The use of nest protectors for the Saffron-cowled blackbird Xanthopsar flavus in two Important Bird Areas from Argentina.

MARIA INES PEREDA

Conservation Evidence

University of Cambridge

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2018 vol. 15 p. 1 - 1

1758-2067

The saffron-cowled blackbird Xanthopsar flavus is an icterid endemic to southern South America?s grasslands (Azpiroz et al. 2012). Loss and transformation of their habitat, brood parasitism by shiny cowbirds Molothrus bonariensis and poaching for illegal trade has placed the species as globally Vulnerable by IUCN (Birdlife International 2017). Currently a small and fragmented population is restricted to four small, disjunct areas in northeast Argentina, Uruguay, southeast Brazil and southeast Paraguay (Birdlife International 2017). Most subpopulations are unprotected and no regular breeding sites are known for the entire region. In Argentina the species is considered Critically Endangered (López-Lanús et al. 2008) due to a rapidly declining population from 1,500 to 600 individuals over the past decade (Fraga et al. 1998, Di Giacomo 2016). In 2015 we launched a conservation project aimed at identifying breeding colonies in Argentina and to increase their breeding success. Colonies were found in two Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs): Perdices (AR177 IBA, Entre Ríos province, 33°26?S, 58°32?W) and Aguapey River Basin (AR143 IBA, Corrientes province, 28°36?S, 56°56?W). In this study, we describe a simple device aimed at increasing the nesting success of saffron-cowled blackbird colonies prone to high predation risk.