A Victoria Crowned Pigeon Hatches at Zoo Miami

Zoo Miami has announced its first successful hatching of a Victoria Crowned Pigeon! The single chick hatched on November 30 after being artificially incubated in the zoo’s brooder building for 28 days. 

Victoria Crowned Pigeons are the world’s largest living pigeons, reaching a length of nearly 30 inches (76.2 cm) and weighing close to five pounds (2.27 kg). They are one of the closest living relatives of the now extinct Dodo bird. Found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and portions of Indonesia, these stunning birds are classified as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Species' Red List. Main threats are deforestation for logging as well as by hunting for food and their ornate feathers. These birds are found in small flocks on the forest floor foraging for seeds, fruit and snails. Distinguished by their ornate fan of crest feathers and deep red eyes, adults are mainly blue in color with accents of deep burgundy and small highlights of white. 

Continued

New research database to track six penguin species

Little is known about penguin foraging zones

April 2013. Penguins need all the public support they can get. Of the 18 species, 15 are considered globally threatened or Near Threatened. Work to conserve them is hampered by the patchy nature of the data on where penguins go when away from their breeding grounds. To fill in these important gaps, BirdLife International and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research have joined the British Antarctic Survey to compile a "tracking database" on six penguin species. The project is funded by the UK Government's Darwin Initiative.

chinstrap penguin

There have been numerous penguin tracking studies, but the results have never been brought together in one place. The database will collate existing data on Chinstrap and King, Adélie and Gentoo (both Near Threatened), Macaroni and Southern Rockhopper (both globally Vulnerable) penguins in the Weddell and Scotia Seas of Antarctica, as well as the waters around South Georgia.

Albatross and petrel database

BirdLife already manages the world's largest seabird tracking database. The Global Procellariiform Tracking Database, which brought together the work of all the world's experts on albatrosses and petrels, has been crucial in informing marine management decisions, particularly in relation to longline fisheries.

Penguins are excellent indicators of key marine habitats. The places where they forage are, generally speaking, also important for other marine predators like seals and whales. Once identified, areas on the high seas that prove to be important for penguins can be added to BirdLife's directory of marine Important Bird Areas (IBAs). In turn, they may be added to the list of ecologically or biologically significant areas for conservation (EBSAs), as candidates for marine Protected Areas.

Southern rockhopper penguin

80% decline

"Some penguin species have undergone declines of up to 80% in recent years", said Ben Lascelles, BirdLife's Global Marine IBA Officer. "Better protection of their marine habitats is vital to build resilience into hard-hit populations. By bringing the existing penguin tracking data together and identifying candidate areas for protection, this project should be able to deliver major bangs-for-the-buck in marine conservation terms".

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/penguin-tracking.html

Rare bird lands at Athens airport

A rare bird hailing from arctic North America was spotted in Greece for the first time ever (Reuters) 

Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (AIA) had a surprise unscheduled landing a few days ago when a Buff-breasted sandpiper, which breeds in the open arctic tundra of North America, made one of its rare appearances in Europe and the first-ever in Greece.

The Buff-breasted sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis, is a small shorebird, classified as a calidrid sandpiper and currently believed to be the only member of the genus Tryngites.

Members of the Fauna Observation Team of the Airport's environmental service -- who are also members of the Greek Ornithological Society -- spotted the bird at the airport's southern border.

The Buff-breasted sandpiper is a very long-distance migrant and spends the non-breeding season mainly in South American, migrating usually through central North American. 

Occurring as an occasional wanderer to western Europe, particularly during the autumn migratory season, this was the first recorded sighting of Tryngites subruficollis in Greece. Its moderately small remaining population continues to decline and as a result it is considered Near-Threatened.

Arrivals of rare birds are not uncommon in the region of the AIA, and the Buff-breasted sandpiper was the 188th species of bird to be recorded there. (AMNA)

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/1/58052