Assessing the relative importance of managed crops and semi-natural grasslands as foraging habitats for breeding lesser kestrels Falco naumanni in southeastern Italy

Farmland habitats host important populations of several threatened bird species. So far, how to reconcile farmland management with the maintenance viable these taxa is a major challenge for conservation biology. Southeastern Italy hosts ca 7000 pairs breeding lesser kestrels Falco naumanni, representing one European strongholds this small colonial raptor concern. We firstly assessed relative importance managed crops versus semi-natural grasslands in determining local abundance at landscape scale, and we successively studied foraging habitat preferences smaller spatial scale. Surveys birds were associated land-use collection 191 homogeneous sampling parcels from 14 plots 16 km2 each, uniformly distributed over 2400 area. Each plot was visited six times during 2017 season (May–July). Land-use markedly changed along season, unripe cereals being dominant May, while harvested cereal prevailed July. did not affect kestrel distribution early more abundant greater proportion lower grassland late season. In accordance, analysis within showed that May used proportionally their availability. June July, than expected availability, significantly avoided. Our landscape-scale thus indicates are much less comparison mid parts suggesting may be able take advantage crop practices other priority.