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Abstract: Fruit doves of the genus Ptilinopus (Columbidae) form a large group of more than 50 species that have been successful in colonizing most of the Pacific Ocean, with sympatric [...]

The Eurasian Treecreeper is a forest bird distributed from South-Western Europe up to Northern Asia. Two phylogenetic groups have been recently identified within this species, one restricted to Corsica Island (Mediterranean) and the Caucasus region, the other distributed over most of Eurasia and in Northern Asia. Little is known on the natural history of the Corsican population. We present here new comprehensive data on its distribution and habitat. The Eurasian Treecreeper is found from sea level to the upper limit of the forest but absent from the treeless macchia, a dominant vegetation in Corsica. Breeding occurs in a variety of tree species with a strong preference for mature stands and large trees. Its preferred habitat consists of old stands of Corsican Pines and of Sweet Chestnuts, although they are not the commonest tree species in Corsica. The current decline of Sweet Chestnut orchards confers a particular importance to the future preservation of mature stands of Corsican Pine, a patrimonial habitat of great value hosting several endemic bird taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We describe a new species of Polynesian sandpiper from Henderson Island, Prosobonia sauli sp. nov. , based on multiple Holocene fossil bones collected during the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands (1991–92). Prosobonia sauli is the only species of Prosobonia to be described from bone accumulations and extends the record of known extinct Polynesian sandpipers to four. It is readily differentiated from the extant Tuamotu Sandpiper P. parvirostris in several features of the legs and bill, implying ecological adaptations to different environments. The geographically nearest Prosobonia populations to Henderson Island were found on Mangareva, where it is now extinct. A previous record of a species of Prosobonia from Tubuai, Austral Islands, is here shown to belong to the Sanderling Calidris alba. Our analyses of newly sequenced genetic data, which include the mitochondrial genomes of P. parvirostris and the extinct Tahiti Sandpiper P. leucoptera , confidently resolve the position of Prosobonia as sister-taxon to turnstones and calidrine sandpipers. We present a hypothesis for the timing of divergence between species of Prosobonia and other scolopacid lineages. Our results further provide a framework to interpret the evolution of sedentary lineages within the normally highly migratory Scolopacidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]