title: Flexible navigation response in common cuckoos Cuculus canorus displaced experimentally during migration.
abstract: Migrating birds follow innate species-specific migration programs capable of guiding them along complex spatio-temporal routes, which may include several separate staging areas. Indeed, migration routes of common cuckoos Cuculus canorus show little variation between individuals; yet, satellite tracks of 11 experimentally displaced adults revealed an unexpected flexibility in individual navigation responses. The birds compensated for the translocation to unfamiliar areas by travelling toward population-specific staging areas, demonstrating true navigation capabilities. Individual responses varied from travelling toward the first stopover in northern Europe to flying toward the Central-African winter grounds, the latter including several stopovers in unfamiliar areas. Apparently, the cuckoos possess spatial knowledge far beyond their population-specific flyway scale, and make individual decisions likely based on an assessment of perceived gain and cost of alternative route options.
authors.affiliation: Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15; 2100 København Ø; Denmark.
authors.forename: Mikkel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Willemoes
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, c/Americo Vespucio, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blas
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Am Obstberg 1, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany.|University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitätsstrasse, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wikelski
authors.affiliation: Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15; 2100 København Ø; Denmark.
authors.forename: Kasper
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thorup
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D005843:Geography; D012621:Seasons; D065854:Spatial Navigation