PECBM (Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring) (2007): State of Europe's Common Birds, 2007. Prague, Czech Republic

PECBM (Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring) (2007): State of Europe's Common Birds, 2007. Prague, Czech Republic
Szerzők: P. Voříšek, A. Klvaňová, R. Gregory, A. Auninš, P. Chylarecki, O. Crowe, E. de Carli, J.C. del Moral, V. Escandell, R.P.B. Foppen, L. Fornasari, H. Heldbjerg, G. Hilton, M. Husby, D. Jawinska, F. Jiguet, A. Joys, A. Kuresoo, A. Lindström, R. Martins, D.G. Noble, J. Reif, H. Schmid, J. Schwarz, T. Szép, N. Teufelbauer, R.A. Väisänen, Ch. Vansteenwegen, A. Weiserbs

Summary
European common bird trends and indices were updated in 2007 using data from 20 countries, covering the period 1980 to 2005. Indices and trends were produced for 124 species; of these 56 have declined, 29 have increased and 27 have remained stable. The trends for 12 species were classified as uncertain, mainly due to the lack of available data.
The species were classified into broad categories according to their characteristic habitat in Europe.
A new approach based on the classification of species within bio-geographical regions in Europe was applied, which resulted in 33 species classified as common farmland birds and 28 as common forest birds, with 63 other species regarded as habitat generalists or specialists of other habitat types.
The data analysis confirmed that farmland birds are in decline throughout Europe – the multi-species index (indicator) of European common farmland birds shows a decline of 44%. Five of the ten common European species showing the greatest declines are species characteristic for agricultural habitats (including Grey Partridge and Northern Lapwing). A comparison of new and old EU Member states shows that although farmland birds were performing better in new EU
countries, their trends appear to be worsening in recent years, now mimicking the trends in old EU countries.
Although the multi-species indicator for common forest birds in Europe has also declined, it is much less than the decline in common farmland birds, although still significant. The common forest bird trends exhibit different patterns across regions, declining most in northern and southern Europe while showing stability in central and eastern Europe. The increased number of species indices allows for analysis of population trends of species characteristic of other habitat types, such as urban habitats or inland wetlands. However, the development of potential new indicators for other habitats needs further research.
Improved capacity enabled analysis of larger amount of data and due to this European trends of several species were produced for the first time. Apart of greater robustness and higher quality of indicators, perhaps surprising declines of some species were found. Surprising declines in the trends of some species were detected, including Meadow Pipit and Crested Tit. It may be that these species, although considered secure at the continental level, may be showing signs of declines that could require further study.
All outputs, including details on the methods, are available at www.ebcc.info/pecbm/html.
This report presents the results of the third update of the trends of common bird species in Europe by the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS). The trends and indices presented in this report cover 20 countries and time period 1980 to 2005, although data back to the 1960s are available from some European countries. Indicators of birds characteristic of two main habitat types were also updated using an improved species habitat classification. The aim is to publish updates on regular annual basis, to improve geographical coverage, increase the number of species and to explore the possibility of producing indicators of other habitats.