The interrelationships between species composition, resource-use and availability, breeding and competition were studied in two hill habitat raptor communities in a conserved reserve and an unprotected communal land in Zimbabwe in 1995 and 1996. The conserved Lonestar Study Area (LSA) and the unprotected Communal Land Study area (CLSA) had 38 and 31 raptor species, high and normal diversities for the area sizes respectively. An estimated 147 pairs of 21 raptor species bred in 40km² in the LSA compared to only 26 pairs of 22 raptor species per 40km² in the CLSA. Six species (African Hawk Eagle Hieraaetus spilogaster, Black Eagle Aquila verreauxii, Crowned Eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus, Little Banded Goshawk Accipiter badius, Barn Owl Tyto alba,and Barred Owl Glancidium capense made up 69% of breeding raptors in the LSA, while African Hawk Eagles, Little Banded Goshawks, Barn Owls and Barred Owls made up 58% of the breeding raptors in the CLSA. The abundance of Black, Crowned and African Hawk Eagles in the LSA was linked to abundant hyrax, Heterohyrax brucei and Procavia capensis and juvenile bushbuck Tragelaphus prey, and the high reproduction rates of Natal Francolin Francolinus natalensis (0.7 per ha when not breeding). Little Banded Goshawk and Barn Owl abundances were linked to their ability to change prey preferences according to prey availability. A fairly high rate of breeding attempts by eagles in the LSA in both years (60 - 76% of all pairs per year)was probably also linked to prey abundance, Most breeding failures were predator related, and were more common in areas of relatively low nesting densities indicating lower parental vigilance there. High eagle breeding densities were associated with small mean territory sizes in the LSA (7.7 - 10.7km² for the main eagle species). Eagles in the LSA usually nested closer to another eagle species than a conspecific, resulting in regular distributions of nests and no territory overlap within species. Differences in daily flight activity of eagles in both study areas, and in the onset of breeding between LSA eagles probably reduced interspecific aggression. Interspecific competition food and nest sites amongst LSA eagles was possibly lessened by slight ditferences in resource selection. Raptor resources were mostly unaffected by human activities in either study area during the study period. Differences in the raptor communities were probably as a result of natural habitat differences. The CLSA raptors potentially face resource loss through forest clearing and hunting. An expansion of the present CAMPFIRE program will protect the CLSA raptors.

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The prey selection and predatory behaviour of a single pride of lions (Panthera leo) was studied in the 8500 ha Karongwe Game Reserve from 1999–2005. The study focused on the difference between prey selection in the first three years when a two-male coalition was present with a similar period thereafter when one of the males was removed and subadult males dispersed from the pride. A total of 662 kills were recorded, with blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), zebra (Equus burchelli) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) being the most preferred species. Although there was preference for these species, and adult prey were favoured, there was no significant selection for prey size, age or gender. There was a significant difference in the number of kills made when the two-male coalition was present as opposed to the single pride male. The solitary pride male spent significantly more time with the females and shared most of their kills, and during this period dispersing subadult males killed a substantial amount of prey when separated from the pride. Knowledge on predator feeding behaviour is important for managers to assess impact on prey populations in small reserves in order to manage them correctly, thereby preventing depletion of such populations.

Multiple-brooding (raising more than one brood of young in quick succession) occurs infrequently in raptors and is generally restricted to either smaller species with shorter nesting periods, co-operative breeders or species capable of capitalizing on conditions of prolonged food abundance whenever they occur. This paper presents the first recorded cases of multiplebrooding in the Black Sparrowhawk Accipiter melanoleucus from two distinct locales in South Africa. In the Western Cape (Cape Peninsula), four attempts to multiple-brood were recorded in four different years, involving three distinct pairs of birds, and in KwaZulu–Natal (Eshowe), three distinct pairs of Sparrowhawks successfully multiple-brooded on several occasions over a 5-year study period. These results establish the Black Sparrowhawk as one of only two relatively large, monogamous raptor species, and the only specialist bird-eating raptor, in which multiple-brooding has been recorded with any frequency. The species’ capacity to thrive in human-modified environments (i.e. alien plantations) and particularly to exploit associated foraging opportunities (e.g. high densities of doves and pigeons in suburban areas) may, at least partly, account for the instances of multiple-brooding reported here. We suggest that biologists be more vigilant for cases of multiple-brooding in raptors, as it is possible that this trait is more common than originally thought and has previously been overlooked.

The Sprague’s pipit is a small, threatened grassland songbird endemic to the Canadian prairies and to the northern Great Plains of the United States. Between 1968 and 2006, the population of Sprague’s pipit in Canada experienced a significant annual decline of 4.5%. The prairie provinces also experienced declines within this reporting period. Pipits are more abundant in native prairie grasslands, however much of their preferred habitat has been lost due to the influence of human activities. Furthermore, management of remaining grasslands has impacted the quality of habitat through suppression of natural disturbances such as fire. Few studies have addressed how fire affects the occurrence and abundance of Sprague’s pipit, thus pipit response to fire is poorly understood. This study investigated the effect of fire on the density and distribution of Sprague’s pipit in south-western Manitoba by examining the associations between pipit density, invertebrate food resources and vegetation structure with fire history. Surveys to determine pipit abundance, invertebrate resources and vegetation structure were conducted in 2007; in 2008 only pipit abundance and vegetation surveys were conducted. Although there was no significant effect of invertebrate resource abundance on Sprague’s pipit density, the abundance of grasshoppers and ground beetles declined with increasing time since last burn, which suggests that longer fire-return intervals may reduce the availability of these prey species for pipits. Fire did not significantly influence the distribution and density of Sprague’s pipit in this region. However the response of the vegetation to fire may indicate that the existing fire-return interval is not contributing to the population decline of Sprague’s pipit, but that in the absence of fire, the habitat could regress to a state that does not meet the critical habitat needs of this species.

The Sprague’s pipit is a small, threatened grassland songbird endemic to the Canadian prairies and to the northern Great Plains of the United States. Between 1968 and 2006, the population of Sprague’s pipit in Canada experienced a significant annual decline of 4.5%. The prairie provinces also experienced declines within this reporting period. Pipits are more abundant in native prairie grasslands, however much of their preferred habitat has been lost due to the influence of human activities. Furthermore, management of remaining grasslands has impacted the quality of habitat through suppression of natural disturbances such as fire. Few studies have addressed how fire affects the occurrence and abundance of Sprague’s pipit, thus pipit response to fire is poorly understood. This study investigated the effect of fire on the density and distribution of Sprague’s pipit in south-western Manitoba by examining the associations between pipit density, invertebrate food resources and vegetation structure with fire history. Surveys to determine pipit abundance, invertebrate resources and vegetation structure were conducted in 2007; in 2008 only pipit abundance and vegetation surveys were conducted. Although there was no significant effect of invertebrate resource abundance on Sprague’s pipit density, the abundance of grasshoppers and ground beetles declined with increasing time since last burn, which suggests that longer fire-return intervals may reduce the availability of these prey species for pipits. Fire did not significantly influence the distribution and density of Sprague’s pipit in this region. However the response of the vegetation to fire may indicate that the existing fire-return interval is not contributing to the population decline of Sprague’s pipit, but that in the absence of fire, the habitat could regress to a state that does not meet the critical habitat needs of this species.