Mediterranean islands provide shelter and sustenance for millions of migrating birds each year. Humans have historically exploited bird migration through hunting. In Cyprus, trapping birds during their migratory peak is considered a tradition, but has long been against the law. Illegal bird trapping is lucrative, however, with trappers using tape lures that broadcast birdsong to increase capture rates. It results in the slaughter of millions of birds each year. Yet, scientific studies quantifying capture rates of target and nontarget species using methods employed by trappers are lacking. Here, we show using playback experiments that tape lures lead to an order of magnitude greater capture rates of target species, but also significantly increase bycatch, which may include species of conservation concern. Conservation efforts focusing on minimizing illegal bird killing should also consider tape lures and their contribution to the overall impact of trapping on avian populations.

地中海岛屿每年为数百万候鸟提供庇护所和食物。人类历史上通过狩猎利用鸟类迁徙。在塞浦路斯，在候鸟迁徙高峰期捕捉鸟类被认为是一种传统，但长期以来一直是违法的。然而，非法捕鸟是有利可图的，捕鸟者使用胶带诱饵来播放鸟鸣以提高捕获率。它导致每年有数百万只鸟类被屠杀。然而，缺乏使用捕猎者采用的方法量化目标和非目标物种的捕获率的科学研究。在这里，我们使用回放实验表明，磁带诱饵导致目标物种的捕获率提高了一个数量级，但也显着增加了兼捕，其中可能包括保护问题的物种。