in these parasite taxonomy studies at the species levels.

Mixed haemosporidian infections are associated with higher fearfulness in Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)

Blood parasite infections have been shown to influence behavioural traits of their avian hosts, in particular activity level and boldness. Following the hypothesis that a mixed infection by different parasite species should have higher effects than single-species infections, we analysed activity and boldness in wild-caught Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla flava L., 1758), a trans-Saharan migrant, during the energetically demanding spring migration. Eighty-five percent of the birds were naturally infected with Haemoproteus Kruse, 1890 or Plasmodium Marchiafava and Celli, 1885 (Sporozoa, Haemosporida) and 27% of individuals had parasites from both genera. No differences in activity were found among uninfected, single infection, and mixed infection groups. Birds with infections from both genera appeared to be more fearful when first introduced to a cage. These birds also tended to be less likely to approach a novel object compared with uninfected birds and birds infected by a single genus only.

Distribution of Yellow Wagtail Forms Motacilla flava – Complex in the North of Western Siberia, Russia

On the basis of the materials obtained from the studies carried out from 2000 to 2015, we present the data on distribution of the Yellow Wagtail forms in the north of Western Siberia, i.e. within the overlapping boundaries of the ranges of a complex set of several polytypical forms – Motacilla flava sensu lato. Four forms have been identified here: two forms from the group of Western Yellow Wagtails (M. f. thunbergi and M. f. beema & flava) and two forms from the group of Eastern Yellow Wagtails (M. t. plexa and M. t. tschutschensis). Western “black-headed” form M. f. thunbergi is spread in the area of the northern taiga, forest tundra and south shrub tundra within the Ob River basin, while eastern “black-headed” form M. t. plexa is found in the shrubby tundra and further to the east from the Ob River in forest tundra and northern taiga. Western “light headed” wagtails M. f. beema & flava spread as far as 65º05'N along the floodplain of the Ob River. Eastern “light-headed” wagtail M. t. tschutschensis penetrates the Taz peninsula and, through the anthropogenic sites, the north-east coast of the Yamal Peninsula, i.e. the Sabetta area as far as 71º14'N. The entire range of the Yellow Wagtail is characterized by the interchange of zones inhabited by “black-headed” (without the expressed eyebrows on males) and “light-headed” (with notable eyebrows on males or white-headed) forms from the north to the south.

On habitat characteristics driving meadow passerine densities in lowland hay-meadow systems in France

For meadow bird conservation in Europe, promoting specific farming models in their remaining strongholds could be a necessary complement to the ongoing agri-environmental policy. This study aims at understanding the main drivers of meadow passerine density in the objective of guiding conservation policies. The data were collected in 56 lowland hay-meadow regions important for grassland bird breeding in France. The objective was to explain, using GLMMs, the variation in meadow passerine density, measured annually in 490 12-ha plots during the period 2006–2010 by the count point method. Explanatory variables enabled us to describe farming management, sward structure and habitat size. Passerine density (all species except the skylark Alauda arvensis) depended on the extent of habitat available and on the percentage of meadow already mown on June 20. More specifically, the skylark was attracted to low, floristically rich and early mown swards, the whinchat Saxicola rubetra and the yellow wagtail Motacilla flava to large areas of favourable habitat, and the corn bunting Emberiza calandra to floristically rich meadows mown later than June 20. Extensive farming models based on late mowing in the largest habitat units should therefore be a target for meadow passerine conservation. The skylark was an exception. Because of its apparent tendency to use early mown grasslands, we recommend to rather invest on alternative habitats for sustaining the demography of this species.

Factors influencing the success of within-field AES fallow plots as key sites for the Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus in an industrialised agricultural landscape of Central Europe

Unsown fallow plots, commonly referred to as ‘lapwing plots’, are widely promoted within the English agri-environmental programme, but remain unstudied outside of England. We tested Lapwing plots in an industrialised agricultural landscape in Central Europe from 2010 to 2015. Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) and other birds as well as plant species were mapped. Factors influencing the success of the plots were modelled to obtain information on how to design a well-working agri-environment scheme (AES).Lapwings were present at 65% of the 61 lapwing plots studied, whereas colonisation of untreated control sites was significantly lower (37%). 64 lapwing pairs bred at 26 lapwing plots, but only 18 pairs at nine untreated sites. Hatching success was significantly higher than without treatment (24 pairs at 11 lapwing plots vs. 3 pairs at 2 control sites). Other species which benefitted from the measures were Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) and Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava).The modelling of key factors showed that a successful lapwing plot should be: (1) large (at least about 2ha); (2) located at a traditional breeding site; (3) sparsely vegetated; and, (4) equipped with a shallow pool of water. Placing them in winter cereals improved hatching success.Lapwing plots at damp sites are a promising AES for lapwing conservation in industrialised agricultural landscapes in Central Europe.

Evolution of the breeding range of the Black-headed Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava feldegg)

The Black-headed Yellow Wagtail (<em>Motacilla flava feldegg</em>) has shown a clear tendency to expand its breeding range in the period 1830-2015, with an accentuation of the phenomenon during the second half of the twentieth century. Expansion northwards has been favoured by climate change and is characterized by alternating phases of jump dispersal and subsequent diffusion within the limits thus achieved. In the Balkans and in western Europe, jump dispersal occurred mainly in the late nineteenth century and mid-twentieth century, allowing the subspecies to reach the 48th parallel north. In the eastern portion of its breeding range, however, jump dispersal mainly took place in the last decades of the twentieth century and in the early part of the twenty-first century. In Europe (especially in the oriental sector) and in Asia, the northern edge of the range is defined with good approximation by the 20°C isothermal of July. In Europe, there has been a shift in its distribution range to the west and the establishment of a new, progressively more import migration route leading the subspecies from Africa to Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar. Concurrently, more and more sightings of the Black-headed Yellow Wagtail have been reported in northern European countries. In the Middle East, expansion to the southwest in Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan has diffusive characteristics and exploits almost exclusively natural environments. In contrast, nesting in the southernmost parts of the Arabian Peninsula is determined by human activity, in particular by the irrigation of fields for the production of fodder, demonstrating the potential of the subspecies to expand further south. In this case, the limiting factor is certainly the lack of a suitable environment, due to the strong prevalence of a hyperarid climate. In central Asia, especially in the catchment area of the Aral Sea, the spread of <em>feldegg</em> has been favoured by the irrigation of the land for agricultural purposes. In the far eastern edge of its distribution range, no particular expansive or recessive movements have been observed.

The Proportion of Cropland Influences Negatively the Occurrence of Breeding Birds in an Alkali Grassland Habitat in NW Serbia

Abstract Grasslands host a high diversity of plant and animal species. In Serbia, most alkali grasslands are located in the province of Vojvodina. The majority are not subject to conservation. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the proportion of croplands and (1) the number of breeding species and (2) the number of breeding pairs in the alkali grasslands of the upper Mostonga River catchment basin (NW Serbia). The size of the study area was 400 ha. Birds were surveyed along seven parallel transects eight times per breeding season. Lengths of the cross sections of both grasslands and croplands were measured. The proportion of croplands per transect was calculated by dividing the total length of cross sections of croplands by the total length of transect. The relationship between the proportion of croplands and the number of breeding pairs and the number of breeding species, respectively, was studied using simple linear regression. We recorded a total of 171 nesting pairs belonging to 23 species in the alkali grassland investigated, with breeding densities between 2.2 and 10.3 pairs per 10 ha. The number of species per transect ranged between 6 and 11. The most abundant species were Skylark Alauda arvensis, Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava and Corn Bunting Emberiza calandra. The numbers of breeding pairs (F6 = 21.761, P < 0.0001) and of breeding species (F6 = 13.758, P = 0.001) were both influenced negatively by the proportion of croplands. These findings highlight the need for coordinated conservation measures on the alkali grasslands of Vojvodina.