Avocetta, vol. 31, n. 1-2, 2007

Abstracts

Le garzaie in Italia, 2002
MAURO FASOLA1, GIUSEPPE ALBANESE2, ASOER3, GIOVANNI BOANO4, ELEONORA BONCOMPAGNI1, UMBERTO BRESSAN5, MASSIMO BRUNELLI6, ANDREA CIACCIO7, GIUSEPPE FLORIS8, MARCELLO GRUSSU9, ROBERTO GUGLIELMI10, CARLO GUZZON11, FRANCESCO MEZZAVILLA12, GIORGIO PAESANI13, ALESSANDRO SACCHETTI13, MAURO SANNA14, FRANCESCO SCARTON12, CARLO SCOCCIANTI15, PAOLO UTMAR16, GABRIELLA VASCHETTI4, FRANCESCO VELATTA17

1Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Piazza Botta 9, I-27100 Pavia (fasola@unipv.it); 2Centro Fauna Selvatica, Parco Nazionale del Gargano, Via S. Antonio Abate 121, 71037 Monte Sant'Angelo (FG); 3Associazione Ornitologi dell’Emilia-Romagna, Via Massa Rapi 3, I-40064 Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO); 4Museo Civico Storia Naturale, Via S. Francesco da Sales 188, I-10022 Carmagnola (TO); 5Direzione Generale Qualità Ambiente, Regione Lombardia, Via Taramelli 12, I-20125 Milano; 6S.R.O.P.U., Via Aldo Moro 83, I-00065 Fiano Romano (RM); 7Via Novaluce 48, I-95030 Tremestieri Etneo CT); 8Gruppo Ornitologico Sardo, Via Principe di Piemonte 186, I-09010 Giba (CA); 9Gruppo Ornitologico Sardo, Via De Candia 47, I-09045 Quartu Sant'Elena (CA); 10Coop. Iris-Iride, Viale della Resistenza, I-80144 Napoli; 11Via Roma 30/1, I-33050 Marano Lagunare, (UD); 12Associazione Faunisti Veneti, c/o Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, S. Croce 1730, I-30135 Venezia; 13Centro Ornitologico Toscano, C.P. 726, I-57100 Livorno; 14Gruppo Ornitologico Sardo, Via Longobardo 28a, I-07040 Li Punti (SS); 15WWF Toscana, Via S. Anna 3, I-50129 Firenze; 16Largo Mioni 3, I-34137 Trieste; 17Provincia di Perugia, Ufficio Parchi, Via Angelucci, I-06100 Perugia

Abstract – The Italian national census of heronries, 2002. During 2002, we accomplished a new national census of the heronries of Italy, that had previously been undertaken in 1981 and 1986. For the whole country, the number of heronries increased, from 71 colonies in 1981 to 290 colonies in 2002. The grey heron Ardea cinerea expanded its breeding range eastwards and southwards, and increased the number of its nests (13075 nests in 2002) by 20 times compared to its number in 1981; the purple heron Ardea purpurea (2269 nests) increased 2.5 times; the little egret Egretta garzetta (15729 nests) increased by 2.4 times; the night heron Nycticorax nycticorax (13293 nests) is the only species that decreased, albeit not dramatically (by 23% in 2002 compared to 1981). The great white heron Casmerodius albus (38 nests) and the cattle egret Bubulcus ibis (1192 nests) are new breeding species. In north-western Italy, the heronries were 106 in 2003, a remarkable increase from the 46 heronries recorded in 1981. The breeding populations increased greatly during the past two decades for grey herons, little egrets, purple and squacco herons. Cattle egrets began breeding in 1989, and great egrets in 1998. Only night herons decreased in terms of number of nests, albeit increasing in number of colonies occupied. In north-eastern Italy we found 96 colonies, most of which were inside wetlands such as rivers, marshes, lagoons, restored wetlands, abandoned clay and gravel pits. Compared to the 1981 survey, a great increase took place both in the number of heronries (from 16 to 96) and in the number of nests (from 5914 to 10806 for all the seven species). Purple and squacco herons showed the largest increase. Grey and great white herons, and cattle egrets started breeding in the area. Little egrets remained stable, whereas night herons decreased. In central Italy, we found 26 heronries and 3 cases of isolated nests, totalling 2930 nests, again a considerable increase compared to the 1981 census. The heronries, once restricted to the Tyrrhenian sector, are now widely distributed throughout all central Italy. Four heronries were recorded in continental southern Italy. In Sicily, five species of herons and egrets bred regularly at two sites, and sporadically at some artificial ponds. In Sardinia, we recorded 56 heronries, mostly scattered along the coast, or clumped within the main wetlands. The total number of nests in Sardinia increased from 407 in 1986 to 1554-1682 in 2002. Overall, the increase in range and population size observed for 6 species of colonial herons and egrets out of 7 is likely due to multiple factors, including warmer winter temperatures and diminished human persecution, but it is also related to specific actions for their conservation, that included specific reserves for the protection of heronry sites.

Exceptional wintering and spring migration of the booted eagle Hieraaetus pennatus in Italy in 2004 and 2005
LUCA BAGHINO1, GUIDO PREMUDA2, MARCO GUSTIN3, ANDREA CORSO4, UGO MELLONE5, CARMELA CARDELLI6

1Centro Ornitologico e di E. A. di Case Vaccà, c/o Ente Parco del Beigua - LIPU Liguria, Via Marconi 165, I-16011 Arenzano (GE) (biodiv@parcobeigua.it); 2Via P. Da Palestrina 20, I-40141 Bologna; 3LIPU, Dipartimento Conservazione, Via Trento 49, I-43100 Parma; 4Via Camastra 10, I-96100 Siracusa; 5MEDRAPTORS, via P. Massacra 24, I-27100 Pavia; 6Via Santa Maria la Nuova 453, I-98121 Messina

Abstract - After the exceptional influx of booted eagles Hieraaetus pennatus from Western Europe in October 2004, we reviewed the species’ presence in Italy over the period December 2004 - February 2005 and during spring 2005. We documented the size of the species’ wintering population by gathering the sightings from various regions of Italy. We surveyed the spring migration of the species through simultaneous raptor counts at several sites (mostly in Sicily and Sicilian islands). The remarkable wintering population of 2004- 2005 (estimated range: 173 – 202 individuals) was related to the unusual migratory influx that took place in the previous autumn and it agrees with an apparent trend towards an increasing number of birds wintering in southern Italy, particularly in Sicily (estimated range: 132 – 157 individuals). The northward spring migration observed from the southern regions of Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast (towards France), validates the hypothesis of a West European origin of the individuals migrating in the spring of 2005 and can be regarded as a case of circuitous migration in the booted eagle.

Density and community structure of breeding birds in Macedonian pine Pinus peuce forests in Bulgaria
STOYAN C. NIKOLOV

Central Laboratory of General Ecology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Str., 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria (nikolov100yan@abv.bg)

Abstract – Breeding bird density and community structure in Macedonian pine forests were studied during 3 successive years (2004-2006) in the Pirin national park, Bulgaria. Bird sampling, using point counts, recorded 2583 birds belonging to 31 species. The relative density was computed for the most abundant 20 species by the DISTANCE software. The results show that Macedonian pine forests hold significant numbers of willow and coal tits, treecreeper, nutcracker, chaffinch and bullfinch and act as a potential “reservoir” for these species, not only regionally, but also on a national and possibly European scale. The overall bird density in the Macedonian pine forest was very similar to the mean overall bird density in the European temperate coniferous forests and was unstable among years. The variability was due mainly to the fluctuations in abundances of permanent residents and, to a lesser extent, short-distance migrants. However, the abundance of long-distance migrants remained relatively stable. A comparison with a previous study (from the 1970s) showed little evidence of significant changes in bird densities in this habitat over the past 40 years.

The first occurrence of rock partridge Alectoris graeca (Meisner 1804) in Sicily and its palaeobiogeographical significance
MARCO PAVIA

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia, Via Valperga Caluso 35, I-10125 Torino Italy (marco.pavia@unito.it)

Abstract – In this paper, the presence of rock partridge Alectoris graeca (Meisner 1804) in Sicily from the Late Pleistocene is presented and discussed. This presence is testify by the finding of a fossil remain from the Zà Minica Cave (Carini, Palermo). This cave contains fossiliferous sediments previously attributed to the late Middle Pleistocene/Late Pleistocene Elephas mnaidriensis Faunal Complex of the Sicilian biochronological scheme. After the excavations carried out by the writer the fossiliferous sediments filling the cave can be attributed to the Late Pleistocene Pianetti/San Teodoro Faunal Complex after the presence of the non endemic micromammal Microtus (Terricola) sp. together with endemic macromammals, such as Elephas sp.. During the excavations, a bone of Alectoris graeca was found and it represents the oldest Sicilian occurrence of this species. The Galliformes are absent in isolated islands or were introduced by man, so the presence of Alectoris graeca in Sicily indicates the end of the strong endemic condition of the islandlasted all the Pleistocene, testified by at least three different Faunal Complexes with endemic birds and mammals, and the start of the modern biogeographical setting of the island. Moreover the concordance between the palaeontological data with the mDNA analyses on the time-span of isolation of the Sicilian Alectoris graeca is discussed.

Short communications

Evoluzione delle popolazioni nidificanti di cornacchia grigia Corvus corone cornix e gazza Pica pica nella fascia pianeggiante dell’Oltrepò Pavese
FLAVIO FERLINI

Via Cantore 3, I-27040 Castelletto di Branduzzo (PV) (flavio.ferlini@unipv.it)

Abstract – Evolution of breeding populations of Hooded Crow Corvus corone cornix and Magpie Pica pica in the plain of the Oltrepò Pavese. Between 1980 and 2005 the nests of Hooded Crow and Magpie have increased with a yearly rate of 2.9% and 4.6% respectively. The mean distance between nests and buildings significantly decreased for the Magpie, while did not vary for the Hooded crow.

Nuovi dati sulla migrazione primaverile “a circuito” del biancone Circaetus gallicus in Italia
LUCA BAGHINO1, GUIDO PREMUDA2

1Centro Ornitologico e di Educazione Ambientale di Case Vaccà, c/o Ente Parco del Beigua, LIPU Liguria, Via Marconi 165, I-16011 Arenzano (GE) (biodiv@parcobeigua.it); 2via P. Da Palestrina 20, I-40141 Bologna

Abstract – New data on the circuitous spring migration of short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus in Italy. The spring migration of the short-toed eagle Circaetus gallicus was studied from 6th to 21st March 2004-2006 at two coastal sites in northwestern Italy, Arenzano (Liguria) and Capriglia (Tuscany). During this 3-years period, 3007 and 2481 short-toed eagles were recorded at Arenzano and Capriglia, respectively, confirming these sites as the major “hotspots” for this species during spring migration over Italy. All the birds observed at Arenzano were migrating towards east-northeast, while at Capriglia towards the southeast. Counts at the two sites were positively correlated. These observations confirm that, during spring migration, short-toed eagles breeding in central Italy (and probably in southern Italy as well) perform a “circuitous migration” from the northwest along the Ligurian coast, moving south through the Italian peninsula. Thus, during northward migration, they seem to avoid crossing the Sicilian Channel, in order to minimize the energy expenditure and risks of the sea crossing.

Feeding habits of urban peregrine Falco peregrinus brookei in eastern Sicily
GIOVANNI LEONARDI, VINCENZO MANNINO

Osservatorio Natura s.r.l., Via G. Carnazza 27, I-95129 Catania, Italy (areleo@yahoo.com)

Riassunto -Comportamento alimentare del pellegrino Falco peregrinus brookei in un’area urbana della Sicilia orientale. In questa ricerca abbiamo analizzato la dieta e il comportamento di caccia del pellegrino Falco peregrinus brookei nell’area urbana costiera della città di Catania (Sicilia orientale). Le prede identificate sono riferite a 203 episodi di caccia e 23 tra borre e resti alimentari. Columba livia è risultata la specie di maggiore importanza in termini di biomassa nella dieta. Frequenti sono risultate essere specie di migratori, che il pellegrino cattura nei dormitori o durante la migrazione. I chirotteri sono risultati essere relativamente frequenti.

Rubriche  

Commissione Ornitologica Italiana (COI) - Report 20: 75-79
A cura di Pierandrea Brichetti1 e Daniele Occhiato2