Conservation of Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira in the archipelago of Madeira

Birds restricted to islands are susceptible to extinction, and burrow or gr ound-nesting birds are particularly vulnerable to introduced mammalian pred ators. Human intervention has also played a vital part. Birds have been use d as a source of food, and in more recent times the rarer species have suff ered from specimen and egg collection. The island of Madeira and its reside nt species, which include the endemic Zino's petrel or Madeira freira Ptero droma madeira, are no exception. From subfossil evidence, this bird was onc e abundant. It was first recorded in 1903, and was already limited to the h igh central mountain massif of Madeira. By the middle of the century it was considered extinct, but a relict population was rediscovered in 1969. By 1 985, all known breeding attempts were disrupted by introduced rats, to the extent that no young fledged. In 1986 the Freira Conservation Project was f ounded with the aim of increasing the population of Zino's petrel, by contr olling rats and human interference, the principal perceived threats to the species. This control was extended to cats after the disaster of 1991, in w hich a cat(s) managed to get onto one of the breeding ledges and kill 10 ad ult birds. The results of these efforts have been positive and the small co lony is making a slow, but steady recovery. To maintain this success, a con servation strategy for the future is suggested.