The investigation of factors that cause differences in life‐history traits between temperate and tropical birds is often hampered by a lack of knowledge about tropical species. Even within the well‐known warblers of the genus Sylvia, which include resident species from temperate and tropical regions as well as migrants, there are few data from tropical species. We investigated the breeding biology of the tropical species Sylvia lugens and S. boehmi in a 2‐year study in Kenya. Both species had a clutch size of 2.0 and laid c. 3.7 clutches per year. Breeding was characterized by long incubation periods (S. lugens 14.5 days, S. boehmi 15.0 days), long nestling periods (16.0 and 12.9 days, respectively) and high predation rates (Mayfield nest success S. lugens 33.2%, S. boehmi 19.4%). Annual fecundity was 2.3 fledglings in S. lugens and 1.4 fledglings in S. boehmi. After fledging, the young birds were fed for 37.5 days (S. lugens) and 58.5 days (S. boehmi) (time to independence) and they stayed in their parents’ territory for days or weeks, even after feeding had stopped. Fledgling survival until independence was 55.4% in S. lugens and 69.2% in S. boehmi. In general, S. lugens and S. boehmi have smaller but more numerous clutches, longer developmental periods, higher nest predation rates, lower annual fecundity and longer post‐fledging care than their temperate congenerics.

Biodiversity indicators are essential for monitoring the impacts of pressures on the state of nature, determining the effectiveness of policy responses, and tracking progress towards biodiversity targets and sustainable development goals. Indicators based on trends in the abundance of birds are widely used for these purposes in Europe and have been identified as priorities for development elsewhere. To facilitate this we established bird population monitoring schemes in three African countries, based on citizen science approaches used in Europe, aiming to monitor population trends in common and widespread species. We recorded > 500 bird species from c. 450 2-km transects in Botswana, > 750 species from c. 120 transects in Uganda, and > 630 species from c. 90 transects in Kenya. Provisional Wild Bird Indices indicate a strong increase in bird populations in Botswana and a small decrease in Uganda. We also provide comparisons between trends of habitat generalists and specialists, of birds within and outside protected areas, and between Afro-Palearctic migrants and resident birds. Challenges encountered included recruiting, training and retaining volunteer surveyors, and securing long-term funding. However, we show that with technical support and modest investment (c. USD 30,000 per scheme per year), meaningful biodiversity indicators can be generated and used in African countries. Sustained resourcing for the existing schemes, and replication elsewhere, would be a cost-effective way to improve our understanding of biodiversity trends globally, and measure progress towards environmental goals.

SummaryImportant Bird Areas (IBAs) form a network of priority sites that are critical for the conservation of birds and biodiversity. A standard framework for monitoring IBAs is being implemented by the BirdLife Partnership globally. Scores are assigned on a simple ranked scale for state (condition), pressure (threats) and response (conservation action) at each site, from which IBA indices can be calculated. In Kenya, this scoring system was applied retrospectively using information in the national IBA directory (1999) and subsequent status reports (2004 and 2005). IBA indices for 36 IBAs show that their average condition deteriorated between 1999 and 2005, with the mean state score being between 'unfavourable' and 'near favourable'. Pressures on IBAs showed a slight decline in intensity, especially from 2004 to 2005, coincident with an improvement in management that was reflected in increasing response scores. Compared to unprotected IBAs, officially protected sites had substantially greater conservation responses underway, were subject to marginally lower pressures and tended to be in slightly better condition. Other disaggregations of the data allow comparisons to be made for sites in different habitats, of different size, and managed by different agencies. This national example for Kenya suggests that the BirdLife IBA monitoring framework provides a simple but effective way of tracking trends in the state of IBAs, the pressures upon them, and the responses in place. The system is sensitive enough to detect differences between sites and over time, but simple enough to be implemented with little training and without sophisticated technology. The results provide vital information for managers of individual protected areas, management agencies responsible for suites of sites, and national governments, and can be used to track progress in tackling the global biodiversity crisis.

Latitudinal gradients of life‐history traits in animals are thought to be shaped by environmental variables. For example, it has been suggested that the increase in avian clutch size from the tropics towards the northern temperate regions is caused by a reduced survival of adult birds in the north due to increasing environmental seasonality. However, the tropical savannahs of East Africa show pronounced seasonality in resources caused by distinct rainy and dry seasons. This raises the question of whether survival and other life‐history traits of birds living in these tropical savannahs are influenced by this seasonality, making them more similar to northern temperate species. We used 2‐year monthly resighting data, a multistate modelling approach and the program MARK to test whether survival, transition probabilities between breeding states and other life‐history traits of two resident Kenyan Sylvia species (Aves: Passeriformes: Sylviidae) are shaped by seasonality of rainfall in their environment. Contradicting our hypotheses, the two species showed only very slight influence of seasonality of rainfall on their survival. Survival in the dry months was hardly lower than in the rainy months. The species in the more seasonal environment (S. boehmi, annual survival 71%) survived as well as the one in the more constant environment (S. lugens, 56%). The observed survival rates correspond well to other life‐history traits of the two species and are of similar magnitude to survival rates of other tropical passerines. This implies that either seasonality is not the driving force behind the life‐history traits of the two species or the birds do not experience their environment as seasonal, as might be suggested by fluctuations in rainfall.

20Land-use change is the single biggest driver of biodiversity loss in the tropics. Broad-scale biodiversity models 21 can be useful tools to inform policy-makers and conservationists of the likely response of species to 22 anthropogenic pressures, including land-use change. However, such models generalize biodiversity responses 23 across wide areas and many taxa, potentially missing important characteristics of particular sites or clades. 24Comparisons of broad-scale models with independently collected field data can help us understand the local 25 factors that mediate broad-scale responses. 26We collected bird occurrence and abundance data along two elevational transects in Mount Kilimanjaro, 27Tanzania and the Taita Hills, Kenya. We estimated the local response to land use and compared our estimates 28 with modelled responses based on a broad-scale, but fine-resolution, database of many different taxa across 29 Africa. To identify the local factors mediating responses to land use, we compared environmental and species 30 assemblage information between sites in the local and broad-scale data sets. 31Bird species richness and abundance responses to land use in the independent data followed similar