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Electrocutions involving power lines negatively impact avian populations on six continents. Affected species and mitigation strategies to minimise these effects are well described in parts of North America, Europe and southern Africa and are being developed in Asia, Australia and South America. Probably the most geographically dispersed electric system in the world is in Russia, where avian electrocutions have been documented since the 1970s. Research into avian electrocutions in Kazakhstan and southern Russia is extensive but is largely unknown outside Russia, which limits opportunities to consider cumulative regional effects. This review summarises what is known of avian electrocutions in Kazakhstan and Russia. Avian electrocutions on power lines were first identified in Russia in 1937, with concerns focused on impacts on electric system reliability, not wildlife populations. Electrocutions increased substantially in the 1970s when construction standards transitioned from wooden poles with wooden crossarms, which posed relatively low risk, to concrete pylons with steel crossarms, which posed and continue to pose much higher risks. Impacts to raptor populations are greatest where 6-10kV electric systems traverse vast arid landscapes with few natural tall perches. Birds perching on pylons can simultaneously contact live (energised) conductors and earthed (grounded) crossarms, creating an electrical circuit. Raptors are the bird group most often electrocuted, and this source of non-natural mortality is contributing to declines in Asian raptor populations. For example, Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis populations have collapsed in the Caspian steppes of Kazakhstan and southern Russia, declining from 20,000 pairs to 1,100 pairs. Fines for electrocutions codified in Russian law are intended to persuade Russian electric utilities to implement mitigation measures, but because fines are rarely enforced either within Russia or within neighbouring countries, mitigation measures are largely omitted even in new construction, and even in places with extensive documentation of electrocutions. Importantly, electric systems are similar across the many countries of the former Soviet Union that now share international boundaries and connected electric systems, probably posing substantial cumulative risks for migrant birds traversing the region.—Dwyer, J.F., Karyakin, I.V., Garrido López, J.R. & Nikolenko, E.G. (2023). Avian electrocutions on power lines in Kazakhstan and Russia. Ardeola, 70: 3-27. Las electrocuciones en tendidos eléctricos afectan negativamente a las poblaciones de aves en los seis continentes. Las especies afectadas y las estrategias de mitigación para minimizar estos efectos están bien descritas en Norteamérica, Europa y el sur de África, y se están desarrollando en Asia, Australia y Sudamérica. Probablemente, la red eléctrica más dispersa geográficamente en el mundo se encuentra en Rusia, el país más grande del planeta, donde se han documentado electrocuciones de aves desde la década de 1970. La investigación sobre las electrocuciones de aves en Kazajistán y Rusia es extensa, pero se desconoce en gran medida fuera de Rusia, lo que limita las oportunidades de tener en cuenta los efectos regionales acumulativos. Esta revisión resume la información existente sobre las electrocuciones de aves en Kazajistán y Rusia. Las electrocuciones de aves en las líneas eléctricas se identificaron por primera vez en Rusia en 1937, ocasionando preocupación sobre el impacto en el funcionamiento de la red eléctrica, no sobre su impacto sobre las poblaciones de fauna. Los impactos aumentaron sustancialmente en la década de 1970, cuando se dejaron de utilizar apoyos con crucetas y postes de madera, con un riesgo relativamente bajo, pasando a utilizar apoyos de hormigón con crucetas de acero, que suponían, y siguen suponiendo, un riesgo mucho mayor. Los impactos sobre las poblaciones de aves rapaces son mayores donde los sistemas eléctricos de 6-10 kV atraviesan vastos paisajes áridos con pocos posaderos naturales. Las aves que se posan en los postes pueden entrar en contacto simultáneamente con conductores energizados y crucetas conectadas a tierra, creando un circuito eléctrico. Las rapaces se electrocutan con mayor frecuencia y sus electrocuciones están contribuyendo a la disminución de las poblaciones de rapaces asiáticas. Por ejemplo, las poblaciones de águila de estepa Aquila nipalensis se han desplomado en las estepas del Caspio en Kazajistán, Rusia y Ucrania, pasando de 20.000 parejas a 1.100. Las sanciones por electrocución tipificadas en la legislación rusa pretenden persuadir a las empresas eléctricas para que apliquen medidas de mitigación, pero como rara vez se aplican ni en Rusia ni en los países vecinos, las medidas de mitigación rara vez se llevan a cabo, incluso en las nuevas construcciones y en lugares con una amplia documentación de muertes por electrocución. Es importante destacar que los sistemas eléctricos son similares en los numerosos países de la antigua Unión Soviética que ahora comparten fronteras internacionales y sistemas eléctricos conectados, lo que muy probablemente plantea riesgos acumulativos sustanciales para las aves migratorias que atraviesan la región. —Dwyer, J.F., Karyakin, I.V., Garrido López, J.R. y Nikolenko, E.G. (2023). Electrocuciones de aves en tendidos eléctricos en Kazajistán y Rusia. Ardeola, 70: 3-27. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The black kite Milvus migrans, one of the most common raptor species, shows great flexibility as regards food resources and breeding sites. While black kite subspecies are found all over Eurasia, Africa and Australia, it has been poorly studied outside of Europe, with virtually nothing known about the phylogeny of populations in Asia, India, Africa or Australia. We analysed 85 published black kite nucleotide sequences and ca 660 new sequences from the ranges of the main black kite subspecies using a non‐invasive method of DNA extraction from moulted feathers. In doing so, we evaluated genetic diversity and population affinities and reconstructed their demographic histories. Populations from Europe, northern Asia and India all had separate haplogroups of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The European and North Asian subspecies were isolated in the Pleistocene and spread across the northern Palearctic following climate amelioration, forming a broad intergradation zone from western Siberia and Kazakhstan to eastern Europe. Representatives of the European, North Asian and Indian haplogroups were found in Pakistan, where they probably breed. The Australasian population separated from the Indian population relatively recently and carries one of the two Indian major haplotypes. We found support for the assumption that the African yellow‐billed kite differs from the black kite at the species level. Further, the yellow‐billed kite contains at least two genetically distant mitochondrial lineages with ranges that do not correspond with its traditional subspecies ranges. Based on these data, we were able to outline the general pattern of black kite phylogeography over its entire range, making it possible to evaluate the evolutionary history of the species as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper we describe two cases of eastern imperial eagle breeding in the former nests of greater spotted eagle and white-tailed eagle observed in the Tatarstan Republic, Russia. In both cases, eastern imperial eagles occupied non-favourable habitats they never used before - a vast alder forest in the wetlands and an island in a reservoir. The possible reasons that made the eagles expand their breeding ranges in the Volga region ofRussia are discussed in this paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the Black Kite Milvus migrans is one of the most widespread birds of prey, occurring over Eurasia, Africa and Australia, it remains poorly understood outside of Europe, with southeast Asian populations particularly mysterious as their taxonomy is based on outdated morphological data. The subspecies M. m. formosanus, described in 1920, is thought to inhabit Taiwan and Hainan; however, populations in these areas have experienced dramatic changes over the past fifty years. Furthermore, M. m. formosanus is the only officially recognised subspecies for which almost no genetic data is yet available. Based on two mitochondrial genes, we compared Taiwanese Black Kites with northeast Asian and Japanese M. m. lineatus, Indian M. m. govinda and Australian M. m. affinis to reconstruct details of their population history. While Indian and Australian Black Kites are descendants of the same population, they do not share common haplotypes, probably having diverged by the end of the last glaciation. The Japanese population is distinctive in showing genetic uniformity, and it may be isolated from the mainland population. Nesting Taiwanese kites carry two previously known M. m. lineatus haplogroups and a new haplogroup possibly inherited from M. m. formosanus previously occurring in the area. A recent decline in the local population, along with expansion of M. m. lineatus, most likely led to Taiwan now being inhabited by descendants of both subspecies, which form two genetically isolated populations in southern and northern Taiwan.

The gene mcr-1 conferring resistance to last-line antibiotic colistin has been reported globally. Here, we describe the first detection of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Russian wildlife, an isolate of Escherichia coli sequence type 2280 from a black kite ( Milvus migrans ) scavenging raptor. Whole-genome sequencing and plasmid transferability experiments revealed that mcr-1.1 was located on conjugative IncI2 plasmid pDR164 (59891 bp). Migratory black kites may contribute to the global spread of mobile colistin resistance., (Copyright © 2019 American Society for Microbiology.)