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breeding cyclesthat typicallybreed in protected cavitiesof cliffs, a trait presumablyfavored becauseit provided
securityagainstadverseweather.
The EgyptianVulture (Neophron
percnopterus)
is a medium-sizedscavengerliving mainly in open landscapesof arid
and rugged regionsof Eurasia and Africa. Although stronglymigratory, this speciesalso includessedentarypopulanons on severalarchipelagossuch as the BalearicIslands,Cape Verde, Canary Islands,and Socotra.Breeding takes
placein cavitiesor cavesof cliffsof variableheight and nestsare usuallyreusedyearafteryear.Occasionally,
alternative
sitesare occupiedwithin the sameterritory (Cramp and Simmons 1980, The birds of the westernPalearctic,Vol. 2,
Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, U.K.).

EgyptianVultureshavebeen extensivelystudiedin Spainsincethe late 1970s.More than t000 breedingattempts

have been monitored. Most of them were in inaccessiblenesting places,with only a few (<5%) in caveswith easy
accessto large mammals,includinghumans.No nestwaslocateddirectlyon the ground (Donfizarand Ceballos1988,
Ardeola35:3-14). In this paper, we describethe first recorded caseof ground nesting in Canarian EgyptianVultures
(Neophron
percnopterus
majorensis).
Fuerteventura(1662 km2) is the mosteasternislandof the Canaryarchipelago.It is relativelyflat with a dry climate
(<tOO mm rain annually;Donftzaret al. 2002,J. RaptorRes.36:17-23). The islandharborsthe lastpopulationof an
endangered endemic subspeciesof the EgyptianVulture, with no more than 130 individualsand 25 breeding pairs
(Donar et al. 2002, Biol. Conserr.107:89-97).
Twenty,23, 21, 25, and 27 breeding territorieshavebeen monitored in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, respectively.On 29 March 2002, we visitedthe breeding territory of one of these pairs,which had bred successfully
in a
cave on a hillside between 1998-2001. The old nest, easilyaccessibleby foot, wasunoccupied,but ca. 600 m away,
we discoveredan adult EgyptianVulture incubating an egg on the ground. The new nest site was placed on a flat
and exposedsurface,with scatteredshrubs (Launaeaarborescens).
On 13 July 2002, we visited the nest to mark and
measurethe chick, which fledged successfully
at the beginning of August.In 2003, the pair moved back to the cave
it used in previousyearsand bred successfully
there.
Nesting in accessiblecavesis common for this speciesin Fuerteventura(in 2002, 41% of the nest siteswere
accessible
by foot, N = 27), althoughinaccessible
sitesare not a limiting factoron the island(pers.observ.).Terrestrial
predatorswere not existenton the islanduntil the human colonization,2500 yr ago. Currently,the only carnivores
present are feral dogs and cats,in very low numbers. In addition, the dry climate may favor open nesting. Furthermore, human densityhasbeen alwaysextremelylow (1000-3000 habitantsbefore the European colonization;Cabrera
1996,La prehistoriade Fuerteventura:un modeloinsularde adaptaci6n,Serviciode Publicaciones
del CabildoInsular
de Fuerteventura,Puerto del Rosario,IslasCanarias). However,during the last severaldecadesthe human population
in the island has increasedsharply (tt 668 in 1900, 69 260 in 2000; Anonymous2001, Anuario estadisticode Fuerteventura, Cabildo Insular de Fuerteventura, Puerto del Rosario, Islas Canarias), around a million tourists visit the

island every year, and the number of pets has presumablyincreasedtoo. These factors may lead to the loss of a
number of nesting territories accessibleto potential predators and, consequently,have a negative affect on this
endangeredpopulation.
We thank Cabildode Fuerteventuraand the ProjectsREN 2000-1556GLO and CGL 2004-00270for havingfunded
this research.We alsothankJosfiA. Donfizar,Jordi Figuerola,M. Di Vittorio, and an anonymousreferee for reviewing
earlydraftsof thisletter. Laura Gangoso(e-mailaddress:laurag@ebd.csic.es)and Ctsar-JavierPalacios,Department
of Applied Biology,Estacitn Bioltgica de Dofiana, C.S.I.C., Avda. M a Luisas/n 41013 Sevilla,Spain.
Received30 July 2004; accepted26 March 2005
AssociateEditor: Fabrizio Sergio

j. RaptorRes.39(2):187-188
2005 The Raptor ResearchFoundation, Inc.

FIRST SUMMERRECORDSOF OSPREYS(PANDIONHALIAETUS)

ALONG THE COAST OF
OAXACA, MEXICO
Between October 2000 and September 2001, we conducted 10 trips by sea, once during almost every month, to
surveyOspreys(Pandionhaliaetus)in Oaxaca, Mexico. Ospreysbreed in temperate North America and along the
coastof the Gulf of California (Henny and Anderson1979, Bull. So.Calif.Acad.Sci.,78:89-106;Judge 1983, Wilson

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VOL. 39, NO. 2

Bull. 95:243-255), but generallyonly winter in southernMexico (Henny 1988, Pages73-101 in R. Palmer [ED.],
Handbook of North Americanbirds,Vol. 4. YaleUniv. Press,New Haven, CT U.S.A.), includingOaxaca.We surveyed
islandsand adjacentcoastsbetween0848-1614H, from Zipolite Beach(9629'W,1540'N),near PuertoAngel,to
HuatulcoBay (9605'W,1548'N).Total surveyedarea wasca. 2.5 km2.
The Pacific coastof Oaxaca is characterizedby rocky beachesinterspersedamong extensivesandyportions of
coastline.The adjacent mainland is almost exclusivelydeciduous forest. Small islandsand rocky formations are
concentratedthroughoutHuatulco Bay,where Ospreysare a moderatelycommonwinteringspecies.
During surveyswe observed13 Ospreysin October,12 in November,11 in January,sixin February,nine in March,
two during both May andJune, three in July,two in August,and finally,one individualin September.Becauseof the
blackishpatch in their crownsand abovetheir necks,we assumedthat our observationscorrespondedto Pan&on
haliaetuscarolinensis,
which wintersin low densitiesin Oaxaca (Poole 1989, Ospreys,CambridgeUniv. Press,Cambridge, MA U.S.A.).
During summer months there were two previousJune records of Ospreysin southeasternMexico: one record
involvedthree birds in central Oaxaca,far from the coast(Binford 1989. A distributionalsurveyof the birds of the
Mexican stateof Oaxaca.The AmericanOrnithologists'Union, Washington,DC U.S.A.), and a secondrecord noted
a few individualson the Bay of Zihuatanejo,Guerrero (Ericksonand Hamilton 1993, Euphonia2:81-91). Our work
now providesnew summer recordsof nonbreeding Ospreyfor southern Mexico: two individualsfrom both May and
August,and at leastthree individualsin July.It is possiblethat Ospreyswe observedduring thesesummermonths
were immature individualsthat spend at least 16 continuousmonths in the tropicsbefore returning to northern
breedingareas (Henny 1988).
We appreciatethe improvementsin Englishusagemade by Kerri Vierling through the Associationof Field Ornithologists'programof editorialassistance.--Juan
Meraz (e-mailaddress:sula@angel.mnar.
mx), Institutode Recursos,
Universidaddel Mar, Puerto Angel, Oaxaca,G.P. 70902 Mexico; BetzabethGonzfilez-Bravo,
BiologiaMarina, Universidaddel Mar, Puerto Angel, Oaxaca,G.P. 70902, Mexico.
Received10 May 2004; accepted8 March 2005
AssociateEditor:JamesR. Belthoff