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Seychelles Black Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina is found almost exclusively on the 10 km2 island of La Digue. It is currently considered the second rarest endemic bird in the Seychelles, using the criteria of total population and number of discrete populations. Research reassessing the habitat requirements of the flycatcher was conducted on La Digue from 1999 to 2001. This work was conducted in parallel with assessment and ranking of the suitability of medium-sized islands of the inner Seychelles archipelago for avian ecosystem restoration, using biological, geographical and anthropogenic criteria. Predator eradications on several islands have led to a reduction in the range of alien predators, and future eradications are planned. These developments combined with the findings of recent ecological research and a novel assessment of many islands in the archipelago have led to the opportunity for a reassessment of conservation options for Seychelles Black Paradise-flycatcher. This paper discusses and prioritizes strategies to increase the range and total population and hence improve the conservation status of this species.

The endemic Seychelles Scops-owl Otus insularis is a Critically Endangered restricted range species currently only recorded in the upland forest of Mahé, the largest (152 km2) and highest (903 m) island in the granitic Seychelles. We studied the response of colour-ringed individuals to playback of conspecific calls, to determine factors affecting playback reaction, to monitor behaviour and to assess the reliability of current monitoring techniques. Playback of the territorial waugh call was conducted at fixed points (c. 200 m apart) every month along a total transect length of 8.4 km between April 1999 and May 2001. On the basis of responses and movements of marked individuals we identified 12 territories and noted their boundaries. Mean territory length was 2.92 points (approximately 400 m), equivalent to a conservative estimated territory size of c. 12–16 ha. Males were more frequently detected than females/pairs. The probability of detection (males vs. females/pairs) was 0.87 vs. 0.50 on territory; 0.65 vs. 0.26 at fixed points within territories; and 0.58 vs. 0.22 at fixed points along the transect. There was some significant seasonal variation in detection rates at fixed points within territories for both males and pairs, and in general there was a low probability of detecting individuals around June-August and a high probability of detection around April and, to a lesser degree, October. Response times and owl-recorder distances were not influenced by moon phase or time of playback. This study provides the first baseline data on individual responses to the systematic repeated use of playback in Seychelles Scops-owl. We discuss the implications for current monitoring and its application to other similar Otus species.

Chu Yang Sin Nature Reserve, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam, is within an area of high bird endemism and supports a number of globally threatened and restricted-range species. Data were collected on the bird communities of the Reserve and their habitat in 1995, to ascertain habitat associations of some of the endemic and threatened taxa. Birds were surveyed in circular plots around a recording point. Habitat associations were investigated using Discriminant Function analysis, and populations estimated using DISTANCE.Seven restricted-range species and 38 restricted-range subspecies were recorded in the survey. The number of contacts with some of the endemic species was low, which limited the statistical investigation of the habitat require ments of these species. When analysis was possible, altitude was the most important of the factors measured determining species distributions, while measures of forest architecture seemed less important. The area appears to support important populations of several restricted-range taxa and, provided that protection and management of the protected area can be enhanced, it remains one of the most important areas for bird conservation in southern Vietnam. Some drawbacks of the techniques used in the survey are discussed.