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Transhumance is a traditional animal husbandry system, but its effects on grassland avian communities have not been dealt with in depth. In this study, we quantified the influence of transhumance on the grassland avifauna, in representative pseudo-alpine grasslands with no (NGG), low (LGG), and high (HGG) grazing intensity in the Pindos Mountains, Central Greece. Two point count surveys were conducted within 20 sites in each grassland during the bird breeding season of 2016. We assessed bird diversity indices and accounted for whether the recorded habitat and topographic variables were involved in their variation. A total of 25 bird species were recorded, with the grazed grasslands supporting the most species of high conservation value, while the NGG showed the highest bird diversity. Bird species richness and diversity increased with the decrease of vegetation height, vegetation height heterogeneity, and the increase of rock cover. Bird communities exhibited different patterns among the three grazing regimes and specific bird species of high conservation value appeared to prefer different grasslands. Six species preferred HGG, one preferred LGG, while two preferred NGG. Our study highlights the necessity of heterogeneous pseudo-alpine grasslands with short and tall grass areas in order to maintain highly diverse bird communities.

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The Eurasian Black Vulture is a globally threatened raptor that in Southeast Europe only occurs in an isolated population in Greece. We examined the population viability for the species under demographic fluctuations and conservation scenarios. The current population showed no possibility of extinction for the next 100 years. However, simulated scenarios showed that the most important factor affecting the viability of the species was medium and high poisoning, leading to 94.8% and 100% probability of extinction, respectively. Furthermore, high reduction of supplementary feeding highlighted an 18.6% extinction possibility. Also, a high increase of wind farms in the area may result in 17.4% extinction possibility. Additionally, the non-establishment of the feeding station in 1987 in the study area would have resulted in an extinction risk of 7%. The species can be translocated to the Olympus National Park by releasing 80 juveniles over 10 years. The implementation of the conservation scenarios concerning the establishment of a supplementary feeding site network, and the reintroduction of the Eurasian Black Vulture in its historic range, along with the elimination of threats posed by poisoning, low food availability, and wind farms would increase the probability of the species persistence and allow the population to become a source for dispersal across Southeast Europe.

In this paper we describe first breeding of Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea in Cyprus. Twenty-three nests were found during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons in riparian habitats adjacent to major river systems in the Paphos State Forest. Most nests were located on roadside banks at a height of 2.38 m above the ground and at a distance of about 0–10 m from the river. Nests consisted of grassy cups with a mean diameter of 13.39 cm, while the nest cup itself had a mean diameter of 7.07 cm and a depth of 3.41 cm. Twelve nesting attempts were monitored with females laying eggs between early April and early July. A total of 54 eggs were laid and 44 nestlings were successfully raised from the 12 nests. The mean clutch size was 4.5 eggs per nest, the mean number of hatched eggs was 3.92 and the mean number of fledglings was 3.67. Parents fed their young mostly on invertebrates and in particular on insects. Diptera and Odonata were the most common insect Orders comprising the majority of prey items. Average insect prey size was 10.79 mm (range 2–60 mm), with little difference in prey size between that delivered by males and females. This study confirms the first breeding of the species in Cyprus, where it follows a breeding pattern similar to that in other parts of Western Palearctic range. The affinity of the Grey Wagtail to human structures and the low predation rate highlight the successful breeding potential and the future range expansion of the species across the island of Cyprus.