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Admission records of rescued birds are an important source of information for tracking the prevalence of human-related threats to wildlife. In this study, we used admission records from January 2015 to December 2016 to review the causes for raptor admissions to a raptor rehabilitation centre in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and to determine factors that can be used to predict the outcome of rehabilitation. During the study period, 242 raptors were admitted to the centre, representing 33 species.The major causes of admission were collision-related injuries (52%), grounded birds (12%) and orphaned chicks (10%). The most common casualties were spotted eagleowl Bubo africanus (23%), yellow-billed kite Milvus migrans aegyptius/parasitus (12%), jackal buzzard Buteo rufofuscus (10%) and western barn owl Tyto alba (10%). The rehabilitation centre had a release rate of 48%. Reason for admission was a significant predictor of the outcome of rehabilitation while other variables were not. Raptors with no severe injuries such as orphaned chicks and grounded birds were more likely to have successful rehabilitation treatment than raptors suffering from collision injuries. Wildlife rehabilitators can use the results of the present study to develop triage guidelines for raptors admitted to rehabilitation centres.

Persistent vulture declines across Africa are a cause for concern as the number of species threatened with extinction increases. The White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus was, until recently, considered abundant but has been declining rapidly in recent years due to various threats including decreasing food availability. We used camera traps to investigate nest attendance and food provision at the nests of White-backed Vultures in north-eastern Swaziland. Chick age influenced brooding behaviour of the parents, with a reduction in brooding time as the chick aged. Mean food provision rate by parents to the nestling was 0.7 bouts/day, which was mostly delivered between 09:00 and 15:00. Contrary to expectations, provisioning rates did not increase with age of the chick despite both adults delivering food.The growth of chicks showed a curvilinear relationship with age for the first 100 days with the tarsus and bill reaching maximum length after 80 days. We recommend further research into the availability of food for breeding vultures in order to understand the emerging threat of declining food availability in Africa. .

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