Black Bunting Project

The Black Zigolo Project

For nearly twenty years, Ficedula and BirdLife Switzerland have been working to conserve species associated with intensively farmed areas.

The Black Bunting is one of these species that are priorities for conservation in Switzerland and require conservation measures.

In 2017, a bachelor’s thesis in Natural Sciences was completed at the University of Milan. The objective of the study was to understand the geomorphological and land-use characteristics of the Black Bunting’s habitats in the Mendrisiotto vineyards, in order to then propose management recommendations regarding the aspects studied, with the goal of raising winegrowers’ awareness of the species’ ecological needs and, more generally, of the importance of the vineyard agroecosystem in preserving biodiversity. This work also fit perfectly within the framework of the project for the conservation of threatened species in traditional agricultural environments.

First, a survey was conducted of the Black Zigolo vineyards in the 68 wine-growing districts of Mendrisiotto that covered an area of at least one hectare.

Over the past few years, Ficedula and BirdLife Switzerland, with the support of the Mendrisiotto Ecological Connectivity Project, have had the opportunity to conduct monitoring of the Black Bunting and other target species of the project. In the Mendrisiotto region, more than 50 Black Bunting territories have been recorded, slightly more than half of which are in vineyards. Although regular monitoring is not conducted, new territories are added to the list every year—a clear sign that the species is clearly on the rise in this district.

For more information:

Groh, G. 1975. On the Biology of the Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus L.) in the Palatinate. Mitteilungen Pol- lichia 63: 72–139.

Heitz, P. 2018. The Importance of Habitat Heterogeneity in the Conservation of the Cirl Bunting ( Emberiza cirlus ) in the Lombard Pre-Alps. Bachelor’s thesis in Natural Sciences, University of Milan.

Lardelli, R. 1988. Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Mendrisiotto. Ticino Society of Natural Sciences, Lugano. 228 pp.

Scandolara, C., and Lardelli, R. 2017. Birdlife in Ticino’s Vineyards: A Comparison 30 Years Later. Memoirs of the Ticino Society of Natural Sciences 12: 201–209.

www.birdlife.ch/ticino