title: Year-round tracking of small trans-Saharan migrants using light-level geolocators.
abstract: Since 1899 ringing (or banding) remained the most important source of information about migration routes, stopover sites and wintering grounds for birds that are too small to carry satellite-based tracking systems. Despite the large quantity of migrating birds ringed in their breeding areas in Europe, the number of ring recoveries from sub-Saharan Africa is very low and therefore the whereabouts of most small bird species outside the breeding season remain a mystery. With new miniaturized light-level geolocators it is now possible to look beyond the limits of ring recovery data. Here we show for the first time year round tracks of a near passerine trans-Saharan migrant, the European Hoopoe (Upupa epops epops). Three birds wintered in the Sahel zone of Western Africa where they remained stationary for most of the time. One bird chose a south-easterly route following the Italian peninsula. Birds from the same breeding population used different migration routes and wintering sites, suggesting a low level of migratory connectivity between breeding and wintering areas. Our tracking of a near passerine bird, the European Hoopoe, with light-level geolocators opens a new chapter in the research of Palaearctic-African bird migration as this new tool revolutionizes our ability to discover migration routes, stopover sites and wintering grounds of small birds.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland. erich.baechler@vogelwarte.ch
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bächler
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schaub
authors.forename: Raphaël
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arlettaz
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jenni
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Vsevolod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Afanasyev
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liechti
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000352:Africa, Northern; D025041:Animal Migration / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011157:Population Dynamics