Habitat use and population dynamics of the Azure-Winged Magpie ...

The subject of this study, Cyanopica cyanus, is a cooperatively breeding corvid that has a
disjunct distribution across the northern latitudes of the Eurasian continent (Madge & Burn,
1994; Snow et al., 1998). Those living in fire regimes include populations in Spain, Portugal, and
to a certain extent, Northern Mongolia. Only a few studies have focussed on C. cyanus in their
unmodified habitat; all other populations studied have been in modified landscapes such as cities
and agricultural land (Komeda et al., 1987; Canário et al., 2004; Valencia, de la Cruz et al.,
2006). The Northern Mongolian C. cyanus population occupies the least modified habitat of all
the putative subspecies, but it is also the least studied. A fire in 2009 provided an opportunity for
me to study how fast the population rebounds after a major disturbance, and whether the
disturbance affected habitat utilisation. Such a study is of conservation value, particularly
because the birds occur in such restricted and localised areas, and also because of their
cooperative breeding behaviour.
The aims of this study are two-fold: the first one is to document the post-fire (up to one year and
six months) utilisation of habitat mosaic in the home range of the Cyanopica cyanus colony
inhabiting a valley in West Khentii, Northern Mongolia. The second aim is to investigate the
colony structure and population dynamics of this colony of C. cyanus over a four-year period,
using data from this study and other studies.
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