Raptor populations in Africa are rapidly declining, yet causes of mortality are insufficiently known for most resident species understudied beyond poisoning. This study aimed to investigate the causes of raptor mortality on the African continent. We compiled 1012 mortality records from 43 raptor species tracked with GPS transmitters in Africa between 2003 and 2026 to identify the main causes of mortality, estimate the relative contribution of anthropogenic vs natural causes of mortality, and the factors affecting mortality. Human-induced mortality accounted for 58.8% of known mortality in migratory raptors (n = 233) and 74.3% in non-migratory raptors (n = 241). The main causes of known mortality were direct killing (24.4% of 474 records), poisoning (23.6%), and electrocution (10.1%). Predatory raptors were at higher risk of direct killing than vultures, had higher risk in urbanised than rural landscapes, for non-migrants compared to migrants, and during the non-breeding season compared to the breeding and migration seasons. Vultures had a higher risk of poisoning among adults compared to immatures and in more rural/protected areas relative to urbanised areas. Among poisoned vultures (n = 103), 40.2% were poisoned intentionally. Electrocution occurred at similar rates in vultures and predatory raptors, and more frequently with more urbanisation. The proportion of tracked birds for which cause of mortality could be identified increased over time but remained lower for non-migrants compared to migrants. Our results show the predominantly anthropogenic origin of raptor mortality in Africa, stressing the need for stronger conservation actions directed against direct killing, poisoning, and electrocution.

Almost universally, raptors exhibit some degree of sexual size dimorphism, with many species also having substantial sexual dimorphism in plumage patterns. The monophyletic clade 'booted eagles' generally do not, except for the Crowned Eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus, which are believed to have sex-specific wing patterns suitable for field identification. We challenge this long-established norm of field identification of sexes of Crowned Eagles based on their wing bar patterns. Photographs of seven adult Crowned Eagles were translated to a standardised digital template to facilitate a systematic comparison. There was significant individual variation in the wing pattern of Crowned Eagles, and these did not appear to be linked to sex. Alternative explanations for the underwing patterns include plumage polymorphism and individual plumage variation. We demonstrated that Crowned Eagles cannot be reliably sexed by the number of bars on the wing and we established a foundation for ongoing investigation, especially regarding the stability of this pattern in ageing individuals. Presque tous les rapaces pr & eacute;sentent un certain degr & eacute; de dimorphisme sexuel en termes de taille, et de nombreuses esp & egrave;ces pr & eacute;sentent & eacute;galement un dimorphisme sexuel important au niveau du plumage. Le clade monophyl & eacute;tique des << aigles bott & eacute;s >> n'en pr & eacute;sente g & eacute;n & eacute;ralement pas, & agrave; l'exception de l'Aigle couronn & eacute; Stephanoaetus coronatus, dont on pense que les barres alaires permettent l'identification du sexe sur le terrain. Nous remettons en question cette norme & eacute;tablie de longue date. Les photographies de sept Aigles couronn & eacute;s adultes ont & eacute;t & eacute; traduites sur un mod & egrave;le num & eacute;rique standardis & eacute; afin de faciliter une comparaison syst & eacute;matique. Il existe en effet des variations individuelles significatives dans le dessin des ailes des Aigles couronn & eacute;s, et celles-ci ne semblent pas & ecirc;tre li & eacute;es au sexe. Le polymorphisme du plumage et la variation individuelle du plumage sont d'autres explications possibles pour les motifs du dessous des ailes. Nous avons d & eacute;montr & eacute; que les aigles couronn & eacute;s ne peuvent pas & ecirc;tre sex & eacute;s de mani & egrave;re fiable en se basant sur le nombre de barres sur l'aile et nous avons & eacute;tabli une base pour la poursuite des recherches, en particulier en ce qui concerne la stabilit & eacute; de ce motif avec l'& acirc;ge.

Raptors exert top-down influences on ecosystems via their effects on prey population dynamics and community composition. Most raptors are sympatric with other predators, thus complicating our understanding of their relative influence in these systems. Estimates of kill rates and prey biomass recycling have been used as predation metrics that allow quantitative comparison among species and assessment of the relative role of single species within complex food webs. Few studies have produced findings of kill rates or prey biomass recycling for raptors. We used a supervised machine learning algorithm to behaviourally classify high resolution accelerometer informed GPS locations of tagged adult non-breeding martial eagles Polemaetus bellicosus in the Maasai Mara region of Kenya to estimate kill rates and prey biomass recycling. Eagle locations classified as feeding were clustered using distance and time thresholds to identify kills and calculate kill rates. Identified kill sites were quickly ground-truthed to confirm kills and identify prey species. We estimated kill rates for martial eagles at 0.59 kills day-1 for males and 0.38 kills day-1 for females, and we estimated biomass recycling per ground-truthed kill at 1796 g for males and 3860 g for females. From our sample of identified ground-truthed kills, 'gamebirds' was the most frequently recorded prey category for male eagles and 'small ungulates' was the most frequently recorded prey category for female eagles. These results position martial eagles close to sympatric mammalian top predators in trophic pyramids and provide evidence for their classification as a top predator.

Intra‐Africa movements of most African migratory birds remain an enigma. We describe the migrations of Wahlberg's eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi using GPS‐GSM transmitters on adult eagles in their South African (n = 3) and Kenyan (n = 7) breeding areas between 2018 and 2022. The dataset included 57 migratory tracks, 29 post‐breeding and 28 pre‐breeding. We found long‐distance migrants (LDMs; from South Africa) and short‐distance migrants (SDMs; from Kenya) using common non‐breeding areas centered in the Sudans and Central African Republic. The timing of annual phases was similar, but LDMs departed on their pre‐breeding migration on average later than SDMs (13 August versus 31 July) and arrived later on their breeding grounds (13 September versus 10 August). Conversely, the average departure date on the post‐breeding migration was 4 April for SDM and 23 March for LDMs. LDMs spent significantly less time of the year than SDMs on breeding grounds (44 versus 57%), and slightly but not significantly more time (40 versus 38%) on non‐breeding areas. The post‐breeding migration distance was on average 3413.9 ± 170.9 km for LDMs and 491.9 ± 158.5 km for SDMs. At non‐breeding areas, LDMs reached more northerly latitudes than SDMs, increasing the pre‐breeding migration distance to 4495.9 ± 372.5 km for LDMs versus 1701.9 ± 167.3 for SDMs. Daily flight distances back to the breeding areas averaged 153.4 ± 130.3 km for LDMs and 167.4 ± 122.3 km for SDMs and to non‐breeding areas were shorter for SDMs (124.8 ± 113.0 km) than LDMs (178.0 ± 134.4 km). Migration speed was similar across populations and for pre‐ and post‐breeding migrations. LDMs used more stopover days than SDMs. We conclude that Wahlberg's eagles from different parts of Africa have adapted their migration to differences in timing of the breeding season, distance of travel, and resources in the landscapes encountered during migration.

In many intact African savannah ecosystems, martial eagles are the top avian predator, while lions are the top terrestrial predator. Here, we report seven records of martial eagle predation or attempted predation of lion cubs in the greater Mara region, Kenya. These events resulted in the death of nine lion cubs, most of which were at least partially consumed, and are the first detailed records of this behaviour to be published. While these observations represent intraguild interactions, we suggest that they reflect neither intraguild predation nor interspecific killing. Rather, the ecology of both species coupled with the details of our records suggest that martial eagles opportunistically kill lion cubs purely to eat them. We hope that by publishing these records we will encourage others to share their observations of raptors predating on large mammalian carnivores, thus improving our understanding of a behaviour that we suspect may be more widespread than the current lack of evidence suggests.

The conversion of natural habitats to farmland is a major cause of biodiversity loss and poses the greatest extinction risk to birds worldwide. Tropical raptors are of particular concern, being relatively slow-breeding apex predators and scavengers, whose disappearance can trigger extensive cascading effects. Many of Africa’s raptors are at considerable risk from habitat conversion, prey-base depletion and persecution, driven principally by human population expansion. Here we describe multiregional trends among 42 African raptor species, 88% of which have declined over a ca. 20–40-yr period, with 69% exceeding the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria classifying species at risk of extinction. Large raptors had experienced significantly steeper declines than smaller species, and this disparity was more pronounced on unprotected land. Declines were greater in West Africa than elsewhere, and more than twice as severe outside of protected areas (PAs) than within. Worryingly, species suffering the steepest declines had become significantly more dependent on PAs, demonstrating the importance of expanding conservation areas to cover 30% of land by 2030—a key target agreed at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15. Our findings also highlight the significance of a recent African-led proposal to strengthen PA management—initiatives considered fundamental to safeguarding global biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and climate resilience.

SummaryRaptors play a unique role in ecosystem services and are regarded as effective indicators of ecosystem health. In recent years, varieties of anthropogenic factors have threatened the majority of raptor species worldwide. Nepal is considered a global hotspot for threatened and declining raptor species, but there is limited information on the direct human threats to the raptor populations living in the country. In this paper, we identify important anthropogenic threats to raptors in Nepal based on raptor mortality data collected by powerline surveys and from monitoring of GPS-tagged raptors, complete various reports, and social media. We found that powerlines, poisoning, and persecution, mainly shooting, are significant threats to raptors in Nepal that were largely overlooked previously. We report 54 electrocuted raptors affecting eight species, 310 poisoned raptors of 11 species, and five persecuted raptors of four species; among them vultures are the most affected (>88%). Based on our findings, to safeguard the future of Nepal’s raptors, we propose the retrofitting of power poles and the use of flight diverters on powerlines in the most affected areas to reduce raptor interactions with powerlines, as well as an effective conservation education programme to prevent the use of unintentional poisoning.

Kenya's wildlife has been declining substantially for decades, due to rapid human population growth and its associated impacts on natural habitats. Predators and scavengers are particularly sensitive to anthropogenic pressures, and their changing status has corresponding impacts on the ecosystem services they provide. To estimate rates of change in Kenya's raptor populations we compared linear encounter rates (individuals 100 km(-1)) recorded during road surveys conducted in 1970-1977 and 2003-2020. Encounter rates for 19 out of 22 species examined had fallen, by a median of 70% among those showing a significant or near-significant change. No species had increased significantly. Declines had occurred among all vulture and large eagle species, and were especially pronounced among once-common small and medium-sized raptors. Our findings demonstrate the importance of protected areas (PAs) for Kenya's remaining raptor populations. The median encounter rate for vultures and large eagles had dropped by 23% within PAs and by 76% in unprotected areas. Smaller species showed divergent trends in relation to PA status, their median encounter rate increasing by 104% within PAs while declining by 85% elsewhere. Based on projected declines over three generation lengths, 45% of the species examined would qualify as nationally Endangered or Critically Endangered. Key threats include electrocution/collision with energy infrastructure, deliberate and incidental poisoning, and impacts associated with habitat degradation. Kenya's raptor declines could be reversed through enhanced management of PAs, mitigation of specific threats and the implementation of species recovery plans; all requiring steadfast government commitment and close collaboration with conservation stakeholders.

Tracking studies are often used to inform conservation plans and actions. However, species have frequently only been tracked in one or a few localities, whereas space use can be remarkably flexible, especially in long‐lived species with advanced learning abilities. We assessed variability in space use in the Critically Endangered Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus by pooling movement data from three populations across the species’ sub‐Saharan range (in South Africa, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, The Gambia and Mozambique). We estimated minimum convex polygons and kernel density estimators (KDEs) and compared monthly home‐range sizes between breeding and non‐breeding seasons, age‐classes and subspecies, accounting for uneven sampling within groups. Mean (± sd) monthly home‐range sizes (95% KDEs) for adult Hooded Vultures from southern (12 453 ± 21 188 km2, n = 82) and eastern Africa (3735 ± 3652 km2, n = 24) were 103 and 31 times larger than those of conspecifics from western Africa (121 ± 98 km2, n = 48). This may relate partly to subspecific differences, and individuals with small home‐ranges in western Africa and Ethiopia were trapped in urban environments. Regional variation in space use by Hooded Vultures may be linked to flexibility in feeding behaviour (degree of commensalism) which may arise in response to resource availability and persecution in different areas. Age‐class also affected monthly home‐range sizes, with immature birds generally having larger monthly home‐range size estimates than adults. Our results highlight the flexibility of Hooded Vultures in terms of their home‐range sizes and suggest that home‐range sizes differ between populations and individuals, depending on the extent of human commensalism. Our results also reaffirm the importance of international co‐operation in conservation efforts aimed at protecting this wide‐ranging, non‐migratory species.

This study addresses for the first time the movement patterns of the globally near‐threatened Bearded VultureGypaetus barbatusin its most important stronghold, the high‐altitude mountain ranges of Asia. Tracked individuals (n = 8) in the Annapurna Himalayan range (Nepal) foraged over a vast range of 60 715.9 km2and our results indicated age‐class differences in the use of space. Territorial adults showed very small annual home‐ranges (K90 = 150.3 km2), whereas immatures wandered extensively and covered vast ranges of the mountains (K90 = 23 930.8 km2). For adults and immatures, these values are notably larger than the other two studied populations in the world (Pyrenees and South Africa). This suggests that the studied Annapurna population might exhibit lower breeding density than in the Pyrenees or South Africa, possibly due to lower food availability.

Eagle Hill, the study site of the late Leslie Brown, was first surveyed over 60 years ago in 1948. The demise of its eagle population was near-complete less than 50 years later, but significantly, the majority of these losses occurred in the space of a few years in the late 1970s. Unfortunately, human densities and land use changes are poorly known, and thus poor correlation can be made between that and eagle declines. Tolerant local attitudes and land use practices certainly played a significant role in protecting the eagles while human populations began to grow. But at a certain point it would seem that changed human attitudes and population density quickly tipped the balance against eagles.

A Verreaux’s Eagle ( Aquila verreauxii ) was observed to attack in mid-air a fully grown juvenile Ruppell’s Vulture ( Gyps rueppellii ). This event including observations on the breeding of these vultures at Kwenia are presented. Other notes are given for the nesting of Ruppell’s Vultures at this site.

Because of the high, albeit seasonal, availability of carcasses, the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, Kenya, has a high diversity of scavengers, leading to considerable competition between species. From patterns of occurrence of vultures at 163 carcasses over an 8-year period in the Masai Mara National Reserve, we were able to identify some mechanisms that may reduce competition. Species are associated on the basis of similar dietary needs and beak morphology, and they are highly interdependent, showing little evidence of disassociation. Social vultures (genus Gyps) dominated the vulture scene at the reserve; they were more abundant at carcasses when migratory ungulates were present in the dry season, when more carcasses are likely to be available, than when migratory ungulates were absent. In addition, regardless of the predator's identity, presence of a predator reduced the number of vultures, suggesting that vultures prefer carrion not killed by predators where available. Comparisons between past and current counts of carcasses suggest a substantial shift in Gyps vultures with an increase in the relative abundance of Ruppell's Vulture (G. rueppellii) with respect to that of the White-backed Vulture (G. africanus). In addition, our findings suggest that as changing land use in

Summary Vulture populations have been declining globally and regionally within Africa. Rüppell’s Vulture Gyps rueppellii is currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ and numbers of the species, along with African White-backed Vultures G. africanus , have declined by 52% in and around the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. A large breeding colony of Rüppell’s Vulture at Kwenia, southern Kenya, was monitored between 2002 and 2009. Around 150–200 adults were present on each visit, with up to 64 simultaneously active nests. The date of egg-laying differed considerably between years, with two discrete breeding attempts in some years. Nests were not positioned randomly across the cliff face and the number of active nests was related to rainfall in the previous year. The large ungulate migration of the Mara-Serengeti provides a vital foraging ground for the species. Conservation implications of the loss of vultures are discussed.

Vulture populations have declined globally as well as regionally within Africa. Little is known about the status of the African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus in Kenya, but ongoing studies indicate that its population has declined over the last two decades. A total of 32 African White-backed Vulture nests were monitored in the Masai Mara National Reserve over a five-year period between 2003 and 2007. Mean nesting success was 59%, which is comparable to that of populations from southern Africa. Nearest neighbour distances were significantly closer in wooded habitats (‘trees and shrubs savanna’) than in more open grassland habitats (‘open low shrubs’). Based on nearest neighbour distances, the estimated total breeding population within the Masai Mara National Reserve is 1 106 pairs, a figure that may be an overestimate and requires ground-truthing. Collecting baseline data on numbers of breeding pairs and regular nest monitoring are essential in order to assess the impact of various threats to vultures in Kenya, which include growing threats (elephant-mediated habitat disturbance and fire) as well as emerging threats (such as poisoning with the carbamate-based pesticide Furadan™).

Vulture population declines have been noted in West and Southern Africa, but have not been assessed in East Africa. Roadside transects conducted in 1976 and 1988 were compared with surveys done from 2003–2005 in and around Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Staggering declines in abundance were found for seven of eight scavenging raptors surveyed. No Egyptian vultures were seen during recent transects. We compared trends between the ungulate migration and non-migration season among three land use types (reserve, buffer, and grazed) and among the species surveyed to establish the causes of declines in scavenging raptors. Large declines during the ungulate migratory period suggest that most scavenging raptor species are declining well beyond the area of study. For all species, except Hooded vultures, substantial declines outside of the reserve indicate an important role of land use change in causing observed declines. In addition, significant declines of populations of Gyps species in the reserve itself, especially during the migration season, provide evidence that human activities occurring in other parts of the species’ range such as poisoning of carcasses may be causing their decline. Declines found in this study suggest that at a minimum African white-backed, Rüppell’s, and Hooded vultures should be relisted as Vulnerable. Management actions that limit land use change around the reserve combined with a countrywide ban on carbamate pesticides will be important for conserving keystone members of the scavenging guild. Future research should further examine possible causes of these declines and quantify the effect of reduced scavenging raptor abundance on scavenging efficiency.

Background: The island of Madagascar and surrounding volcanic and coralline islands are considered to form a biodiversity hotspot with large numbers of unique taxa. The origin of this endemic fauna can be explained by two different factors: vicariance or over-water-dispersal. Deciphering which factor explains the current distributional pattern of a given taxonomic group requires robust phylogenies as well as estimates of divergence times. The lineage of Indian Ocean scops-owls (Otus: Strigidae) includes six or seven species that are endemic to Madagascar and portions of the Comoros and Seychelles archipelagos; little is known about the species limits, biogeographic affinities and relationships to each other. In the present study, using DNA sequence data gathered from six loci, we examine the biogeographic history of the Indian Ocean scops-owls. We also compare the pattern and timing of colonization of the Indian Ocean islands by scops-owls with divergence times already proposed for other bird taxa.Results: Our analyses revealed that Indian Ocean islands scops-owls do not form a monophyletic assemblage: the Seychelles Otus insularis is genetically closer to the South-East Asian endemic O.sunia than to species from the Comoros and Madagascar. The Pemba Scops-owls O. pembaensis, often considered closely related to, if not conspecific with O. rutilus of Madagascar, is instead closely related to the African mainland O. senegalensis. Relationships among the Indian Ocean taxa from the Comoros and Madagascar are unresolved, despite the analysis of over 4000 bp, suggesting a diversification burst after the initial colonization event. We also highlight one case of putative back-colonization to the Asian mainland from an island ancestor (O. sunia). Our divergence date estimates, using a Bayesian relaxed clock method, suggest that all these events occurred during the last 3.6 myr; albeit colonization of the Indian Ocean islands were not synchronous, O. pembaensis diverged from O. senegalensis about 1.7 mya while species from Madagascar and the Comoro diverged from their continental sister-group about 3.6 mya. We highlight that our estimates coincide with estimates of diversification from other bird lineages.Conclusion: Our analyses revealed the occurrence of multiple synchronous colonization events of the Indian Ocean islands by scops-owls, at a time when faunistic exchanges involving Madagascar was common as a result of lowered sea-level that would have allowed the formation of steppingstone islands. Patterns of diversification that emerged from the scops-owls data are: 1) a star-like pattern concerning the order of colonization of the Indian Ocean islands and 2) the high genetic distinctiveness among all Indian Ocean taxa, reinforcing their recognition as distinct species.