The aim of this study was to determine the diet composition of wintering waterfowl, and assess its variation among Greek wetlands. Digestive tracts (oesophagus, proventriculus and gizzards) of Gadwall Anas strepera, Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope, Eurasian
Teal Anas crecca, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata, Northern Pintail Anas acuta and Common Coot Fulica
atra were collected in four Greek wetlands (Evros Delta, Lake Vistonida, Aliakmon-Axios Delta and Messolonghi Lagoon), during two
wintering periods from October 2004 to March 2006. Diet composition was evaluated using the percentage of occurrence and the aggregated percent dry weight methods. Gadwall and Wigeon were primarily herbivorous (both more than 95% dry weight), Teal and Mallard
mostly relied upon seeds for food (60-75% dry weight), whereas Shoveler, Pintail and Coot consumed elevated quantities of invertebrates
(27.4%, 16.8%, and 31.2% dry weight respectively). Scirpus consumption by Teal and Mallard was lower in Messolonghi Lagoon than
in the other wetlands. Conversely, increased quantities of Ruppia spp. and invertebrates were recorded in waterfowl diets (except Teal)
in Messolonghi Lagoon. These fndings may be attributed to the variation in food availability among study areas, thus management plans
should be focused both upon the targeted bird species and the particular wetland separately. In general, since studied species exhibit considerably forage plasticity, providing increased habitat heterogeneity seems to be the best management approach for wintering waterfowl
in Greece, at least under their dietary needs’ aspect.

Adult Columba livia pigeons were used as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution by heavy metals, from different sources
(road traffc, earthenware workshops). Concentrations in pigeon tissues varied according to metals. Lead and cadmium showed higher
accumulation in kidneys, while zinc was the found in whole organs. Except for Oulja, where lead is commonly used in earthenware production, lead and cadmium were accumulated according to the density of road traffc, thus the highest lead concentrations were found in
the town centre, followed by Kamra where car traffc is moderate, and with the lowest concentrations of lead in rural areas. On average,
high concentrations of cadmium were observed in the kidneys of pigeons in the town centre, and a lower content ratio (25 times) was
found in rural areas (Allal Behraoui). The low metal concentrations in the pigeons blood and organs was due to the limited presence of
industry in Rabat-Salé.

This study examined nest-site selection of four woodpecker species living in the floodplain forests of the Isonzo river (Gorizia). 14 plots were examined for a total area of 278 ha. We estimated the number of pairs for the whole study area: 60 of the Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, 30 of the Green Woodpecker Picus viridis, 13 of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos
minor, 4 of the Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius. The presence of a pair is not correlated with the plot area. The density of contacts
and pairs is greater in forests with prevalence of old poplar Populus sp. We calculated an index to analyse the whole Picidae community
and to compare the different plots. This index has shown a good correlation with the percentage of old poplar trees of a plot. Finally, habitat variables in 15 m radius subplots centered on nest trees and on potentially suitable trees were analyzed. The Black Woodpecker prefers
high poplar density with a large diameter, preferably dead. On the basis of these results we believe that the riverine forest management
has to consider the preservation of small natural plots with prevalence of old poplar trees.

The riparian Passerines of lake Trasimeno (Umbria, Central Italy): a 11-years study by constant-effort mist-netting. From
August 1996 to December 2007 at a reedbed site of lake Trasimeno we carried out 562 mist-netting sessions (at least once every ten days).
Through the years we kept constantly the same numbers and positions of mist-nets. Mist-netting always started at dawn and stopped at
midday, without using any recorded calling. We trapped 13512 birds belonging to 52 species. The collected data allowed us to investigate: the composition and the ecological parameters of the passerine community and their seasonal variations; trends of the most abundant
species, calculated taking into account either the whole annual sample or only the breeding population (adult age-class during the breeding season). We found 12 species being dominant at least in one month: Prunella modularis, Cettia cetti, Acrocephalus melanopogon,
A. schoenobaenus, A. scirpaceus, A. arundinaceus, Phylloscopus collybita, Sylvia atricapilla, Erithacus rubecula, Cyanistes caeruleus,
Remiz pendulinus, Emberiza schoeniclus. The community parameters showed strong seasonal variations: abundance, biomass values and
percentage of marshland species were highest from late spring to early autumn, while in the same period diversity and equitability reached
their minimum. Considering for each species the complete annual sample, only three species out of 18 showed signifcant trends: Panurus biarmicus (decrease), Erithacus rubecula (increase), Emberiza schoeniclus (increase). Taking into account the breeding species, we
found out signifcant negative trends for Panurus biarmicus, Cettia cetti, Remiz pendulinus; the remaining species (Acrocephalus scirpaceus, A. arundinaceus, Sylvia atricapilla, Parus major, Passer italiae) showed negative but not signifcant variations. The decrease of
some marshland species might depend (at least in part) on the reedbed loss and degradation.

In an urban area of the Province of Catania the relationships between feral domestic cat Felis silvestris catus and the bird community have been studied. Despite a drastic decline of cat density, signifcant changes in the community structure and abundance of bird
species were not observed in the same time-interval. Predation by the domestic cat on the bird populations living in urban environments
may not necessarily have negative effects, differently form what observed in sea islands, owing to the ethological characteristics of the
predator, environment and the type of management by man. Other human factors, like the conversion or destruction of habitats, including
areas adjacent to the urban area, network of roads, traffc pollution, may have more intense and subtle effects.

Andamento decennale di un dormitorio di biancone
Circaetus gallicus. Le osservazioni sono state svolte dal 2000 al
2009, in una piccola valle situata in provincia di Bologna (Emilia-Romagna), durante sedici visite effettuate nel periodo dal 24
giugno al 3 agosto. Il dormitorio era composto inizialmente da
due bianconi, che sono aumentati fno ad un massimo di dodici
nel 2004 e alla fne del periodo monitorato sono scesi a tre individui, con un minimo di uno nel 2008. Nei dieci anni in totale sono
stati rilevati 51 individui di biancone, dei quali la maggior parte
(69%) composta di immaturi. La presenza nell’area di immaturi e di adulti non nidifcanti, entrambi non territoriali, era molto
probabilmente la causa dell’inusuale concentrazione di individui
osservati. Escludendo i periodi di migrazione, le osservazioni di
dormitori di biancone sono molto rare e apparentemente di natura
occasionale, come suggerito dall’unico altro caso noto, rilevato in
Israele, dove il raggruppamento è stato attribuito ad una eccezionale abbondanza di cibo (roditori) nell’area.

Dati sulla migrazione primaverile degli immaturi di
Biancone Circaetus gallicus attraverso la rotta del Mediterraneo
Centrale (Italia, Tunisia). Osservazioni sulla fenologia migratoria
primaverile di immaturi di Biancone sono state svolte nella primavera 2007 in nove stazioni di osservazione dislocate nell’Italia
peninsulare (n = 3), in quella insulare (n = 5) e in Tunisia (n = 1).
Nel complesso, la ricerca ha richiesto n = 231 giornate di campo
(in media n = 25.7 ± 3.9 SE gg/stazione; estremi: Cap Bon n = 8;
M.te Conero n = 48) concentrate in larga percentuale (n = 82.3%,
n = 190) tra il 20 aprile e il 20 maggio (estremi: 9 marzo – 31 maggio), per un totale di n = 2002 ore di osservazione (in media n =
222.4 ± 39.9 SE ore/stazione; estremi: Cap Bon n = 33; M.te Conero n = 480). Nel complesso, sono stati identifcati n = 112 individui immaturi in transito, di cui n = 57 (50.9%) ad Arenzano, n
= 28 (25.0%) a Cap Bon, n = 19 (17.0%) sulle Alpi Apuane e n =
4 (3.6%) sia sul M.te Conero che in Sicilia e isole minori. Le osservazioni di Arenzano e delle Alpi Apuane (con direzioni di volo
prevalenti: ENE e SE rispettivamente), così come gli scarsi avvistamenti in Sicilia (direzione di volo prevalente: NE), suggeriscono
che la maggior parte dei bianconi immaturi effettui in primavera
una migrazione “a circuito” come gli adulti. Il comportamento riscontrato nei bianconi immaturi, in migrazione tardiva rispetto agli
adulti, è in accordo con quanto noto e con le osservazioni relative allo Stretto di Gibilterra. La mancata corrispondenza delle osservazioni tra Cap Bon e Sicilia suggerisce due possibili ipotesi:
a) i bianconi immaturi osservati sul capo tunisino non hanno attraversato il mare e hanno estivato in Africa. Questa prima ipotesi è supportata dal rilevamento tramite trasmettitore satellitare
di due bianconi rimasti in Africa durante il loro secondo anno di
vita; b) si trattava di soggetti che hanno attraversato il Canale di
Sicilia e hanno estivato in Sicilia. Questa seconda ipotesi potrebbe giustifcare l’osservazione di immaturi in transito a Marettimo
in autunno

The Regional Nature Reserve “Ripa Bianca” near Jesi (Ancona, Italy), managed by WWF Italia, is characterized by a
mixed forest on the banks of an artifcial lake. In this site, since
twenty years there have been the largest colony of Night Herons
throughout the Marche Region, to which other species of Herons
(Grey Heron, Little Egret, Little Bittern) have added over years.
A.R.C.A. performs visual monitoring of the species living in the
heronry. Particularly noteworthy the observation in Spring 2010
of Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmaeus nesting. The species was already observed during the Spring of 2008 and 2009, but
until 2010 nesting was not established. The frst direct observation
of the nest is dated 05/06/2010 and the frst pullus out of the nest
was photographed on 20th August 2010. In Italy the Pygmy Cormorant, species listed in Annex 1 of 2009/147/CE Directive, is a
regular breeding, wintering and migratory species in the northeastern part of the country (Veneto, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Emilia
Romagna). Our observation is the frst of the Pygmy Cormorant as
a nesting species in Central Italy.

La rubrica segnalerà i lavori ornitologici che riguardano il
territorio italiano pubblicati su riviste straniere e italiane
(escluse RIO, Picus, Alula, Uccelli d’Italia). Le segnalazioni saranno accompagnate in genere da un breve commento. Considerando le diffcoltà di visionare le innumerevoli riviste che potrebbero contenere contributi con dati
ornitologici di interesse per i lettori di Avocetta, la rubrica non ha la pretesa di produrre un elenco esaustivo dei
lavori pubblicati sul territorio nazionale. Comunque, per
rendere l’elenco più approfondito, si invitano gli ornitologi italiani a collaborare attivamente inviando segnalazioni
commentate, in particolare di lavori locali o settoriali, al
curatore della rubrica o alla redazione di Avocetta.