By the end of the year 2004, 393 species belonging to 225 genera and 24 familie of Lepidoptera have been recorded from Lesotho, amongst which 115 butterfly and 278 moth species, i.e. 13.03 % and 3.65 % of the southern African butterfly and moth fauna re- spectively. The most species rich families included Noctuidae, Lycaenidae and Geometri- dae. Many species are probably endemic or near-endemic to the Maloti/Drakensberg region. A total of 39 species (9.9 %) are known from the type locality alone. Five Lesotho species: Torynesis pringlei (vulnerable, endemic to Lesotho), Lepidochrysops loewen- steini (rare), L. oosthuizeni (rare), Metisella syrinx (rare, dependent on rare plant - Tham- nocalamnus tesselattus) and Aloeides dentatis maseruna (insufficiently known) are listed in the South African Red Data Book (HENNING &H ENNING 1989). In the present paper, 66 species new for Lesotho are listed. For each listed species all records of occurrence in Lesotho are listed, with details on locality and source of information, as well as the global distribution of this species.

The most critical gaps for urban wildlife researchers are in rapidly urbanizing areas in South America, Africa and Asia. This article presents quantitative studies on birds carried out in South Africa, in the inner part of the city of Bloemfontein during the years 1993–2002. Three methods were employed to quantify the avian assemblages: atlas, mapping and line transects. Atlas studies were conducted in 1997. The whole study area was divided into 1 × 1 km grid squares (100 ha). A total of 67 squares were achieved with a total surface of 5100 ha. Densities as well as the dominance of resident breeding birds were estimated by means of a simplified version of the mapping method in four plots. For a few selected species, namely Crowned Lapwing, Blacksmith Lapwing, Spotted Thick-knee, Crested Barbet, Bokmakierie, Little Swift and African Hoopoe, the numbers of breeding pairs over the whole study area (5100 ha) were estimated by means of the mapping method in a simplified version. A total of 131 bird species were recorded in Bloemfontein, 78 (59.5%) of them were breeding, 7 (5.3%) probably breeding, 27 (20.6%) visitors and 19 (14.5%) vagrants. The most common bird species (more than 1000 pairs of each) were Speckled Pigeon, Cape Turtle-Dove, Laughing Dove, Little Swift, House Sparrow and Cape Sparrow. A group of very common species (201–1000 pairs) included Rock Dove, Red-faced Mousebird, Red-eyed Bulbul, Olive Thrush, Cape Robin-Chat, Common Fiscal, Cape White-eye and Southern Masked Weaver. Nine (6.9%) other breeding species were classified as common (51–200 pairs), 14 (10.7%) as fairly common (11–50 pairs), 31 (23.7%) as rare (1–10 pairs). Ten other species (7.7%) nested irregularly in Bloemfontein during the years 1993–2002. Granivores were the most dominant guild both in terms of the number of individuals and the biomass. However, in terms of the number of species, insectivores were by far the most numerous group. During the years 1993–2002, a total of 61 non-breeding and non-resident species were recorded in Bloemfontein, including 14 regular visitors, 18 irregular visitors and 29 vagrant species. Nearly 2/3 of all vagrant species were recorded only once during that period. Pietų Amerikoje, Afrikoje ir Azijoje, kur vyksta spartūs urbanizacijos procesai, miestų gyvūnija ištirta nepakankamai. Šiame straipsnyje aptariami Pietų Afrikos Bloemfontein miesto centre 1993–2002 m. atliktų paukščių apskaitų rezultatai. Naudoti trys metodai: paukščių atlaso (1997 m.) duomenų analizė, kartografavimas ir apskaita linijiniuose maršrutuose. Stebėjimų teritorija buvo padalinta į 67 1 × 1 km (100 ha) dydžio kvadratus (bendras plotas – 5100 ha). Naudojant supaprastintą kartografavimo metodą keturiuose kvadratuose apskaičiuotas vietinių perinčių paukščių rūšių tankumas ir dominavimas. Tuo pačiu būdu įvertintas vainikuotosios pempės, pempės kalvio, kapinio storkulnio, kuoduotojo trachifono, giedančiojo teleforo, mažojo čiurlio ir Afrikos kukučio perinčių porų skaičius apskaičiuotas visoje stebėjimo teritorijoje. Bloemfontein mieste užregistruota 131 paukščių rūšis, iš kurių 78 rūšys (59,5%) peri, 7 (5,3%) – galimai peri, 27 (20,6%) yra užklystančios ir 19 (14,5%) – klajoklės. Dažniausios perinčios rūšys (užregistruota daugiau kaip 1000 porų) buvo kanapėtasis karvelis, kapinis purplelis, mažasis purplelis, mažasis čiurlys, naminis žvirblis ir kapinis žvirblis. Labai dažnos perinčios rūšys (201–1000 porų) – uolinis karvelis, raudonveidis pilkasis pelėpaukštis, kaukėtasis bulbiulis, kapinis strazdas, kapinė kosifa, medšarkė prokuroras, blyškusis baltavokis ir juodakaktis audėjas. Devynios (6,9%) perinčios rūšys buvo dažnos (51–200 porų), 14 (10,7%) – gana dažnos (11–50 porų) ir 31 (23,7%) – retos (1–10 porų). Likusios 10 (7,7%) rūšių perėjo nereguliariai. Pagal individų skaičių ir biomasę dominavo grūdlesiai, pagal rūšių skaičių – vabzdžialesiai paukščiai. 1993–2002 m. Bloemfontein mieste užregistruota 61 neperinti ir nevietinė rūšis, tarp jų 14 – reguliariai užklystančių, 18 ne reguliariai užklystančių ir 29 klajoklių paukščių rūšys. Beveik 2/3 visų paukščių klajoklių rūšių stebėtos tik vieną kartą per visą laikotarpį.

In 1998 Przewalski’s horses have been introduced in the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ), N Ukraine. They live in the zone under natural conditions. No anthelminthic treatment to these introduced horses has been applied to date. In this same area, 19 domestic horses were also stabled by some peasants. Eighteen years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and five years after this introduction, the diagnostic dehelminthisation method has been applied both to the Przewalski’s horses (n = 21) and the domestic horses (n = 6). In addition, in one Przewalski’s and one domestic horse helmith fauna was surveyed using the post-mortem method. A total of 29 and 19 helminth species has been recorded in the Przewalski’s and domestic horses respectively. Only six helminth species were common for the two horse species compared. Species from the family Strongylidae constituted the dominant helminth group. Four cyathostomine species (Cyathostomum catinatum; Cylicostephanus minutus, C. longibursatus, Cylicocyclus nassatus) formed the majority of helminth parasites both in the Przewalski’s and domestic horses. Our findings suggest that the CEZ has no effect on the species diversity of helminth fauna parasiting Przewalski’s horses, neither it has an effect on the prevalence and intensity of parasite infestation. Behavioural and ecological studies also support the lack of such effect.

Four new species of feather mites belonging to three different genera of the family Pteronyssidae are described from passerine birds of South Africa: Pteroherpus africanus sp. n. from the garden bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines) (Pycnonotidae), Pteroherpus cysticolae sp. n. from the wing-snapped cisticola Cisticola ayresii Hartlaub (Sylviidae), Pteronyssoides promeropis sp. n. from the Gurney's sugarbird Promerops gurneyi Verreaux (Promeropidae), and Sturnotrogus creatophorae sp. n. from the wattled starling Creatophora cinerea Menschen (Sturnidae). A brief review of recent publications on the taxonomy of the family Pteronyssidae is given.

The food of the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) was studied by means of pellet contents analysis. A total of 645 entire pellets was collected, 550 pellets from the urban area of Jerusalem, 71 pellets from a rural area (a farmland) in Alona Region, 12 pellets from a natural area in the Judean Desert and 12 pellets from a quarry near Rosh Hain. Grasshoppers (Orthoptera), beetles (Coleoptera) and sun spiders (Solifugae) constituted the bulk of the diet. Numerically, grasshoppers and beetles were almost equally important (38.5% and 42.2% respectively), while sun spiders were much less numerous (11.7%). However, in terms of biomass, grasshoppers (54.7%) were far more important than beetles (18.8%) and sun spiders (20.6%). Four beetle families, viz. Carabidae, Scarabaeidae, Curculionidae and Tenebrionidae, comprised together 76.8% of all beetle prey items and 81.6% of beetle biomass. Among grasshoppers, the most important family (64.6% by numbers of prey items, 70.4% by grasshopper biomass) was the locusts (Acrididae). Significant month-to-month variations in the proportion of the main prey groups have been recorded. From February to April the Lesser Kestrel fed mainly on beetles, while from May to July it fed mainly on grasshoppers and sun spiders. Beetles and sun spiders comprised a much lower proportion of prey in 1998 (low rainfall) than in 1999 (high rainfall), while the proportion of grasshoppers and other invertebrates (altogether) was higher in 1998 than in 1999.