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BOOBOOK JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALASIAN RAPTOR ASSOCIATION Volume 26 Number 1 August 2008 ARA CONTACTS President: Victor Hurley 0427 238 898 [email protected] Secretary Ms Michelle Manhal 0418 387 424 [email protected] Treasurer Dr Raylene Cooke [email protected] Webmaster Mr Peter Wignell [email protected] Editor, Boobook Boobook production Dr Stephen Debus Hugo Phillipps 02 6772 1710 (ah) [email protected] Area Representatives: ACT Mr Jerry Olsen [email protected] NSW Dr Rod Kavanagh [email protected] NT Mr Ray Chatto [email protected] Qld Mr Stacey McLean [email protected] SA Mr Ian Falkenberg [email protected] WA Mr Jonny Schoenjahn [email protected] Tas Mr Nick Mooney [email protected] Vic Ms Michelle Manhal [email protected] New Zealand VACANT PNG/Indonesia Mr David Bishop [email protected] Other BOPWatch coordinator William Steele Editor, Circus Michelle Manhal Captive raptor advisor Jerry Olsen 02 6201 2504 (bh) [email protected] Education advisor Greg Czechura 07 3840 7642 (bh) [email protected] Raptor management advisor Nick Mooney 03 6233 3083 (bh) [email protected] [email protected] Membership enquiries Membership Officer, Birds Australia, Suite 2-05, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, Vic. 3053 Ph. 1300 730 075, [email protected] Annual subscription $A30 single membership, $A35 family and $A45 for institutions, due on 1 January. Bankcard and MasterCard can be debited by prior arrangement. Website: www.ausraptor.org.au The aims of the Association are the study, conservation and management of diurnal and nocturnal raptors of the Australasian Faunal Region. CONTENTS: BOOBOOK 26(1) 2008 From the President Editorial Reports and News: The new Australian bird checklist 1 2 3 Raptor File: Yet more on DNA taxonomy of eagles New owls in Australasia 4 4 Articles: Home range, habitat use and diet of the Tasmanian Masked Owl 5 Field Notes: Sea-Eagle takes Platypus Opportunistic Sparrowhawk Suburban Swamp Harrier Little Eagles in New England, NSW Peregrine at sea Ospreys breeding in Sydney Prey of Wedge-tailed Eagle in western Queensland 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 Book and DVD Reviews: Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist DVDs: Birds of Prey; Red Goshawk; Shadows in the Desert 8 10 Literature: Journals Books Theses Selected bibliography: Australian diurnal raptors 12 17 17 17 International news: Raptors drowning in stock tanks 23 Volume 25 24 Index: Boobook 26(1) August 2008 1 FROM THE PRESIDENT Greetings fellow raptorphiles! It is less than one month now until the ARA’s national conference. Remember it is being held in Coffs Harbour on the weekend of 30–31 August, with a post-conference tour being organised for the Monday afterwards. So I would like to devote this column to encouraging you to attend and register early. A conference registration form is enclosed with this edition of Boobook, which you can fill out and send today, and post directly to Birds Australia. Rod Kavanagh, NSW ARA Representative, has done a sterling job organising speakers and session presenters, and we have a good array of topics covering owls and diurnal raptors in both Australia and New Zealand. Each speaker promises to be both entertaining as well as informative. Student posters have also been registered, and I have to say from my personal experience that if your abstract is not accepted for a spoken paper then poster presentations can in fact be a better way to meet people interested in your field. So do not despair. A booklet of abstracts will be provided to conference attendees upon arrival. Rod is also keen to ensure that people get involved with some interactive sessions so it won’t be all ‘chalk and talk’. There will be opportunities to actively learn as well, plus meet people actively involved in raptor conservation and research. At this stage a formal conference dinner has not been organised, and so it is expected that with the range of species and interest groups attending, people will break off into these groups for dinner. However, if sufficient numbers of conference attendees wish to have a combined dinner then I am sure it will be possible to book a venue to cater for us all, where tall tales of the loudest Barking Owl call or the biggest Sea-Eagle to ever be banded will be swapped well into the wee hours of the morning. So if you are wondering who makes up the ARA, and whatever happened to Nick Mooney’s erudite Boobook commentaries, or what interesting raptor conservation projects are happening in the region, then come to the ARA conference and get to meet the key raptor people in Australasia and enjoy a conference with a difference! With the grey winter we are having in Victoria, a few days off in Coffs Harbour on the sunny NSW north coast seems like a great idea! A wide range of accommodation options is available, and the registration form has a weblink to the local tourist bureau with lists of accommodation options. So please, do yourself a favour, register and register early. I look forward to seeing you there and discussing how you can get more involved with the ARA. Victor Hurley Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 2 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 EDITORIAL Well, you were warned. There was no Boobook 25(2), for lack of sufficient original material, and I’ve barely managed to scrape together a 26(1) in time for the ARA conference in August, by including a bibliography of recent work on diurnal raptors to pad it out. Even so, this issue is 24 instead of the usual/desired 28 pages. There probably won’t be a 26(2) unless there are sufficient abstracts from the conference, and people actually watch raptors and record what the birds are doing, by way of noteworthy incidents of predation or other behaviour. In Boobook the emphasis should be firmly on Australasian raptors. We all know that raptors are still persecuted in the UK, Europe and North America; that California Condors are perilously endangered and require captive breeding; that falconry and raptor hospitals are all the rage in the Middle East (with heavy exploitation of Sakers); that Peregrines are recovering but are still the holy grail or sacred cow of raptor research and conservation overseas; that various overseas raptors are being reintroduced to former parts of their range; that many windfarms chop up many raptors overseas; that diclofenac is exterminating vultures; that there are many Peregrine webcams; and so on, and on… But what about our own backyard? We should be researching and publishing on our own Aussie raptors, in particular our special endemics. The bibliography on pp. 17–22 is therefore a benchmark, indicating that we still have a long way to go with even basic ecological or natural history research on many of the endemic species in Australia, let alone the regional endemics in tropical parts of the region. In this issue we have a few newsy or Raptor File items (the new Australian bird checklist, DNA taxonomy again, some new owls in the region); an article on the Tasmanian Masked Owl; a (very) few field notes; two recycled reviews (to help fill it); and recent literature citations, as well as the aforementioned bibliography and a small international news item of local relevance. Birding-Aus is now woeful as a source of potential field notes; it seems the twitching or ticking malaise has really set in, as if accumulating ‘ticks’ is the be-all and end-all of birdwatching. (Not that there’s anything wrong with listing, as long as the data go into a database such as the Atlas). There is a bit of good news. I heard that the CSIRO research on the White-bellied Sea-Eagle in the Top End (NT), reported in the early 1980s, is nearing publication, with two papers (on diet and breeding) in preparation. Hopefully the same applies to their Barking Owl work. I also heard that someone is finding Red Goshawk nests and banding nestlings in the north, but details are under wraps for now. It also looks like we might manage a special issue of Corella on White-bellied SeaEagles this year (as for Wedge-tailed Eagles last year), consisting of two honours theses and related papers emanating from Tasmania. A Masters thesis on Wedge-tails, from southern Victoria, will also make two papers in Corella. Some other news is that the Little Eagle has been listed as vulnerable in the ACT. See p. 5 for an appeal for information on the situation in Victoria and NSW. I appeal again for Area Reps to find out what their state members are doing, and please provide a report (annually would be good!) for Boobook. There won’t be another Boobook until you, the members, contribute to it. I’ve run out of ways to carry it, and of material to fill it. Even the supply of field notes was exhausted with this issue, with only a trickle arriving. Surely there must be notebooks full of valuable anecdotes. Stephen Debus Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 3 REPORTS AND NEWS The new Australian bird checklist: outcomes for Australasian raptors The newly released official checklist for Australian birds (Christidis & Boles 2008, Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds, CSIRO, Melbourne), now being adopted by the Australian bird societies for use in their publications, contains some changes for the Australian diurnal raptors and owls, and some consequences for raptors and owls elsewhere in the Australasian region. The hawks (Accipitridae, including the Osprey) are raised to order level, as Order Accipitriformes, separate from the Order Falconiformes, which now contains only the falcons and close allies (Falconidae). Changes to the hawks are as follow. The Australasian Osprey population is raised to species rank as the Eastern Osprey Pandion cristatus. The Oriental Honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus is added to the Australian list. Sanford’s Sea-Eagle (formerly Haliaeetus sanfordi) of the Solomons is demoted to a subspecies of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and thus becomes H. leucogaster sanfordi. The Collared Sparrowhawk loses an ‘h’ in its scientific name, to reflect the original spelling (Accipiter cirrocephalus). The Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae in the strict sense becomes an Australian endemic, and the populations from Wallacea to the Solomons are raised to species rank as the Variable Goshawk A. hiogaster. The latter also takes in the Christmas Island Goshawk as A. hiogaster natalis, and the Greythroated Goshawk of the Moluccas (which becomes A.h. griseogularis). Consequently, the distribution of the Brown Goshawk A. fasciatus no longer includes Christmas Island. The White-eyed Buzzard Butastur teesa is retained on the supplementary list (i.e. unconfirmed). [Though in my opinion it could have been dropped altogether, as a specimen of obviously incorrect provenance –Ed.] The Papuan Harrier becomes a subspecies of the Swamp Harrier Circus approximans, rather than the Eastern Marsh Harrier C. spilonotus. Gurney’s Eagle is classified as a vagrant to Torres Strait islands (meaning that reports for the Australian mainland remain to be documented properly). Aquila and Hieraaetus are retained as separate genera. The Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides in the strict sense becomes an Australian endemic, with H. weiskei of New Guinea raised to species rank [Papuan Booted Eagle would be an appropriate English name]. There are no changes to the falcons, except for a slight adjustment of the list sequence to better reflect evolutionary relationships. The Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo is on the supplementary list, awaiting convincing documentation for Australia. The Australian and New Zealand Boobooks are expressly combined under one species (Ninox novaeseelandiae), as in HANZAB. The Christmas Island Hawk-Owl is raised to species rank as Ninox natalis, as in HANZAB. The Ninox forms in the Moluccas constitute at least two separate species: N. squamipila and N. hypogramma (see p. 4, below). The Buffy Fish-Owl (formerly Ketupa ketupu), vagrant to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, becomes Bubo ketupu. The Lesser Sooty Owl is demoted to s subspecies of the Sooty Owl, and thus becomes Tyto tenebricosa multipunctata. The tropical island forms of the Masked Owl are demoted to subspecies of the Masked Owl, and thus become Tyto novaehollandiae sororcula (Wallacea) and T.n. manusi (Admiralty Is). The Tasmanian Masked Owl stays as a subspecies, i.e. T.n. castanops. The populations of the Barn Owl from southern Asia to the Pacific are raised to species rank as the Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica. The Asian and Australasian populations of the Grass Owl are raised to species rank as the Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris, separate from the African Grass Owl T. capensis. Stephen Debus Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 4 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 RAPTOR FILE Yet more on DNA taxonomy of eagles Further to the subject (Boobook 25: 9), Haring et al. (2007) similarly conclude that Bonelli’s and African Hawk-Eagles (formerly Hieraaetus) belong in Aquila; that Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle (formerly Spizaetus) also belongs in Aquila; that Wedge-tailed and Gurney’s Eagles are sister species; that the Rufous-bellied Eagle (formerly Hieraaetus) deserves its own monotypic genus Lophotriorchis; that ‘Ictinaetus’ clusters with the spotted eagles (Lophaetus); and that the Asian ‘Spizaetus’ should be separated as Nisaetus, and South American Spizaetus (in the strict sense) should take in ‘Oroaetus’. These results provide further support for the suggested taxonomic revision of the Australasian booted eagles (see Boobook 25: 9). If ‘Ichthyophaga’ is nested within the southern group of fish-eagles Haliaeetus (as found by Lerner & Mindell 2005), then generic allocation should reflect this relationship and thus the Lesser Fishing-Eagle of Wallacea (and Grey-headed Fishing-Eagle if confirmed in Wallacea) would become Haliaeetus humilis and H. ichthyaetus respectively. However, if the ‘northern’ sea-eagles (Bald, White-tailed, Pallas’s and Steller’s) and the ‘southern’ fish-eagles (White-bellied and others) warrant generic separation, as suggested by Lerner & Mindell, then the available genus name for the southern group is Cuncuma Hodgson 1837. The latest Australian checklist (see p. 3, above) demotes Sanford’s Sea-Eagle (of the Solomon Islands) to a subspecies of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, on the DNA evidence of Lerner & Mindell and others (see Boobook 24: 8). Thus, if these changes become official, the outcome for Australasian sea- and fish-eagles is as follows. Haliaeetus leucogaster would become Cuncuma leucogaster Haliaetus sanfordi would become Cuncuma leucogaster sanfordi Ichthyophaga humilis would become Cuncuma humilis Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus would become Cuncuma ichthyaetus The two clusters of sea- and fish-eagles fall out neatly according to morphology as well as distribution and migratory versus resident habits: large, fairly uniform species with plain white tails and large yellow bills (northern temperate Haliaeetus), versus small to medium-sized, strongly ‘pied’ species with (often) bicoloured tails and grey bills (tropical to southern temperate Cuncuma). However, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle is morphologically intermediate (with bicoloured tail and grey bill), although genetically in the northern group. Haring, E., Kvaløy, K., Gjershaug, J.-O., Røv, N. & Gamauf, A. 2007. Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the hawk-eagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae) – phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers. Journal of Zoological, Systematic and Evolutionary Research 45: 353–365. Lerner, H.R.L. & Mindell, D.P. 2005. Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 327–346. Stephen Debus New owls in Australasia Following taxonomic and field (acoustic) studies, the Brown Hawk-Owl has been split into three species: the resident Brown Boobook Ninox scutulata of southern Asia, the resident Chocolate Boobook N. randi of the Philippines, and the migratory Northern Boobook N. japonica of east Asia (King 2002). The latter, migratory form is a vagrant to Australia. Similarly, the Moluccan Hawk-Owl has been split into three species: Hantu Hawk-Owl N. squamipila on Seram and Buru (single-note call; two subspecies: N.s. squamipila and N.s. hantu), Halmahera Hawk-Owl or Boobook N. hypogramma, and Tanimbar Hawk-Owl or Boobook N. forbesi (the last two species with double-note calls: Rheindt & Hutchinson 2007). King, B. 2002. Species limits in the Brown Boobook Ninox scutulata complex. Bulletin British Ornithologists Club 122: 250–257. Rheindt, F.E. & Hutchinson, R.O. 2007. A photoshot odyssey through the confused taxonomy of Seram and Buru. Birding Asia 7: 18–38. Stephen Debus Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 5 ARTICLES Home range, habitat use and diet of the Endangered Tasmanian Masked Owl Tasmania’s forests are home to the Tasmanian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae castanops: a large, endemic, hollow-dependent forest owl that is currently listed as Endangered on the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. The major threats to Masked Owls are the loss of old-growth forests (that are needed for nesting) as a result of commercial forestry operations, land-clearing for agriculture and urbanisation, firewood collection and natural attrition (Bell et al. 1997). I recently radio-tracked two female Masked Owls in the Huon Valley, at Crabtree and Mountain River, to assess their home-range size, their most frequently used habitats and their diet, as little is known. The homerange size or territory for each owl was approximately 1800–2500 hectares in a highly modified agricultural area. The home ranges consisted of a mosaic of forest and open pasture, and were situated primarily on private property. Both the radio-tagged owls preferred to forage in fairly small patches of forest (0–20 ha), with a sparse or no understorey. However, they roosted during the day in larger forest patches (20–100 ha), with a dense understorey, adjacent to small creeks or drainage lines, which highlights the importance of streamside reserves for conserving Masked Owl habitat in Tasmania. The diet of both owls was assessed by collecting regurgitated pellets from their roost sites, as this is where most pellets accumulate. Eastern Barred Bandicoots Perameles gunnii were the most important species in the diet, closely followed by Swamp Rats Rattus lutreolus. Introduced species such as Black Rats Rattus rattus and Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus were also important dietary components. The apparent preference displayed by the radio-tagged owls for forest edges and highly modified forest– pasture mosaic suggests that Masked Owls may benefit from habitat fragmentation, owing to an increase in productive foraging habitat. However, the high mortality rates associated with these urbanised environments probably counteract this beneficial effect. This project was conducted through the Zoology Department, University of Tasmania, in collaboration with the Tasmanian Threatened Species Section, Nature Conservation Branch, DPIW. Bell, P., Mooney, N. & Wiersma, J. (1997). Predicting Essential Habitat for Forest Owls in Tasmania. Report to the Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Environment and Heritage Committee. David Young …summarised from Young, D. (2006), Home range, habitat use and diet of two female Tasmanian Masked Owls. BSc Hons thesis, University of Tasmania. ************* REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE Little Eagle A request for Victorian birders: I’ve had an enquiry regarding possible declines in populations of the Little Eagle (in Victoria), and am interested to hear what people’s thoughts are on populations of this species in Victoria. In particular, whether anyone has evidence/observations of locations where they used to see Little Eagles and now see none. It’s worth noting that the ACT has recently declared the Little Eagle a ‘vulnerable’ species in that jurisdiction. I understand that this listing was largely based on a crash in the population in the ACT. Please advise me directly of your thoughts. Thank you. –Martin O’Brien, Threatened Species & Communities Section, Dept Sustainability & Environment, PO Box 500, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002. Ph 03 9637 9869, email Martin.O’[email protected] ….And I’d be interested in any comments on the NSW situation, too. Thanks. –Ed. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 6 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Tiwi Masked Owl As a new ARA member I am conducting a study into the general ecology, population dynamics and effects of forestry on the Tiwi subspecies of Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae melvillensis. One of the major challenges is that I get only one go at catching each owl before it figures out that the calls I am playing are not from a real owl. Once that happens it won’t come near. However, I have been recording their calls when possible, and if a less than naïve bird hears calls it hasn’t heard before (or its own) then I have a second chance. I would appreciate hearing from people who have recordings of Masked Owls, or who have any thoughts on the problem. (I have been broadcasting the BOCA CD of owl calls.) Thank you. –James Smith, Indicus Biological Consultants, PO Box 1203, Nightcliff, NT 0814. Ph. 08 8411 0350, email [email protected] ************* FIELD NOTES Sea-Eagle takes Platypus On 10 August 2007, at Lake Barrine near Atherton in far north Queensland, Ellen Tyrrell and a group of birdwatchers saw a White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster take a Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus from the shallows. The eagle dived three or four times, swooping so closely it caused the Platypus to splash as it dived to safety. On the last swoop the Platypus was hauled out of the water, then taken, wriggling, to the top of a tall tree where it was eaten. John Seale (per Trish Teesdale, BOCA) …First record of Platypus as Sea-Eagle prey (cf. HANZAB 2), though to be expected. (Ed.) Opportunistic Sparrowhawk On 6 July 2007 at Marrawah (Tas.), while driving on the Arthur River road, I found an injured Green Rosella Platycercus caledonicus in the middle of the road. I tried to capture the bird with an item of clothing thrown over it, but the bird wriggled partly out from underneath the garment. As I bent down to cover the Rosella again, there was a flash of feathers and talons from my left and the Rosella was gone, carried into some pine trees to my right by a small raptor with a barred chest. The hawk was little bigger than the Rosella, and therefore a Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter cirrocephalus. Geoff King (per Nick Mooney) Suburban Swamp Harrier I live in the beachside suburb of Kingston Beach (Tas.), which slopes fairly steeply down to the Derwent estuary and is effectively a completely built-up area. For the second summer now (2007) we have had a Swamp Harrier Circus approximans regularly foraging over the gardens and rooftops; we see it several times a day flying in typical Swampy fashion not far above the roofs. I haven’t seen it catch anything yet, but I wondered if other observers have any records of Swampies foraging in the suburbs. HANZAB doesn’t mention anything similar. Responses welcome. Alastair Richardson Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 7 Little Eagles in New England, NSW As an update on an observational study conducted in 2006 (see Debus et al. 2007, Aust. Field Ornithology 24: 137–157), I was able to make a few casual observations on the same pairs of Little Eagles Hieraaetus morphnoides in the Armidale district of the NSW Northern Tablelands in 2007. Of five monitored pairs that nested in spring 2007, four pairs pair each raised a single fledgling, or 0.8 young per pair (but the average over the 2 years was six young in 10 attempts, or 0.6 young per attempt: little over half that in the 1980s). Three of the juveniles in 2007 appeared to be males, and one was unsexed. By 2006 there were several unpaired territorial males, and most of the apparent ‘floaters’ intruding on occupied territories also appeared to be males, in contrast with the situation in 1980 when all known territories were occupied by pairs, and some of the intruding ‘floaters’ were females. In other words, in this region there now appears to be a shortage of females, and those pairs that breed successfully seem to be raising more male than female offspring (a feature of poor food conditions in some other eagle species). In 2007, one of the Armidale males appeared to have lost his mate; in 2006, when that pair nested unsuccessfully, the female had a husky voice (a symptom of ill health?). A female chick that died in 2006 had a respiratory problem. All these aspects, taken together, may be symptoms of a population in decline. Two pairs, that had tolerated discreet observation from ~100 m away by telescope in 2006, used the same nests again in 2007. One pair that did not tolerate unconcealed observation from the maximal unobstructed viewing distance (120 m), and hence the nesting female was inadvertently flushed several times, was successful in 2006 but used a different nest in 2007. One other nesting female was flushed several times by birdwatchers and, though successful in 2006, also used a different nest in 2007. These shifts of nest site may have been related to disturbance during the 2006 nesting events. In 2007, at one of the nests with a new fledgling still sheltering in the woodland canopy, the adult male was soaring high overhead, and repeatedly gave a strident squeal or wail as a Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax soared higher and farther away. This agitated type of call is commonly given when intruding Wedge-tailed Eagles appear. At one of the Armidale nests, about a month after fledging, the juvenile was soaring ~1 km from the nest, and practiced a few stoops by suddenly dropping vertically, head first with its wings closed, then pulling out to soar again and repeat the manoeuvre. A local female Little Eagle in rehab for release, in the care of Gisela Kaplan (WIRES), was very large. Although at the high end of the known weight range (1250 g), this bird’s tarsus was too thick for the recommended ABBBS band size. I could see when I tried to close a size 13 band on her leg that it would be too tight to fit comfortably and swivel freely, and that she would need a size 14 (which I didn’t have, so she went unbanded). Was she just exceptional, or are Little Eagles getting larger and/or more size-dimorphic, at least in some respects? Below one of the Armidale nests in 2007–08 were the remains of a juvenile Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala, a new local prey record. At a nest west of Armidale in spring 2007, in extensive box– ironbark woodland, the incubating female was giving food-begging calls to the incoming, food-bearing male. As he manoeuvred to land on the nest, his prey was seen to be a small, chunky mammal with a fairly short, curved tail: too large, and the tail too robust, to have been a House Mouse, and too small and short-tailed to have been a Black Rat. Of the possible local species, his prey can only have been a Yellow-footed Antechinus Antechinus flavipes: a common mammal in that habitat type, sometimes active in daytime, and a new prey record for the Little Eagle. The female quickly ate the prey (possibly swallowed it whole), then called for more as the male soared away. Stephen Debus Peregrine at sea On 15 March 2008 at ~1100 h, a lone Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus flew east-bound over a yacht 88 km north-east of Sydney Heads (NSW), or 48 km due east of the coast at Gosford. Philip Brook, Birding-Aus 14.03.2008 (per Shirley Cook) Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 8 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Ospreys breeding in Sydney A pair of Eastern Ospreys Pandion cristatus has tried for two seasons to breed in a Norfolk Pine near the Narrabeen Lagoon entrance, in the northern beach suburbs of Sydney, NSW (see Boobook 25: 14). Both times they were unsuccessful: in the first year the nest appeared to collapse, in the second year they abandoned the nest between late September and early October 2006. In 2007 they changed their nest site to a dead eucalypt on Middle Creek, which flows into the inland side of the lagoon. The male brought fish to the female at the nest. On 5 October a chick’s head appeared above the rim of the nest. Although I earlier suspected that there may have been two chicks, by 20 October there was only one chick. By that stage it was large but with little tail, and its wings and body were covered in brown pinfeathers. When the female was not brooding, it was clambering around the nest, even up on to the rim, stretching its wings and looking around. The single chick fledged sometime between 14 and 21 September. On the 14th it was nest-bound, and on the 21st it flew to the nest from a nearby tree. According to Alan Morris, this is the first successful breeding of Ospreys in the Sydney region. Bruce Cox, Birding-Aus 6.10.07, 26.10.2007 and 23.11.2007 (per Shirley Cook and Greg Clancy) …Signs of a southward expansion of breeding range? (Ed.) Prey of Wedge-tailed Eagle in western Queensland Under a Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax nest in Diamantina National Park, western Qld, in June 2007 were several pellets and prey remains that represented two juvenile Red Kangaroos Macropus rufus and one Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris. Two of the pellets measured 85 × 51 mm and 39 × 30 mm; another (42 × 28 mm) was a mass of masticated herbage, i.e. the stomach contents of one of the kangaroos. I thank Tony Rose for analysing the pellets. Andrew Ley ************* BOOK AND DVD REVIEWS Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist by Friedhelm Weick. Springer, Berlin, 2006. Hardcover, 350 pp, 63 line drawings, 23 colour paintings. Є128.35. This is a global list of owl taxa in systematic order by subspecies. Weick is a professional wildlife artist, and amateur ornithologist (with a professional approach). This list is that of a classical museum taxonomist, though selectively taking into account some recent DNA data. The Foreword by Wolfgang Scherzinger is largely a justification of the need for taxonomic studies, and a defence of Weick’s classical (morphological) approach. The Foreword, Introduction and plate captions are in English and in German. The contents list provides a tabulation of the owl species recognised, and their generic allocations. A list of terms, abbreviations and acronyms provides a key to those used in the text. The Introduction provides the rationale for the checklist and its features, and a plan of the book. The section Owls: a brief overview canvasses a few taxonomic problems, mainly certain genus or species limits, and notes a mystery Ninox specimen; it concludes with a table of owl families, subfamilies, tribes, genera and subgenera (as recognised by Weick). Part II is the main body of the work: a full taxonomic listing of owl species and their subspecies, with author and date for each taxon and any synonyms for each. For each species, its length, body mass, distribution and habitat are given. For each subspecies or monotypic species, the type locality and abbreviated reference to its description are given, along with its distribution, the locations of specimens, remarks (on taxonomic or morphological issues), relevant measurements, sources of published illustrations, and references. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 9 Part III is a series of line drawings of a selection of species, from most genera, in flight to show wing shape. The accompanying Part IV is a tabulated selection of measurements illustrating intrageneric variation in wing-tip shape, with diagrams illustrating owl topography and how the wing formula is calculated. However, the discussion of wing formulae could have included a commentary on wing-tip shape or length in migratory versus resident congeners, or perch-hunters versus flight-hunters, or owls of open versus closed habitats (cf. Part III), to give it some ecological relevance and context. Part V is a series of colour plates illustrating owls described or rediscovered in the past 20 years, each with one or two related (mostly sympatric, similar) species for comparison. The most intriguing is Ninox dubiosa sp. nov. Weick 2006, dubbed (unfortunately) ‘Dubious Hawk Owl’, from a specimen with no data. Almost certainly of Australasian and possibly Wallacean origin, one might suggest that it is a dark morph of a described species except that its bodily proportions do not match any known Ninox. Clearly, this specimen requires DNA analysis to establish its closest relatives. Part V finishes with plates showing the range of variation (morphs and subspecies) in the Great Horned Owl complex. The book finishes with a list of references (mostly cited in the text, though some not), comprehensive indexes of owl scientific and vernacular names (English, German, French and Spanish), and geographic locations. A current checklist of this nature is of great value to taxonomists and to enthusiasts interested in the global variation and zoogeography of owls. However, the value of such would be greatly increased if the author placed more weight on the latest DNA evidence. Weick is a splitter at the species level, based largely on his opinion from morphological comparisons, and many of his generic (and some higher-level) allocations contradict the DNA evidence. Thus, this checklist is in some respects a backward step. To take some overseas genera, the DNA evidence reveals that, for instance, Megascops is generically distinct from Otus; that Ptilopsis is asionine not otine; that Scotopelia, Ketupa and Nyctea are nested within Bubo; that Phalaenopsis is generically distinct from Glaucidium (and so too, probably, is Taenioglaux); and that Ninox superciliaris belongs in Athene (see Wink & Heidrich in Konig et al. 1999, Owls, A Guide to the Owls of the World; Penhallurick 2002 in Newton et al., Ecology and Conservation of Owls; Wink et al. 2004 in Chancellor and Meyburg, Raptors Worldwide). Yet Weick has none of this, and asserts that superciliaris is a Ninox. Furthermore, if these genera are correctly allocated according to DNA, some interesting zoogeographic and phylogenetic patterns emerge, such as the radiation of various sections of the Strigidae on different Gondwanan continents. To take the Australasian species, the Australian Barn Owl is correctly separated as Tyto delicatula (including javanica and sumbaensis, cf. Wink et al. 2004), but Weick raises the form crassirostris of the Bismarck Archipelago to species rank on purely morphological grounds while pronouncing that most other forms in Melanesia and Polynesia are, or probably are, inseparable from delicatula. Higgins (1999, HANZAB vol. 4) is not cited except on Ninox natalis, and was apparently ignored on taxonomic aspects of other species, with the result that Weick speculates, on inadequate evidence, that Ninox rufa meesi is just a pale morph of N.r. queenslandica, synonymises Tyto novaehollandiae melvillensis with T.n. kimberli without justification, and keeps Ninox connivens occidentalis separate when it is synonymous with N.c. peninsularis. On the other hand, he missed or ignored the DNA evidence that the sooty owls are one species (cf. Norman et al. 2002, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, Biological Sciences 269, 2127–2133). On the boobooks, Weick gives Ninox leucopsis (Tasmania) and the novaeseelandiae (trans-Tasman) forms species rank separate from mainland boobook, contra HANZAB and Penhallurick (2002). As the message about this misinterpretation of the DNA evidence is not getting through (e.g. see Olsen & Debus 2006, Corella 29, 97– 98), it is worth quoting Penhallurick (2002, footnote xii, quoting L. Christidis) here in the hope that it finally reaches an international audience: In these papers the Tasmanian Boobook Owl samples were included to represent the Australian Boobook. There was never any suggestion that the mainland and Tasmanian Boobooks were different species. We are in the process of writing up our data on variation in the Australian forms of boobook, mainland and Tasmanian, and there is no suggestion that they are different species. So far as the molecular data [are] concerned, Australia (including Tasmania), Norfolk Island and New Zealand share one species of Boobook Owl, Ninox novaeseelandiae. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 10 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Nowhere does Weick cite or list Newton et al. (2002) although it contains several taxonomic papers. Part of the problem with Weick’s treatment of Australian owls is that he does not provide or review the extensive mensural data, by subspecies, from HANZAB or acknowledge its comprehensive sections on geographical variation. A related problem is that it is not clear whether, at least for well-known species, Weick’s mensural data include published sources, or whether for all taxa they are only data Weick gleaned from (only or mainly Northern Hemisphere?) museum specimens. One suspects the latter, because there are published data (sometimes extensive) where Weick often gives few or no data. Furthermore, for Australian owls there are specimens in many more Australian capital-city museums than Weick lists for the respective species. The weights he gives for the Barking and mainland Masked Owl are too low, being for tropical specimens, because he missed the published weights for southern birds; and Ninox rufa queenslandica is not the same size as meesi (cf. HANZAB). On some other Australasian taxa, Weick missed that photographs of most Melanesian taxa are in Coates (1985, Birds of Papua New Guinea), and that photos of T. (novaehollandiae) castanops and T. longimembris papuensis are in Fleay (1968, Nightwatchmen of Bush and Plain). He attributes a Hollands (1991, Birds of the Night) photo of a Masked Owl to castanops, but it is a dark morph of mainland novaehollandiae; Hollands’ photos of the Rufous Owl are queenslandica, not rufa. Weick treats T. castanops and T. longimembris (cf. T. capensis) as full species, but Wink et al. (2004) do not provide a definitive statement on what the DNA evidence actually shows. Surprisingly, Weick missed the opportunity and justification to split Ninox scutulata into three species (cf. King 2002, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club 122, 250–257). A quick scan of the text for overseas taxa reveals various problems. The Barn Owl taxon furcata is said to have ‘long legs and powerful feet’ and to be ‘much larger than pratincola’, but this claim is contradicted by Weick’s own mensural data that show furcata is within the range of the latter for wing, tail and tarsus but lacks data for bill and mass. Thus, one wonders how many others of Weick’s taxonomic decisions are similarly subjective; for instance, elevation of several Barn Owl island taxa to species rank. It is high time that issues such as Wallacean Tyto taxa, canvassed for nearly a decade now since previous global treatments, were settled by DNA comparisons. Occasionally, it is not clear what Weick is referring to in his ‘Remarks’ section; for instance, on Sceloglaux he says ‘The wings are too short, and tail projection too long in this image’, but is he referring to his own drawing on that page, or to the last-mentioned illustration (in del Hoyo et al. 1999, Handbook of the Birds of the World vol. 5) listed in the preceding paragraph? In the electronic age the reference list seems not fully up to date, except that Weick’s own works up to 2005 are cited. I hesitate to be so critical, but Weick’s treatment of Australasian taxa is unsatisfactory at times. The book would have benefited from a check and edit by an owl scientist. Nevertheless, it makes an invaluable contribution to knowledge of owls and is indispensable to owl biologists, particularly those dealing with taxonomy. Stephen Debus …reprinted from Emu 107(4), 2007: 337–343. DVD series, Australian Birding Video Guides: Birds of Prey Parts 1 & 2 (2004); John Young and the Search for the Red Goshawk (2004); Shadows in the Desert (2006), all by John Young. John Young Wildlife Enterprises, Toowoong (Brisbane). Birds of Prey parts 1 and 2 cover between them 16 species, so presumably there is or was to be a part 3, for the remaining eight species, that has apparently been upstaged by Red Goshawk and Shadows (which is ostensibly on the Grey Falcon). The ‘Birding’ series is supposed to be an identification guide, with each species segment arranged under the headings Size, Range, Habitat, Description, Food, Breeding, Voice, and sometimes Similar Species and/or a Summary (which isn’t a summary of the preceding narrative). The commentary and presentation are amateurish, the narratives are littered with inaccurate or misleading information (even on some identification points, let alone biology), and there is no logical sequence to how the species are arranged on each disk or between disks. For instance, it would have made sense to juxtapose Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 11 similar species on the tracks and to group them taxonomically. The Sea-Eagle is mislabelled ‘Latin [name]: Elanus scriptus’, duplicating the Letter-winged Kite’s scientific name (and scientific names can of course be Greek or Latin). In many cases the description of voice is limited to calls heard at the nest (as on the disk sound-track), and omits the typical calls most commonly heard in the field. Within each species segment there is often repeated footage (i.e. poor editing), and in some cases the ‘similar species’ category is wanting; for the Osprey the camera was too close to the nest, thus distorting the bird’s proportions. Of most concern is the cameraman’s presence preventing the parent Wedge-tailed Eagle from delivering food to the nest. On identification, the commentary says that the Letter-winged Kite’s black eye marking is an ‘abbreviated comma’ (not a full circle, cf. Black-shouldered Kite); omits Black-breasted Buzzard as a similar species for the Wedge-tailed Eagle and Square-tailed Kite; claims that the Wedge-tailed Eagle’s best-known call is a ‘cat-like screech when disturbed’ (!); says that the Brown Falcon’s plumage is variable and can be mistaken for several other species (but doesn’t elaborate further); gives the Little Eagle as one of the Sea-Eagle’s similar species; and emphasises that tail shape is one criterion for distinguishing the Square-tailed from the Black Kite. On biology, for instance, we get the tired old chestnut about the Peregrine being the fastest etc. at 300 km/hr; the Letter-winged Kite ‘lines’ its nest with rat fur (implying more than just pellet debris); the Wedge-tailed Eagle is ‘mostly unsuccessful’ when hunting live prey; the Brown Falcon ‘renovates’ old nests; the Kestrel ‘often’ has successive broods; the Black-shouldered Kite lays ‘dull white’ eggs; the Grey Falcon takes ‘most’ of its prey on the ground, and ‘relines its nest with animal hair’; and the Brahminy Kite ‘never flocks’, ‘seldom takes live prey’, and the female ‘does all the incubating and brooding’. In short, the footage is a useful aid to identification but for accurate, authoritative information birders, especially beginners, will need to consult the usual current field-guides and other recent books. Red Goshawk is a lot about Young and his quest, with endless footage of vehicles, preparation, camping, building of hides, etc., and precious little about the bird itself. Would that there was more commentary on the Goshawk’s biology, and more lingering footage of the adult male. There is much repeated footage, some with jumbled chrono-sequence with respect to the bird’s breeding cycle; the footage on nest-building and other aspects could have done with some perceptive commentary on behaviour and sex-roles. There are some useful facts, but much folklore or speculation is included apparently without consulting the authoritative literature on the bird; one could hardly refer to a nesting ‘colony’ of Red Goshawks! (Especially with distances of 11–22 km between neighbouring nests.) The narrative claims ‘days or weeks’ in the hide, but where is the footage to show for it? The narrative also claims that Young ‘studied’ the species, but where’s the output in terms of contribution to knowledge? And as to Young’s 36th pair (which must mean some knowledge of the species), and his continuing to search for and film the species, what’s the point if there’s to be no better output than this DVD? True, what footage there is of the bird is valuable and of interest, and one can infer a few things about its biology. However, of concern is the filming unconcealed at close range, and the evident ‘gardening’ at the nest (i.e. removal of branches obstructing the filming). Finally, I have trouble reconciling some statements. The film claims Young’s first encounter with a nesting pair in the mountains of north-eastern New South Wales in the late 1960s, then later claims, conflictingly, his first nest in southern Queensland in 1999. What, then, are we to make of the claim in Jack & Lindsay Cupper’s book Hawks in Focus that Young found a nest with (improbably) three eggs in western NSW in the early 1960s? (The last claim has been rejected in the scientific literature.) Shadows is subtitled Unearthing the secrets of the desert and touted as a ‘wildlife film’. Unfortunately, it scarcely does or is either: it is mostly Young doing the usual driving and camping things on his quest for the Grey Falcon, with much buffoonery and flirting with his young female ‘protégé’. There is even some tedious hamming it up, in a mock re-enactment of a ‘western’ style shoot-out in an outback town, that occupies many valuable minutes of film time. Who, anticipating at least a little substance on the Grey Falcon (if no more than for Red Goshawk), wants to see these sorts of time-wasters in a supposed wildlife documentary? On raptors, the film includes much the same footage as in ‘Birds of Prey’ for the Peregrine and Grey Falcons, and some of the same inaccurate information. As to the Grey Falcon, there are 10 minutes at the end of, mostly, Young finally finding his nest, and a few good moments of film of the bird itself (but virtually no worthwhile commentary on its biology). The Falcon’s rarity is overstated; if it took 15 years to find and film a nest he must have been looking in the wrong places (it’s not a true desert bird). The narration is more professional than in the other three DVDs, but at times rather sensationalised. There is some nice, albeit brief, footage of Eyrean Grasswrens and some other wildlife, but overall the film is a big disappointment. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 12 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 These DVDs are not a patch on Young’s previous video, Wings of Silence, on the Australian owls (nor on the earlier Roger Whittaker video series Hunters of the Skies). One wonders what direction his films are taking; certainly not one for the better. I wouldn’t spend money on the DVDs, though the raptor footage is worth watching (maybe with the sound muted and the junk scenes fast-forwarded) if one can borrow them from a library. Stephen Debus …reprinted from Australian Field Ornithology 24(2): 84–85. ************* RECENT LITERATURE Journals Animal Behaviour 74 2007 Coexistence of a generalist owl with its intraguild predator: distance-sensitive or habitat-mediated avoidance? (F. Sergio et al.), 1607–1616. Delayed plumage maturation in Eurasian Kestrels: female mimicry, subordination signalling or both? (P. Vergara & J. Fargallo), 1505–1513 [both, depending on whether yearling males have started moulting]. Agonistic behaviour prior to laying predicts clutch size in Eurasian Kestrels: an experiment with natural decoys (P. Vergara et al.), 1515–1523. Australian Field Ornithology 24 2007 Breeding biology and diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in the New England region of New South Wales (S. Debus et al.), 93–120. Breeding biology and diet of the Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides in the New England region of New South Wales (S. Debus et al.), 137–157. Diurnal raptors on the island of Sumba, Indonesia, in June/July and December/January 2001–2002 (J. Olsen & S. Trost), 158–166. Australian Field Ornithology 25 2008 Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae pair feeding combined brood of six fledglings (J. Olsen et al.), 12–21. Barking Owls holding partly eaten prey at diurnal roosts (J. Schoenjahn et al.), 36–39. Australian Zoologist 34 2007 A survey of large forest owls in state forests of south-western New South Wales, Australia (D. Parker et al.), 78–84 [BarkingOwl]. The diet of the Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in box–ironbark country, central Victoria (J. Fitzsimons & A. Rose), 85–88. Behavioural Ecology & Sociobiology 60 2006 Determinants of predation risk in small wintering birds: the hawk’s perspective (T. Roth et al.), 195–204. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 13 Behavioral Ecology 16 2005 Selection for body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism: are big females better? (P. McDonald et al.), 48–56 [Brown Falcon]. Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter? (P. McDonald et al.), 922–930 [Brown Falcon]. Behavioral Ecology 18 2007 The importance of visual cues for nocturnal species: Eagle Owls signal by badge brightness (V. Penteriani et al.), 143. Breeding rate is associated with phaeomelanism in male and eumelanism in female Barn Owls (A. Roulin & R. Altwegg), 563–570. Biodiversity & Conservation 16 2007 Habitat use of Booted Eagles (Hieraaetus pennatus) in a special protection zone: implications for conservation (J. Martínez et al.), 3481–3488. Modelling habitat use and distribution of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in a low-density area of the Iberian Peninsula (L. Tapia et al.), 3559–3574. Biological Conservation 134 2007 Comparing radio-telemetry and transect survey data on Lesser Kestrels (A. Franco et al.), 96–105. Biological Conservation 140 2008 Changes in bird species composition on a remote and well-forested Wallacean island, South-East Asia (C. Trainor), 373–385. Bird Conservation International 17 2007 Exterior nest boxes may negatively affect Barn Owl Tyto alba survival: an ecological trap (Á. Klein et al.), 273–281. Bird Study 54 2007 Factors constraining the distribution of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Scotland (D. Whitfield et al.), 199–211. Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus target Teals Anas crecca at roosts according to potential availability of vulnerable prey (M. Guillemain et al.), 268–270. Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus juvenile dispersal: hourly and daily movements tracked by GPS (L. Cadahía et al.), 271–274. Population size, breeding performance and territory quality of Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus in eastern Spain (P. López-López et al.), 335–342. Increased hunting effort buffers against vole scarcity in an urban Kestrel Falco tinnunculus population (J. Riegert et al.), 353–361. Birding Asia 7 2007 A photoshot odyssey through the confused avian taxonomy of Seram and Buru (southern Moluccas) (F. Rheindt & R. Hutchinson), 18–38 [Moluccan Hawk-Owl split into 3 species.] Canadian Journal of Zoology 84 2006 Reply to comment by Franklin et al. on ‘Are survival rates for Northern Spotted Owls biased?’ (C. Loehle & L. Irwin), 1380–1382. [See also the cited prior comment and paper.] Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 14 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Canberra Bird Notes 32 2007 A Powerful Owl record for Canberra (A. Overs), 106–111. Condor 108 2006 Does the presence of Barred Owls suppress the calling behavior of Spotted Owls? (M. Crozier et al.), 760– 769. Condor 109 2007 Habitat selection in a changing environment: the relationship between habitat alteration and Spotted Owl territory occupancy and breeding dispersal (M. Seamans & R. Gutiérrez), 566–576. Corella 31 2007 Diet, occupancy and breeding success of Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax near Canberra, Australia, 2002– 2003: four decades after Leopold and Wolfe (E. Fuentes et al.), 65–73. Ecological Modelling 213 2008 Floater mortality within settlement areas can explain the Allee effect in breeding populations (V. Penteriani et al.), 98–104 [Spanish Imperial Eagle]. Emu 107 2007 Home-range of the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) in dry sclerophyll forest (T. Soderquist & D. Gibbons), 177–184. The tendon locking mechanism of owls: variation in the structure and arrangement of the mechanism and functional implications (L. Einoder & A. Richardson), 223–230. Distribution and status of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in South Australia (T. Dennis), 294–299. Reproductive activity in the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia (T. Dennis), 300–307. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 27 2008 Influence of contamination by organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls on the breeding of the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adelberti) (M. Hernández et al.), 433–441. Forktail 23 2007 Estimating the resident population size of Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in Peninsular Malaysia (L. Molard et al.), 87–91. Migration strategies of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus breeding in Japan (N. Agostini & U. Mellone), 182–183. Observations of Flores Scops Owl Otus alfredi on Flores, Indonesia, with a first description of its vocalizations (R. Hutchinson et al.), 184–187. Functional Ecology 21 2007 Melanin pigmentation negatively correlates with plumage preening effort in Barn Owls (A. Roulin), 264– 271. GABAR 18(2) 2007 Rangle in large falcons (S. Thomsett), 21–25. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 15 Ibis 149 2007 Complex effects of habitat loss on Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos (D. Whitfield et al.), 26–36. Tawny Owls Strix aluco with reliable food supply produce male-biased broods (K. Desfor et al.), 98–105. Ecological factors influencing disease risk in Eagle Owls Bubo bubo (J. Ortega & F. Espada), 386–395. Nesting failure in Finnish Goshawks Accipiter gentilis: incidence and cause (P. Byholm & A. Nikula), 597– 604. Ibis 150 2008 Breeding performance, age effects and territory occupancy in a Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus population (J. Martínez et al.), 223–233. Individual acoustic monitoring of the European Eagle Owl Bubo bubo (T. Grava et al.), 279–287. Two aberrant serpent-eagles may be visual mimics of bird-eating raptors (J. Negro), 307–314. Estimating the onset of dispersal in endangered Bonelli’s Eagles Hieraeetus fasciatus tracked by satellite telemetry: a comparison between methods (L. Cadahia et al.), 416–420. J. Animal Ecology 74 2005 Age at first breeding and fitness in Goshawk Accipiter gentilis (O. Krüger), 266–273. J. Avian Biology 39 2008 Owls and rabbits: predation against substandard individuals of an easy prey (V. Penteriani et al.), 215–221. Daring, risk assessment and body condition interactions in Steppe Buzzards Buteo buteo vulpinus (Y. Perlman & I. Tsurim), 226–228. J. Ornithology 147 2006 Factors affecting breeding habitat selection in a cliff-nesting population of Peregrine Falco peregrinus (M. Bambilla et al.), 428–435. J. Ornithology 148 2007 A long-term, large-scale study of the breeding biology of the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adelberti) (A. Margalida et al.), 309–322. J. Wildlife Management 71 2007 Nesting biology of urban Cooper’s Hawks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (W. Stout et al.), 366–375. A population estimate for Golden Eagles in the western United States (R. Good et al.), 395–402. Modeling foraging habitat of California Spotted Owls (L. Irwin et al.), 1183–1191. Burrowing Owl mortality in the Altamont pass wind resource area (K. Smallwood et al.), 1513–1524. Assessing impacts of wind-energy developments on nocturnally active birds and bats: a guidance document (T. Kunz et al.), 2449–2486. Wind energy development and wildlife conservation; challenges and opportunities (W. Kuvlevsky et al.), 2487–2498. Estimating wind turbine-caused bird mortality (K. Smallwood), 2781–2791. J. Zoological, Systematic and Evolutionary Research 45 2007 Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the hawk-eagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae) – phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers (E. Haring et al.), 353–365. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 16 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 J. Zoology (London) 274 2008 Philopatry and natal dispersal in a sedentary population of Western Marsh Harrier (A. Sternaski et al.), 188– 197. Muruk 8(3) 2007 Notes on the New Ireland Boobook (Ninox variegata) (P. Gregory), 143. Notes on the Papuan Hawk-Owl (Uroglaux dimorpha) (P. Gregory), 144–145. Oecologia 149 2006 Demographic effects of extreme winter weather in the Barn Owl (R. Altwegg et al.), 44–51. Effects of food abundance, density and climate on reproduction in the Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (J. Nielsen & A. Møller), 505–518. Oecologia 152 2007 Sources of variability in Spotted Owl population growth rate: testing predictions using long-term markrecapture data (M. Seamans & R. Gutiérrez), 57–70. The predatory behavior of wintering Accipiter hawks: temporal patterns in activity of predators and prey (T. Roth & S. Lima), 169–178. Long-term demographic analysis in Goshawk Accipiter gentilis: the role of density dependence and stochasticity (O. Krüger), 459–471. Oikos 112 2006 Components of breeding performance in two competing species: habitat heterogeneity, individual quality and density-dependence (M. Carrete et al.), 680–690 [Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles]. Ostrich 78 2007 Nesting biology and food habits of the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus radama in the south-west and central plateau of Madagascar (G. Rasafimanjato et al.), 7–12. Sabah Parks Nature Journal 7 2006 The spread of Tyto capensis (Smith) 1834 to Borneo (A. Biun et al.), 45–48. Wilson J. Ornithology 119 2007 Frequency of injuries in three raptor species wintering in northeastern Arkansas (B. Bedrosian & A. St. Pierre), 296–298. Wingspan 17(4) 2007 Barbs and birds (C. Booth), 12–15 [impact of barbed-wire fences on birds]. Wingspan 18(1) 2007 Helping Powerful Owls (E. McNabb), 30–33 [owlet fledged from nest box in suburbia]. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 17 Books Bird, D.M. & Bildstein, K.L. (Eds) (2007). Raptor Research and Management Techniques. Hancock House, Blaine (USA). de Lucas, M. et al. (Eds) (2007). Birds and Windfarms: Risk Assessment and Mitigation. Quercus, Madrid. Theses Cherriman, S. (2007). Territory size and diet throughout the year of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in the Perth region, Western Australia. BSc Hons thesis, Curtin University, Perth. Young, D.A. (2006). Home range, habitat use and diet of two female Tasmanian Masked Owls. BSc Hons thesis, University if Tasmania, Hobart. Selected bibliography: Australian diurnal raptors The following bibliography is presented as an indicator of the state of current research on Australian diurnal raptors (see Boobook 25: 6–8). It lists only those titles published since the last such bibliographies, in Debus (2001), The Birds of Prey of Australia (3rd printing), JB Books, Adelaide, and Olsen (2005), Wedge-tailed Eagle, CSIRO, Melbourne. In other words, the gaps in research attention should be obvious, especially since the most-researched species in the following list were also largely the most researched in earlier years too. A few papers in press or submitted are included. Hopefully, this list will inspire people to watch, and initiate projects on, the under-studied species. Osprey Bischoff, T. 2001. Aspects of breeding of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 88–93. Clancy, G.P. 2005a. The diet of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on the north coast of New South Wales. Emu 105: 87–91. Clancy, G.P. 2005b. Feeding behaviour of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the north coast of New South Wales. Corella 29: 91–96. Clancy, G.P. 2006. The breeding biology of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the north coast of New South Wales. Corella 30: 1–8. Dennis, T. 2004. Conservation status of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Osprey and Peregrine Falcon on western Eyre Peninsula and adjacent offshore islands in South Australia. South Australian Ornithologist 34: 222–228. Dennis, T. 2007a. Distribution and status of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in South Australia. Emu 107: 294–299. Dennis, T. 2007b. Reproductive activity in the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Emu 107: 300–307. Dennis, T.E. & Baxter, C.I. 2006. The status of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Osprey on Kangaroo Island in 2005. South Australian Ornithologist 35: 47–51. Kennard, S. & Kennard, D. 2006. The breeding cycle of a pair of Ospreys Pandion haliaetus in northern coastal New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 165–176. Rose, A.B. 2000. Observations on Ospreys Pandion haliaetus breeding on the lower north coast of New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 274–279. Black-shouldered Kite Barnes, T. 2005. Foraging, habitat use and nesting of the Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris in the Australian Capital Territory. Australian Field Ornithology 22: 58–66. Debus, S.J.S., Olde, G.S., Marshall, N., Meyer, J. & Rose, A.B. 2006. Foraging, breeding behaviour and diet of a family of Black-shouldered Kites Elanus axillaris near Tamworth, New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 130–143. Read, D.G. 2005. Observations on parent/young behaviour in a pair of Black-shouldered Kites Elanus axillaris. Australian Field Ornithology 22: 109–121. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 18 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Letter-winged Kite Aumann, T. & Bellchambers, K. 1999. Letter-winged Kites Elanus scriptus in the south-west of the Northern Territory. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 68–74. Pacific Baza James, P. 2004. The breeding cycle of a pair of Pacific Bazas Aviceda subcristata in south-eastern Queensland. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 133–140. Oriental Honey-buzzard Agostini, N & Mellone, U. 2007. Migration strategies of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus breeding in Japan. Forktail 23: 182–183. Clarke, R.H. 2003. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Australia. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 33–37. Germi, F. & Waluyo, D. 2006. Additional information on the autumn migration of raptors in east Bali, Indonesia. Forktail 22: 71–76. Gregory, P. 2007. Second mainland Australian record of the Oriental Honey-Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 90–91. Square-tailed Kite Barnes, C.P., Zillmann, E.E. & Rose, A.B. 1999. Breeding behaviour and diet of the Square-tailed Kite Lophoictinia isura in south-eastern Queensland. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 133–152. Barnes, C.P., Zillmann, E.E., Rose, A.B. & Debus, S.J.S. 2001. Diet and biology of Square-tailed Kites Lophoictinia isura breeding in south-eastern Queensland: nest-building to post-fledging. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 28–43. Bischoff, T., Lutter, H. & Debus, S. 2000. Square-tailed Kites breeding on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 233–240. Brown, B., Brown, F. & Debus, S.J.S. 2000. Further observations on a pair of Square-tailed Kites nesting near Grafton, New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 270–273. Cook, B. & Lamb, R. 2000. Square-tailed Kite eating snake on roadside. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 249–251. Griffiths, H., Lutter, H., Rose, A.B. & Debus, S.J.S. 2002. Breeding and diet of a pair of Square-tailed Kites Lophoictinia isura on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 184–193. Hobson, P. 2006. Square-tailed Kite taking paper-wasp nest: Australia’s honey-buzzard? Australian Field Ornithology 23: 184–185. Lutter, H., Dinnie, R. & Debus, S.J.S. 2003. Square-tailed Kites breeding in northern coastal New South Wales: postfledging diet and behaviour. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 94–104. Lutter, H., Lutter, M., Rose, A.B. & Debus, S.J.S. 2004. Breeding biology and diet of the Square-tailed Kite on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 141–157. Black-breasted Buzzard Aumann, T. 2001a. The structure of raptor assemblages in riparian environments in the south-west of the Northern Territory, Australia. Emu 101: 293–304. Aumann, T. 2001b. Breeding biology of raptors in riparian environments in the south-west of the Northern Territory, Australia. Emu 101: 305–315. Aumann, T. 2001c. Habitat use, temporal activity patterns and foraging behaviour of raptors in the south-west of the Northern Territory, Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 365–378. Aumann, T. 2001d. An intraspecific and interspecific comparison of raptor diets in the south-west of the Northern Territory, Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 379–393. Falkenberg, I.D., Hurley, V.G. & Stevenson, E. 2000. The impact of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease on raptor reproductive success in the Strzelecki Desert, South Australia: a preliminary analysis. In Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (Eds), Raptors at Risk, pp 535–542. Hancock House, Surrey, Canada, and World Working Group on Birds of Prey & Owls, Berlin. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 19 Red Goshawk Johnstone, R.E. & Storr, G.M. 1998. Handbook of Western Australian Birds, vol. 1. WA Museum, Perth. Wilkins, P.J. & Donato, D.B. 1998. Observations of Red Goshawk Erythrotriorchis radiatus taking prey and being robbed. Australian Bird Watcher 17: 263–264. Black Kite Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard McDonald, P.G. 2003. A successful extralimital breeding of the Black Kite Milvus migrans south-west of Melbourne, Victoria. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 17–20. Whistling Kite Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard Fuentes, E., Olsen, J. & Rose, A.B. 2005. Breeding diet at two Whistling Kite nests near Canberra. Australian Field Ornithology 22: 122–125. Brahminy Kite Lutter, H., McGrath, M.B., McGrath, M.A. & Debus, S.J.S. 2006. Observations on nesting Brahminy Kites Haliastur indus in northern New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 177–183. White-bellied Sea-Eagle Debus, S.J.S. 2005. White-bellied Sea-Eagles breeding in the Australian Capital Territory? Canberra Bird Notes 30: 146–147. Debus, S.J.S. 2008. Biology and diet of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster breeding in northern inland New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 25(4): in press. Dennis 2004: see Osprey Dennis & Baxter 2006: see Osprey Dennis, T.E. & Brittain, R. 2006. Attempted kleptoparasitism by White-bellied Sea-Eagles on fur-seal. South Australia Ornithologist 35: 68. Fitzsimons, J.A. 2002. The taking of a dead Prickly Toadfish Contusus brevicaudas by a White-bellied Sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 200–201. Heinsohn, T. 2000. Predation by the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster on phalangerid possums in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Emu 100: 245–246. Olsen, J., Fuentes, E. & Rose, A.B. 2006a. Trophic relationships between neighbouring White-bellied Sea-Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) and Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) breeding on rivers and dams near Canberra. Emu 106: 193–201. Olsen, J., Fuentes, E., Rose, A.B. & Trost, S. 2006b. Food and hunting of eight breeding raptors near Canberra, 1990– 1994. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 77–95. Shephard, J.M., Catterall, C.P. & Hughes, J.M. 2004. Discrimination of sex in the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster, using genetic and morphometric techniques. Emu 104: 83–87. Shephard, J.M., Catterall, C.P. & Hughes, J.M. 2005. Long-term variation in the distribution of the White-bellied SeaEagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) across Australia. Austral Ecology 30: 131–145. Shephard, J.M., Hughes, J.M., Catterall, C.P. & Olsen, P.D. 2005. Conservation status of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster in Australia determined using mtDNA control region sequence data. Conservation Genetics 6: 413–429. Spencer, J.A. & Lynch, T.P. 2005. Patterns in the distribution of White-bellied Sea-Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) in Jervis Bay, south-eastern Australia. Emu 105: 211–216. Thurstans, S.D. In press a. A survey of White-bellied Sea Eagle nests in Tasmania in 2003. Corella. Thurstans, S.D. In press b. Modelling the nesting habitat of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster in Tasmania. Corella. Wiersma, J.M. & Richardson, A. In press. Foraging of White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster in relation to marine fish farms in Tasmania. Corella. Wiersma, J.M. & Richardson, A. In press. Morphometrics of White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster in relation to fish farms in Tasmania. Corella. Wiersma, J.M., Nermut, W. & Shephard, J.M. 2001. A variation on the ‘noosed fish’ method and its suitability for trapping the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster. Corella 25: 97–99. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 20 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Spotted Harrier Aumann 2001b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Christie, M. 2004. Spotted Harrier taking Southern Boobook. South Australian Ornithologist 34: 176–177. Swamp Harrier Hawke, D.J., Clark, J.M. & Challies, C.N. 2005. Verification of seabird contributions to Australasian Harrier diet at Motunau Island, North Canterbury, using stable isotope analysis. Notornis 52: 158–162. Powlesland, R.G., Luke, I.J. & Jansen, P. 2002. Predation by Australasian Harrier (Circus approximans) of Little Shag (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) clutches. Notornis 49: 266–268. Brown Goshawk Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Burton, A.M. & Olsen, P. 2000. Niche partitioning by two sympatric goshawks in the Australian Wet Tropics: ranging behaviour. Emu 100: 216–226. Minton, C. 2004. Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus attacking a Striated Heron Butorides striatus over the sea. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 45–46. Olsen et al. 2006b: see under White-bellied Sea-Eagle Ward, M.J. & Smith, J.G. 2003. Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus attacking a Green Pygmy-goose Nettapus pulchellus over and in water. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 105–106. Grey Goshawk Burton & Olsen 2000: see Brown Goshawk Green, R. 2001. First confirmed breeding record of Grey Goshawk in South Australia. South Australian Ornithologist 33: 135–136. Collared Sparrowhawk Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Wedge-tailed Eagle Allott, M., Allott, M. & Hatchett, N. 2006. The breeding cycle of a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax in southeast Queensland. Sunbird 36: 37–41. Cherriman, S. In press. Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax predation in south-western Australia: implications of predation on mammal reintroduction programs. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. Collins, L. & Croft, D.B. 2007. Factors influencing chick survival in the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax. Corella 31: 32–40. Debus, S.J.S., Hatfield, T.S., Ley, A.J. & Rose, A.B. 2007. Breeding biology and diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in the New England region of New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 93–120. Dennis, T.E. 2006. Status and distribution of the Wedge-tailed Eagle on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, in 2005. South Australian Ornithologist 35: 38–46. Foster, A. & Wallis, R. In press a. Nest-site characteristics of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in southern Victoria. Corella. Foster, A. & Wallis, R. In press b. Breeding diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in southern Victoria. Corella. Fuentes, E., Olsen, J. & Rose, A.B. 2007. Diet, occupancy and breeding success of Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax near Canberra, Australia, 2002–2003: four decades after Leopold and Wolfe. Corella 31: 65–73. Olsen et al. 2006a,b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle Parker, B.D., Hume, I.D. & Boles, W.E. 2007. Diet of breeding Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax in south-central Queensland. Corella 31: 50–62. Silva, L.M. & Croft, D.B. 2007. Nest-site selection, diet and parental care of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in western New South Wales. Corella 31: 23–31. Winkel, P. 2007. Feeding ecology of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in north-west Queensland: interactions with lambs. Corella 31: 41–49. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 21 Gurney’s Eagle Røv, N. & Gjershaug, J.O. 2000. Population density, territory size and habitat use of Gurney’s Eagle Aquila gurneyi in the North Moluccas, Indonesia. In Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (Eds), Raptors at Risk, pp 677–683. Hancock House, Surrey, Canada, and World Working Group on Birds of Prey & Owls, Berlin. Little Eagle Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Debus, S.J.S., Hatfield, T.S., Ley, A.J. & Rose, A.B. 2007. Breeding biology and diet of the Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides in the New England region of New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 137–157. Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard Lenz, M. 2004. Advertising of territory by Little Eagles very late into the day. Canberra Bird Notes 29: 89–90. Olsen, J. & Fuentes, E. 2005. Collapse in numbers of breeding Little Eagles in the Australian Capital Territory. Canberra Bird Notes 30: 141–145. Olsen, J. & Osgood, M. 2006. Numbers of breeding Little Eagles in the Australian Capital Territory in 2006. Canberra Bird Notes 31: 178–182. Olsen et al. 2006b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle Olsen, J., Osgood, M., Maconachie, M. & Dabb, G. 2008. Numbers of breeding Little Eagles Hieraaetus morphnoides in the Australian Capital Territory in 207. Canberra Bird Notes 32: in press. Nankeen Kestrel Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Baker, G.B., Olsen, P., McCulloch, R. & Dettman, E.B. 1997. Preliminary results of a long-term study of the Nankeen Kestrel: population density and turnover. In Czechura, G. & Debus, S. (Eds), Australian Raptor Studies II, pp. 108–113. Birds Australia Monograph 3, Birds Australia, Melbourne. Debus, S.J.S., Ley, A.J & Rose, A.B. 2007. Winter diet of a Barn Owl and a Nankeen Kestrel in Diamantina National Park, western Queensland. Sunbird 37: 1–8. Oliver, D.L. 2004. Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides takes Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes Australian Field Ornithology 21: 47–48. Olsen, P.D. & Baker, G.B. 2001. Daytime incubation temperatures in nests of the Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides. Emu 101: 255–258. Starr, M.J., Starr, M. & Wilson, S.C. 2004. Hunting rates and prey of a pair of breeding Nankeen Kestrels Falco cenchroides near Sydney, New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 71–75. Weston, M.A. 1998. Nankeen Kestrel takes Hooded Plover chick. Australian Bird Watcher 17: 266–267. Brown Falcon Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Eckert, J. 2003. Brown Falcon subdued by prey. South Australian Ornithologist 34: 85–86. Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard McDonald, P.G. 2003a. Variable plumage and bare part colouration in the Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: the influence of age and sex. Emu 103: 21–28. McDonald, P.G. 2003b. Nestling growth and development in the Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: an improved ageing formula and field-based method of sex determination. Wildlife Research 30: 411–418. McDonald, P.G. 2004. The breeding ecology of the Brown Falcon (Falco berigora). Emu 104: 1–6. McDonald, P.G. & Baker-Gabb, D.J. 2006. The breeding diet of different Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) pairs occupying the same territory over twenty years apart. Journal of Raptor Research 40: 228–231. McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Baker-Gabb, D.J. 2003. Territory fidelity, reproductive success and prey choice in the Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: a flexible bet-hedger? Australian Journal of Zoology 51: 399–414. McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2004. Weather dictates reproductive success and survival in the Australian Brown Falcon Falco berigora. Journal of Animal Ecology 73: 683–692. McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2005a. Selection for body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism: are big females better? Behavioral Ecology 16: 48–56. McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2005b. Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter? Behavioral Ecology 16: 922–930. McDonald, P. & Williams, N. 2004. Brown Falcon Falco berigora pair successfully raises Australian Hobby Falco longipennis nestlings. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 40–44 Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 22 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Australian Hobby Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Bishop, K.D. & Hill, N.P. 2007. Australian Hobby Falcon longipennis on Lord Howe Island. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 78–79. Ludwigs, M. 1999. Hunting association between Australian Hobby and Pied Butcherbirds. South Australian Ornithologist 33: 62. McDonald & Williams 2004: see Brown Falcon Olsen, J., Fuentes, E., Bird, D.M., Rose, A.B. & Judge, D. 2008. Dietary shifts based upon prey availability in Peregrine Falcons and Australian Hobbies breeding near Canberra, Australia. Journal of Raptor Research 42: 125– 137. Olsen et al. 2006b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle Grey Falcon Aumann 2001b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard Debus, S.J.S. & Rose, A.B. 2000. Diet of Grey Falcons Falco hypoleucos breeding extralimitally in New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 280–281. Harrison, R. 2000. Observations on the Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 267–269. Johnstone & Storr 1998: see Red Goshawk Martin, W.K. & Royal, M.J. 2000. Easterly records of the Grey Falcon in New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 132–134. Black Falcon Antos, M. 2003. Dietary items of the Black Falcon Falco subniger and Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata in northern Victoria. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 21–23. Debus, S.J.S., Hatfield, T.S., Olde, G.S. & Rose, A.B. 2005. Breeding behaviour and diet of a pair of Black Falcons Falco subniger in northern New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 22: 165–181. Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard Peregrine Falcon Boulet, M., Olsen, P.D., Cockburn, A. & Newgrain, K. 2001. Parental investment in male and female offspring by the Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus. Emu 101: 95–103. Dennis 2004: see Osprey Emison, W.B., Hurley, V.G., White, C.M. & Brimm, D.J. 1998. Results from a banding study of Peregrine Falcon chicks in Victoria, 1972–1997. Corella 22: 87–91. Emison, W.B., White, C.M., Hurley, V.G. & Brimm, D.J. 1997. Factors influencing the breeding distribution of the Peregrine Falcon in Victoria, Australia. Wildlife Research 24: 433–444. Germi & Waluyo 2006: see Oriental Honey-Buzzard Hurley, V.G., Hogan, F., White, J.G. & Cooke, R. 2007. A morphological model for sexing nestling Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus macropus) verified through genetic analysis. Wildlife Research 34: 54–58. Olsen, J., Debus, S.J.S., Rose, A.B. & Hayes, G. 2004. Breeding success, cliff characteristics and diet of Peregrine Falcons at high altitude in the Australian Capital Territory. Corella 28: 33–37. Olsen, J., Fuentes, E., Dykstra, R. & Rose, A.B. 2006. Male Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus fledged from a cliffnest found breeding in a stick-nest. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 8–14. Olsen et al. 2006b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle Olsen et al. 2008: see Australian Hobby Olsen, J. & Tucker, A.D. 2003. A brood-size manipulation experiment with Peregrine Falcons, Falco peregrinus, near Canberra. Emu 103: 127–132. Olsen, P., Doyle, V. & Boulet, M. 1998. Variation in male provisioning in relation to brood size of Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus. Emu 98: 297–304. Potts, R.T. & Donato, D.B. 2000. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus taking Australian Bustard Ardeotis australis. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 282–284. Potts, R.T. & Donato, D.B. 2008. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus breeding success in a disused mining pit while taking prey from cyanide-bearing tailings dams. Australian Field Ornithology 25(3): in press. White, C.M., Brimm, D.J. & Wetton, J.H. 2000. The Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in Fiji and Vanuatu. In Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (Eds), Raptors at Risk, pp 707–720. Hancock House, Surrey, Canada, and World Working Group on Birds of Prey & Owls, Berlin. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association Boobook 26(1) August 2006 23 INTERNATIONAL NEWS Raptors drowning in stock tanks During the past few years I have collated all the raptor drowning records in southern Africa (see Anderson et al. 1999, Ostrich 70: 139–144). Each year raptors drown in farmers’ small, circular farm reservoirs, particularly in the drier parts of the region, and usually in reservoirs that are not full. They are probably not able to determine the depth of the water, and then plunge into the water thinking that they can stand and drink and bathe. Their feathers then become waterlogged and they are not able to clamber up the reservoir’s steep sides. We recommend to farmers that a log, branch, pole or ladder is attached to the side of reservoirs to enable a raptor to extricate itself. We have advocated these mitigation methods in a pamphlet, articles in farmers’ magazines and on radio and television programs. The number of drownings seems to have decreased, and there has not been a single drowning in one of the many hundred reservoirs fitted with one of the mitigation devices. Mark D. Anderson, [email protected] 09/04/2008 …A problem in Australia too; see Debus et al. (2006), S. Aust. Ornithologist 35: 27–37. ************* FORTHCOMING EVENT Don’t forget the ARA conference at Coffs Harbour, NSW, 30–31 August 2008, with a field day on 1 September. Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 24 Boobook 26(1) August 2008 Index to Vol. 25 Subjects: Eagle issues Rehab Research needs Taxonomy Windfarms 3–5 10–12 6–8 9 5 Species: ACCIPITER cirrocephalus AQUILA audax 7 3–5, 7, 9, 13, 15, 19 AVICEDA subcristata 6, 9 CIRCUS assimilis 7 ELANUS axillaris scriptus 6, 10–11, 18 6 ERYTHROTRIORCHIS radiatus 7–8, 17 HAMIROSTRA melanosternon 6, 9, 18 HENICOPERNIS 9 HIERAAETUS kienerii 9 morphnoides 7, 9, 14 [morphnoides] weiskei 9 ICTINAETUS malayensis 9 LOPHOICTINIA isura 6, 9, 12, 15 NINOX novaeseelandiae strenua 14, 18 5 FALCO berigora cenchroides hypoleucos longipennis peregrinus subniger HALIAEETUS leucogaster HALIASTUR indus 10 18–19 8, 17 8 11–12, 14, 16–17 8, 11 PANDION haliaetus 5–6, 14–16 SPIZAETUS cirrhatus floris lanceolatus 9 9 9 3, 7, 18 TYTO alba novaehollandiae 7 Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association 27–28 16