Extinction risk is often associated with intrinsic species traits such as larger size, higher trophic level, narrower habitat niche or smaller distribution area. Despite this, fast extinctions can also occur in species that apparently do not exhibit any of these traits. The Andalusian Buttonquail (Turnix sylvaticus sylvaticus) is a critically endangered taxon, which barely survives in a single population in western Morocco.

Landscape change induced by humans can alter the environmental conditions and thus promote unusually rapid evolutionary changes and/or at remarkably small spatial scales. In a managed property and a natural reserve situated less than 10 km apart, we tested for morphological differentiation of a migratory insectivorous bird, the red-necked nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis).