The release and establishment of Mauritius fodies Foudia rubra on Ile aux Aigrettes, Mauritius

Published source details Cristinacce A., Handschuh M., Switzer R.A., Cole R.E., Tatayah R.V.V. & Jones C.G. (2009) The release and establishment of Mauritius fodies Foudia rubra on Ile aux Aigrettes, Mauritius. Conservation Evidence, 6, 1-5.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Release captive-bred individuals into the wild to restore or augment wild populations of songbirds Action Link

Release captive-bred individuals into the wild to restore or augment wild populations of songbirds

A before-and-after study on Ile aux Aigrettes, Mauritius (Cristinacce et al. 2009), reports that the release of 93 captive-bred Mauritius fodies Foudia rubra in the breeding seasons of 2003-4, 2004-5 and 2005-6 has led to the establishment of a population of 142 individuals and 47 breeding pairs by December 2008. Survival to one year was between 33% (2003-4) and 75% (2005-6), with increases possibly due to the presence of established birds in later years. The first successful breeding was during 2004-5, when five chicks from two females fledged. This increased to 40 from 19 in 2005-6 and 47 from 38 in 2006-7. First-year survival for wild-bred birds was 60-88%. Birds were kept in large aviaries at the release site for at least seven days before release (birds that had not been put in large aviaries before were first placed in small cages within aviaries) and fed a diet of fruit, commercial insectivore food and eggs. Adults were released in groups of one or two (after 30 days in the aviaries), whereas juveniles were released in groups of two to nine birds. Food was provided continuously at the release site.