An improved night-lighting technique for the selective capture of sandgrouse and other steppe birds

Ana Benítez-López (1) , François Mougeot (2) , Carlos A. Martín (1) , Fabián Casas (1) , María Calero-Riestra (1) , Jesús T. García (1) , Javier Viñuela (1)

1 IREC - Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos
2 Estacion Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA, CSIC)

The night-lighting technique is routinely used to catch birds. We improved this technique using a thermal infrared camera to catch steppe birds such as the sandgrouse. Target birds were located by an observer using the thermal camera, and approached and dazzled by another observer carrying a spotlight attached to a helmet and a hand-held net together with a playback noise to camouflage the footsteps of the observer. Using this improved technique, we caught on average 1.14 individuals per 3-h capture session ( = 81) and a total of 92 sandgrouse in 2007-2010 (86 pin-tailed sandgrouse and six black-bellied sandgrouse ). Capture rate and success were negatively influenced by moonlight (lowest during full moon nights). Our night-lighting technique is a highly selective and harmless method to capture sandgrouse and can be used for other small/medium-sized open-land birds or mammals.

Mots clés: Capture; Thermal infrared camera; Night lighting; Sandgrouse; Trapping technique

Ana Benítez-López, François Mougeot, Carlos A. Martín, Fabián Casas, María Calero-Riestra, et al.. An improved night-lighting technique for the selective capture of sandgrouse and other steppe birds. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 2010, 57 (2), pp.389-393. ⟨10.1007/s10344-010-0437-2⟩. ⟨hal-00626237⟩