Seabirds are excellent ecosystem indicators and are amongst the most threatened taxa globally. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, supports significant breeding colonies of seabirds, especially red-footed boobies Sula sula. The population was surveyed by boat during 1968–1969 and in 2000, over which period the population grew from c. 6,500 to 10,000 breeding pairs. In 2022–2023, we monitored five subcolonies across Aldabra to determine breeding phenology and breeding success. In August 2022 and February 2023, we surveyed the atoll-wide population using the boat-based survey methodology followed in earlier studies. We also carried out unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys in February 2023 to compare the results with the boat-based counts and to quantify inland colonies undetectable by boat. Boat surveys revealed that Aldabra’s red-footed booby population had grown to 36,720 pairs by 2023, an increase that is intrinsically possible based on our population model but only if the much lower count in 2000 was an underestimate. The UAV and boat counts were closely aligned in our study, and aerial images captured a similar number of nests to boat surveys for shoreline colonies. However, UAV surveys revealed several undocumented inland colonies. An additional 5,574 inland breeding pairs of red-footed boobies were counted from images captured inland during aerial surveys in the 2023 wet season, bringing the atoll-wide population to at least 45,817 pairs. We recommend UAVs for surveys of large, conspicuous seabird species at low-lying mangrove colonies. Our study highlights the global importance of Aldabra as the most significant red-footed booby colony in the Indian Ocean and possibly the world.

Increasing evidence shows that genuine collaboration between scientists and Indigenous Peoples and local communities can deepen global understanding of species’ ecological distribution ranges, baselines and trends. In this study, we explore trends in bird body mass as reflected in the collective biocultural memory of 10 place-based communities on three continents. To do so, we conducted a globally coordinated survey, asking 1,434 adult participants about the most common bird species around their territories both at present and during their childhood. The survey resulted in 6,914 unique bird reports, corresponding to 283 bird species and covering an 80-year period (1940–2020). By combining our ethno-ornithological dataset with scientific data on species’ body mass, we assessed whether the composition of locally abundant bird assemblages has shifted towards smaller-bodied species over time. Our results show a general shift in the bird species observed over the participants’ lifetimes, with recent species assemblages being composed of species with smaller body sizes than those in the past. Despite variation among sites, we find an overall statistically significant body mass reduction of 72% across all sites over 80 years. This work illustrates that the depth of the current avian extinction crisis, which has been well documented by scientists, is also widely acknowledged by Indigenous Peoples and local communities through their deep ecological knowledge and place-based observations. It highlights the substantial benefits of establishing meaningful collaborations across different knowledge systems to increase the evidence basis that underpins biodiversity policy and practice.

Throughout its range, the Eurasian spoonbill Platalea leucorodia is migratory, but there is a well-documented exception in a population living in the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania. Based on their smaller body size, absence of a yellowish breast band during breeding, and fully black bills, they were assigned subspecies status (Platalea leucorodia balsaci) in 1974. Despite obvious threats (small numbers, and their low-lying breeding islets being under pressure from sea level rise), the Mauritanian spoonbill has not been assessed for inclusion on the IUCN Red List. The nominate subspecies P. leucorodia leucorodia, which joins the Mauritanian subspecies at Banc d’Arguin during the non-breeding season, is categorized as Least Concern. There is genetic and behavioural evidence of gene flow between balsaci and leucorodia, and in December 2023 and 2024, we observed that over half of the spoonbills born at Banc d’Arguin (identifiable by their colour-rings) had the yellow-tipped bill characteristic of leucorodia. As the increase in the marked balsaci population has not resulted in resightings away from Banc d’Arguin in the well-monitored flyway of leucorodia from West Africa to Europe, the introgression of leucorodia genes into balsaci seems to have left the isolating character of residency of the Banc d’Arguin-breeding spoonbills intact. We propose that the subspecies balsaci should be categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. We recommend continued monitoring of the breeding population of balsaci, with the inclusion of new studies of morphology and genetics.

Myanmar is globally significant for biodiversity conservation but is facing unique challenges as a result of the current political situation, which has led to unsustainable use of natural resources, withdrawal of conservation funds and a governance vacuum that hinders effective conservation. Given these challenges, there is a need to empower local civil society to implement community-led conservation programmes. We report on locally-led surveys of the Critically Endangered white-bellied heron Ardea insignis in northern Myanmar. We recorded the species’ occurrence along rivers and streams across two river catchments in Kachin state during June 2022–December 2023. We sighted white-bellied herons on 25 occasions and we estimate the local population to be 3–5 individuals. Opportunistic hunting using home-made air-pressured guns is a major threat to wildlife in the region and we documented two white-bellied herons shot in the area since 2019. Threats are exacerbated by a lack of wildlife law enforcement as a result of the country’s political unrest. We describe our initial efforts to implement a community-led approach to foster local stewardship in species and habitat management.

In 2001, only six Bali starlings Leucopsar rothschildi remained in the wild. In 2006, the NGO Friends of Nature, People and Forests established a second population on Nusa Penida Island through the release of captive-bred individuals, installation of nest boxes, and engagement with local communities, an approach later extended to Besikalung Wildlife Sanctuary. In this study, we evaluated breeding success in Besikalung in relation to location and nest box placement and examined the role of local cultural frameworks in supporting conservation. We assessed breeding outcomes from 34 nest boxes across sites and conducted interviews with key local stakeholders. Breeding success differed among locations, indicating that site-specific conditions influence reproductive outcomes. Interviews showed that conservation at Besikalung is reinforced by Indigenous law (awig-awig), grounded in the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, and by the symbolic status of the Bali starling as an emblem of Bali, which together strengthen community support for its protection.